Student profiles
Ros Connor - BSc Audiology student
"Studying audiology at Southampton is like being adopted into a new family community. Both the staff and students are very approachable and friendly. The teaching is excellent and if you ever get stuck there's a lot of support available. Each student faces different issues when moving away to university and thanks to the understanding and helpfulness of the department, these issues are never faced alone. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here and the positivity of the department has given me the best start to a future in audiology and in life."
Yolanda Maldonado Aguayo - Visiting International Student
"My experience as an international student at the ISVR excelled in everyway my expectations. Basically this exchange started as an idea and quickly became true thanks to the international office and especially to the ISVR admission tutor and all the work behind his emails which made possible details from Visa to accommodation and economic issues.
"The BSc Audiology course is very specific in knowledge and also very practical, encouraging students to be curious and critical from the first year, taking into account that in clinic students will face real patients and their quality of life will depend on the decisions they make. It is important to notice all the work there is behind the learning process: excellent lecturers, appropriate material and infrastructure provide students the best environment to acquire knowledge in Audiology. It is also important to notice that a personalized tutoring system which at the same time is very independent is an ideal complement to all this advantages.
"Last, but not less important I would like to highlight the thing that I appreciate the most as a foreigner student; the high human quality I founded in most of my classmates (of first, second and fourth year) and all of my teachers and tutors of the ISVR, who selflessly supported me in academic and non-academic matters through out my learning process abroad at the UK as an overall all-rounded experience and made me feel welcome and supported at all times.
"What I have brought back to my country is a mind full of ideas, some of them related to audiology, others to music, others just about every day life wisdom, and a heart full of the warmth of British people. I wish that I am capable now of sharing all of these gifts and use them in my life and my profession."
Corinne Bailey - BSc to MSc Audiology: My experience
"On completion of my degree in Audiology I was uncertain about the career path I wanted to take within Audiology, and chose to complete the MSc Audiology as I felt it would further my career prospects and opportunities. This short article aims to highlight my
experiences in a hope to provide guidance for future Audiology undergraduates completing their degrees.
"The MSc Audiology is designed for individuals with little or no experience in Audiology, as well as those with some background associated with Audiology. With the BSc Audiology still relatively new, I was the first student at Southampton to go from the BSc to MSc directly; therefore my experience was a new experience for the ISVR as well as myself.
"Although I had some experience in Audiology, I still found the MSc course extremely challenging. The workload is much heavier, and the emphasis on learning is much more scientific than the BSc. I found the course challenging for a number of reasons. Firstly the course level is higher; therefore expectation of what should be achieved is greater. There is considerably more expectation on individual and self-directed learning to support material and information provided in lectures and practical sessions. Secondly, the pace of the course is fast and therefore much of the year is very intense. However, there is still some time to socialise! The course was a steep learning curve, even with having experience in Audiology. The style of writing and learning is focused on scientific issues, and it is expected that students challenge and question outcomes of research. This is important during the BSc, yet essential for the MSc.
"I found I spent much of my time during the year remaining in Southampton including the vacations, as opposed to spending long periods of the breaks away at home; so this is something to consider. This I found to be similar to the amount of time I remained in Southampton during my fourth year of the BSc; however research projects are completed over the summer. Therefore, realistically you need to be able to be committed to staying around until the end of September in order to complete everything most easily.
"The year was a rollercoaster of emotions, some days very difficult, others really enjoyable. I found at times I did get low, feeling the pressure of the difficulty and intensity of the work; however, I was not alone. The camaraderie within the group was fantastic, with everyone helping each other through the more difficult and stressful times. I found the group was a lot closer than on the BSc, and I believe this is because over the course of the year, most of the week is spent at university studying and practising with fellow students. Yet despite all the difficulties, tiredness, and challenges of the course, I found it extremely rewarding and very enjoyable, and believe I have made friends for life.
"As a result of my experience, I choose not to direct readers one way or the other in deciding what future to take, but hope these short remarks on my experience are of benefit. It is very difficult to explain all experiences and aspects of the course in a short article, therefore if you would like answers to more specific questions I would be pleased to answer them. There are increasingly more and more routes developing in Audiology for career progression, so consideration of these is also wise."
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