Went to Lancaster University today to attend one of their many post-graduate open days. It has seemed to me other universities only have the one day per year, or bundle post-graduates in the the undergraduates, but Lancaster University have made more of an effort.
I attended by bus from Lancaster town centre. Although it is just outside the city centre, it is easy to get to by bus if you live in Lancaster. There is an underpass road with the bus stops down there. This means the buses drop you off right in the centre of the university campus, but there is no traffic on the campus. It is very cleverly done. You just go down a staircase and voilà! there’s a road and bus stops down there.
It was better run and better organised the the others I have been to. It started at 1 pm and, being a Thursday, the weekly market stalls were up. The centre of the university is like a tiny town centre with a WH Smiths, Greggs, cash machines, Costa and a bunch of other shops. It feels like a new town’s town centre, especially with these farmer’s market type market stalls which are there every week during term times.
Personally escorted round the library taking in the very collections I personally needed.
Big chat with a departmental manager about the options.
Discovered that if only 1 person chooses a module, it gets run, unlike elsewhere.
I can do a custom degree (within reason).
One can attend all the department’s lectures; this means if one changes one’s mind about which 5 modules to do, it is less of a problem. Just start out by doing all the ones you want and not doing the 5,000 word essays in the ones you want to drop.