B1 University Visits

1. DeMontfort University

Location:

Gateway House, Leicester LE1 9BH

(Not my pictures as we didn't have the opportunity to take pictures while we were there due to the short time)

The course felt decent and the teachers seemed suitable. They talked about having a lot of guest speakers coming into the university every week and the facilities had an abundance of Wacom Cintiqs. A point I remember was their high percentage of students hired after 6 months of graduation, which was about 86%. Current students said that the course was so hard that 1/3 of people dropped out after the first year. Study abroad options seemed to be only in America for this course and living accommodations were nice, they had a couple dorms with ensuite bathrooms and studios at a reasonable price. Activities to do in Leicester weren't plentiful. Overall, I put this university as my second choice.

2. Portsmouth University

Location: Winston Churchill Ave, Southsea, Portsmouth PO1 2UP

Portsmouth University was alright for me. Although they had XR studios, VR studios, abundance of Wacom Cintiqs and a simulation room, the course itself wasn't exactly what I was looking for. The teachers weren't too appealing for me as it felt too casual and not too informative. Their graduates went to work at companies that I couldn't recognise, which differed greatly from DeMontfort. Their course was more focused on gaining an abundance of skills, then splitting up into a specified course, which I wasn't too interested in doing. The accommodations were poorly for their price and it didn't feel like somewhere I'd be interested in studying for for 3-4 years.

3. Escape Studios

Location: 6 Mitre Passage, London SE10 0ER

Escape Studios was a nice experience. It was in the 17th floor of a tall industry building in Central London and was based to look and feel like working in a real studio in the games industry. Every room looked new and high-tech, equipped with rooms and rooms of PCs and Wacoms and the teachers were professional. However, it wasn't the university experience that I wanted and had a quite intimidating atmosphere. Based in London, living costs would also be much higher and I couldn't see myself studying there for 4 years, perhaps a Masters though.

4. Manchester Metropolitan University

Location:Ormond, Lower Ormond St, Manchester M15 6BX

Manchester Metropolitan was probably the course I'm most interested in studying for. The facilities were new and had only been installed 3 years ago since this course is new. The whole building dedicated to School Of Digital Arts had the perfect mix of a modern game studio but also university experience feel to it. The staff were engaged and prioritised future, income and passion, which I didn't hear other professors talk about before. The course itself was more leaning towards what I wanted to do, with a year in fundamentals before leading into the more professional projects. There was also co-labs which would allow students from different courses to mix together for collaborative projects and more countries for the option of Study Abroad. Manchester Metropolitan also offers multiple scholarships for low income and minority students.

However, it was the furthest university to get to and the accommodations were average.