/ Hi, I’m Amir! /

Good morning, Good afternoon and Good evening everyone!

In this post I’m gonna write about how it’s like to study Business at the University of Surrey and give my experience as I know it can be useful knowing how studying Business is like in here for anyone who is interested to study Business at Surrey in future.

Surrey Business School 

First, let’s start by introducing the Surrey Business School which is for anyone who studies the courses related to Business like International Business Management, Business Management, Business and Retail Management, etc.  A big advantage Surrey has is that every department has its own building and so does Business. Surrey Business School is located at the centre of Stag Hill campus near to School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.  The biggest lecture room is located inside the Surrey Business School.  Moreover, the Surrey Business School has Seminar rooms, Labs rooms and has the teachers, lecturers, professor and tutors’ office.  There is a restaurant as well as coffee shop inside the school which are called Lakeside coffee shop and Lakeside restaurant, and both run by Hospitality students.  You can have breakfast and lunch at Lakeside restaurant and have coffee, tea, sandwiches and snacks at Lakeside coffee shop. (opening hours for both are 8am-6pm on weekdays)

The school is also near to the lake as well as other buildings and the bus stop is in front of the main entrance. The statue of Alan Turing and birds are also in front of the school.

Below you can see pictures of Surrey Business School.

About the Course

Almost all of the Business students study the same modules in the first year and have the same exams as well, so for example I study International Business Management, but was in the same classes with other business students like Business Management, Accounting and Finance, etc.  Each year there are 2 semesters, 1st semester usually from end of September to January and 2nd one from February to June.  The examinations of 1st semester is in January and 2nd semester in June.

Students usually study 4 modules each semester, so 8 modules for each year.  In the first year 1st semester I studied Operations Management & Financial Accounting & Economics, Business and Sustainability & Fundamentals of Business Management and 2nd semester I studied Organisational Behaviour and Analysis & Marketing Principles & Business Ethics & Business Decision Making.

For the first year all of the modules are compulsory, however you can choose two of your modules (one module in the 1st semester and one in the 2nd semester) in the second year.  You will have options for both 1st semester and 2nd semester to choose from.

For the Business Course you will have lectures, seminars and Lab sessions. I had about 15 hours lectures, seminars and Labs per week on average in the 1st year but the number can increase or decrease depending on the time of the year, content of the course, etc.

Considering the timetables, you will have your timetable before the start of each semester.  The timetable includes the times and locations of the lectures, seminars and Labs for all of the weeks of that semester.

Below you can see the picture of the biggest lecture room at Surrey Business School where most of your lectures usually would be.

What is Placement Year? Choosing the course with Placement or without?

So, first what is Placement Year or Professional Training Year or Sandwich Year or A Year In Industry?

This year is after the 2nd year and before the last year which includes going to an organisation or company and working for them for almost 1 year to experience working in the real world.  You will be working along with the other employees of the company and gain excellent experience for the future and after graduating from the university.  Most of the placements are paid, so is a good way to earn money as well.  You will gain valuable experience and also make friends for life.

The University of Surrey is partnered with more than 2300 placement partners including big companies such as IBM, Microsoft, The Walt Disney, etc, so a very good opportunity to work for the biggest companies in the world.

Placements can be either in the UK or outside the UK.  The placements in the UK are usually 1 years whereas the ones outside the UK can be less than a year.

I haven’t gone on placement yet as I’m going to my 2nd year but I recommend choosing your course with placement as they have lots of benefits and it’s usually easier to find jobs after graduating because employers see that you have worked in the real world before and they are more likely to employ you.

Events at Surrey Business School

Another advantage of studying at the University of Surrey is that during the year there are variety of events and talks where big companies come to the University of Surrey and talk about their companies, their experiences and the Business Industry which is really useful because you learn the knowledge by studying the course and when the companies come and talk about the industry you can apply the knowledge.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post!

Have a wonderful morning, afternoon and evening!

Amir