Birkbeck, University of London Reviews Summary

Academic Experience

Pros:

• "Birkbeck is part of the University of London so is very prestigious and has an impressive line-up of visiting lecturers."
• "I am studying in the Earth and Planetary Sciences department, and their courses are highly regarded in both academia and industry."
• "The modules and teaching stuff is great. I love the campus vibe and they have a state of the art library with lots of spaces to study."
• "The teachers are insightful and inspiring (MSc Corp Responsibility and Sustainability)."
• "Seminar tutors are great in answering questions and clearing doubts."
• "The tutors on the course are all so good and supportive, I feel like learning so much has helped me attain good grades."
• "Quality teaching, world renowned and overall a fantastic environment to broaden your horizons."

Cons:

• "Essential topics like Data Structures and Algorithms are basically skimmed over."
• "The Data Science (DS) MSc is put together with a complete lack of vision."
• "The topics were basic and the teaching was almost non existant."
• "Academics were unprofessional, patronising and condescending treating masters students like school kids."
• "Mistakes and errors were common in course materials."
• "Many students are struggling and are now having to self teach themselves as the lecturers aren't explaining the topics clearly either."
• "You can not get any answer from the teachers."

Administrative Support

Pros:

• "The staff are very helpful and they quickly consider any concern."
• "The admin team are nothing short of amazing, very helpful each time I had a query."
• "Friendly staff and always there there when needed help👌🙂"

Cons:

• "They asked me to pay more than 2,000 pounds to start my visa procedure, which I did by their deadline. Then, they did not process my visa."
• "The fees department were rude, blunt, and not straightforward."
• "The school has made it as difficult as possible to call / email department admin directly."
• "The level of response and assistance from tutors was seriously poor."
• "The administrative staff I had to deal with are callous and unpleasant."
• "Many of the tutors don’t reply on time."
• "Some admin team members were not the most helpful neither."

Student Life and Flexibility

Pros:

• "I love this uni! Been studying here for a year already and their support and pastoral system is great!"
• "Great teaching staff, flexible studying hours and amazing location."
• "Everything is at night so it works around work schedules, but still keeps its academic authenticity."
• "They give you independence but also give you tons of advice on how to improve on your work and also the study skills workshops as well as online resources are amazing."
• "Birkbeck allows me to hold down a job and study part-time easily."
• "Birkbeck also gives you the opportunity to learn at your own pace since you're working full time plus having a family."
• "Great place to study, especially if you are at work or have other commitments during the day."

Cons:

• "I spent four, long painful years (evenings, weekends and every other possible free day) of my life here."
• "Through this course, I have had late turnovers (three months) when receiving assignment results."
• "Have to book a slot JUST TO ENTER the library 2 days in advance."
• "One of the main things are they always seem to recruit lecturers who aren't fluent in English."
• "They cannot expect a single parent/student to be able to afford the cost of a nanny willing to look after children until at least 10pm or even find one."
• "Library isn't open on weekends. Closes 9pm on weekdays. 6pm on Friday."
• "Library was only ever open 24 hours in very small periods."

University Reputation and Opportunities

Pros:

• "Best adult education college in the world, history department second to none."
• "International university with high research standards."
• "Faculty is known for their work and most of all it has very good reputation with recruiters."
• "Profs of a high standard, sometimes field-leading and the workload/timing is fantastic for those who need their days free."
• "A super university (where I've studied) which focuses on the needs of working people who want to get an education, with a mix of students from young to very old!"
• "A good place to meet with professional people."
• "I love this University.. It is very unique as you get the chance to be around and study with mature and professional people.."

Cons:

• "I wouldn't send my children to that University in for a million years."
• "Birkbeck Uni is terrible, borderline scam."
• "As a graduate, i can say it is Worst Uni."
• "Graduate certificate from Birkbeck is useless."
• "Unfortunately this University matches the standards and expectations of a developing country!"
• "Find another university, this place is a waste of time and money."
• "The most terrible university I have come across - easy to be admitted into but difficult to graduate."

Community and Inclusivity

Pros:

• "As a disable student they do not discriminate, I get the best attention, software and help with the university."
• "i felt like a family is supporting you, always empowering words and a fantastic feeling of being part of birkbeck community."
• "A lovely community of mature academics."
• "Great university for dedicated and interested students."
• "I would absolutely recommend Birkbeck University."
• "Joining Birkbeck is one of the best decisions of my life!"
• "i will never forget this beautiful university i will never forget their lovely staff."

Cons:

• "I did not feel welcomed at all, i felt like an outsider."
• "Tutors are least bothered to help students and you will not get extra support."
• "This blatant disregard for alumni, and tactless prioritisation of new students (and with them, new finance) was heartbreaking to see."
• "I wouldn't advise to anybody from East Europe to go to this university I had awful experience they are incredibly unhelpful and xenophobic especially on department of politics."
• "During lockdown where the quality of teaching dropped significantly."
• "IF YOU RESPECT YOUR MENTAL HEALTH DO NOT GO!"
• "The worst study experience psychologically."

Financial and Administrative Concerns

Pros:

• "Birkbeck has allowed me to follow a new path in my life, one which would have been very difficult if I could not keep working."
• "Switching to part time study was both an easy and straight forward process."
• "Excellent place to study with a wide range of learning facilities, very convenient to the extent that at times you can adjust your timetable accordingly to your preference."

Cons:

• "I wouldn't give this lot over £10k of my money for a second rate course."
• "The supervisor will be of no help, or rather detrimental, not replying to emails or very late."
• "WARNING: This university is governed by David Latchman, a criminal with a long history of fraud."
• "Really bad University avoid!!!!!"
• "Worst university ever. HIGHLY unhelpful with financial situations, take disgustingly long too."
• "2021 graduates were denied a ceremony, and were not given the option to defer to the following year's ceremony."
• "Absolutely awful experience with this university. Administrative errors, failure to make adjustment for mental health impairments, unkind and unhelpful responses."