Good experience at St Mary’s
ISABELLE Yeow, who started her studies in Psychology at Strawberry Hill in 2010 after finishing her A-levels in Kuala Lumpur at Help College, said that St Mary’s University College is definitely the right place for her.
“With siblings who are graduates of Oxford and Imperial, the pressure was on. My parents insisted that I study in the UK too - it was just a question of finding the right course and the right university.”
Even though Yeow has always considered herself to be a humanities person, she enjoys the research methods and statistics element of her degree, alongside other subjects such as Child Psychology, Health Psychology and the Psychology of Ageing.
“The first semester of the first year was hard and I felt a bit homesick. I lived in Halls on campus but it was actually my local British friends from my course who helped me through. It is one of the best features of St Mary’s - you get to know local students. Other universities in London have so many international students that they cannot offer the same experience,” said Yeow.
“I took my British friends to Chinatown in London, which they really enjoyed. They were interested in finding out about Malaysian culture from me and I always make sure to bring something back for them from home. They really liked the batik scarves from KL!”
Academically, something clicked for Yeow in the second semester of the first year.
“My results weren’t bad before but now I am getting results in the 60-70% region consistently, which is considered really good in the British system. I feel that the teaching here suits my learning style and I get the chance to explore more of my subject through practical coursework rather than just memorising data for exams,” she added.
Yeow’s Psychology Programme Director is helpful. She was scared of her at first but she turned out to be a no-nonsense person who does everything she can to help students do well in the assignments.
“My parents were right in thinking that I would get much more personal attention at a smaller university.”
Yeow is now staying in Central London, near Waterloo. It takes her exactly 27 minutes to get to St Mary’s by train. She feels that she gets the best of two worlds by living close to the centre with her Malaysian friends and family and coming out to campus to Strawberry Hill three times a week to study and to be with my local friends.
“I am a member of the Student Union’s Cheerleading Club. We started with 17 members last year and now we have 50. We are part of SIMMSTOCK, which is a student-led arts festival at St Mary’s and we are excited to prepare for a national competition at Loughborough University.”
Like Yeow, an increasing number of overseas students choose St Mary’s as their London study destination. St Mary’s boasts over 150 years of history and tradition in teaching, a positive QAA report, and excellent Ofsted ratings for its Education programmes and a high employment rate for its graduates. A scenic historic location, unrivalled sports facilities and a unique community atmosphere also marks it as a special place for learning.
In the lead-up to the 2012 London Olympic Games, China, Japan, South Africa and Ireland will be positioning some of their top athletes at St Mary’s and other nearby training facilities and the Lensbury hotel complex in Teddington. Key to the selection of the University College as a preGames training camp was the recent completion of the new £8.25mil (Rm40mil) sports centre, which will enhance the provision for elite sports at the University College.
St Mary’s has a long-standing relationship with the Malaysian Ministry of Education, having trained teachers to work in the Malaysian system for the past three decades. Last year, His Excellency Datuk Zakaria Sulong, High Commissioner for Malaysia to the United Kingdom visited the campus and planted a tree to acknowledge the way in which the co-operation has grown.
The University College has ambitious plans to become part of the Asia Pacific education hub in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia. It is currently developing a partnership in Kuala Lumpur and Penang for the local delivery of its Management Studies and Business Law degrees with Advance Tertiary College, which is a private law school with more than 20 years experience of working on the University of London External Programme. The programmes are currently undergoing MQA and MOHE approval processes.
Another Malaysian-based St Mary’s partner is Alpha International Training & Consultancy Sdn Bhd, a Registered Training House through the Malaysian Ministry of Human Resources to provide Certification Programmes to education professionals in Malaysia.
The qualifications on offer will be: Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma and MA in Education: Pedagogy and Professional Values and Practice. The programmes will be delivered on a blended learning basis, faculty flying out for the face-to-face parts and the rest of the course work completed online.
Among its other ambitions for the region, St Mary’s is also working on a partnership with Hong Kong Communication and Art Centre (HKCAC), to develop a third year top-up degree in Drama and Performing Arts; building on HKCAC’S experience in delivering via the Edexcel HND framework. The unique course will fit in well with local Chinese creative arts developments.
The University College’s courses are heavily oversubscribed by home students and no places are normally offered via clearing. However, because the UK government’s cap on student numbers only covers home and European Union (EU) students, St Mary’s is in the position to accept non-eu applications until the summer. Accommodation is offered on campus and overseas postgraduate applicants also benefit from a generous scholarship scheme.
Degrees are offered across five Schools: Management and Social Sciences, Sport, Health and Applied Science, Communication, Culture and Creative Arts, Theology Philosophy and History and Education.
Find out more by calling the International Office in London at +44 (0) 20 8240 4192, email international@smuc.ac.uk or stmarys.asia@ukedunet.com or call the KL Office at 03-27807288. Alternatively, visit www.smuc.ac.uk for full course listings and more information.