On the 18th, I attended University Of Huddersfield’s open day to get a feel for what it would be like there and also toured the local accommodation since I would likely be studying away from home here.
In summary, everything was great besides the music course and facilities. The student centre building included a sizeable multiple floor library with dedicated quiet areas and a huge music section, which included a large CD collection covering a variety of genres. The social side of the university was broad, there are many, many societies, sports activities and facilities for socialisation. The staff seemed professional and friendly, and the statistics given at the introduction talk stated all staff are highly qualified and are required to do active research to apply to the classroom. The accommodation linked to the university was reasonably priced, maybe even cheap for what it was, and some had excellent facilities, like a cinema room, gym and an activities room with a pool table, PS4 for student use and a cosy seating area where free snacks are served and where accommodation staff check in with students’ wellbeing.
However, the course itself and the facilities were just fine. The building that music is based in is quite small in comparison to other subjects, and the building is split between medical courses and the music courses. The music facilities looked similar but slightly better than what college offers in general content, but with more rooms, specific studios with small recording rooms for solo work and a synth room. While there were plenty of rehearsal rooms, there was a significant imbalance on the amount of instrument specific rooms, as there was a full corridor of pianos and just a couple drum rooms spread out across the building. The band rehearsal spaces looked worn down, but did have a decibel reader which would be helpful for safety and had some good equipment, like the amps they had. The rooms had to be booked online, which I thought was nice so you know you have that space to use for a specific time and it wont be taken.