Hannah Jeffery BSc Audiology

Current student

I’ve always felt really supported within the course. We have a fairly small cohort, so it is easy to get to know your classmates and lecturers. This has been incredibly useful, because I have lots of people I can turn to for help if I need it.

What made you choose to come and study at Southampton?

When I was deciding which university to go to I went to a lot of open days. Southampton’s Open Day really stood out for me. On the Open Day the staff were incredibly enthusiastic about their course, which made me confident that I would be getting a high quality of teaching. This was reinforced by the fact that Southampton is among the top places in the UK to study Audiology.

What is it like studying here?

I’m currently having a fantastic university experience! I thoroughly enjoy my course, and this helps motivate me to study and achieve the best grades I can. This is certainly helped by my lectures! With my course being small in numbers it’s very easy to get to know your course mates and lecturers. I feel this has been incredibly useful because it means that I have lots of people to go to ask for help.

How do you rate study facilities at the University, such as the Hartley Library? Have you found the Library, its content and the study spaces available within it useful?

What I love about the library here is that there are always plenty of places to study, meaning that you can study whenever suits you. What’s really useful is that through the library we have access to a lot of online resources. This has been extremely useful in the holidays because it has enabled me to study from any location!

What have been your Southampton ‘highlights’ so far?

I’ve had many highlights here! One of them was going on placement, and, in particular, being able to sit in on surgery. This was an incredible experience that I feel very privileged to have been involved with.  Another highlight of studying at Southampton is that I have been able to volunteer to participate in a lot of experiments. Not only was it interesting to see the research elements of my degree, but it was rewarding to contribute to something that could have beneficial implications.

What other activities have you taken advantage of while at University ?

I have recently starting volunteering with Action on Hearing Loss. After I’ve had my training I’m hoping to help by going into hospitals and offering advice to people on the maintenance of their hearing aids. I’m really looking forward to being able to use the knowledge that I have developed to help people! I also think it’s going to be great experience for my future career.

Have you had any exposure to employer involvement or research-led learning during your course?

What is so special about the Audiology department at Southampton is that we have the Cochlear Implant Centre next door! Within this centre are some very specialist audiologists. Because of this partnership we are able to have audiologists from this centre give us lectures. I feel very privileged about this because these audiologists have an in-depth knowledge of their area.

What are you enjoying most about your course?

I love that this course develops both my scientific knowledge and my ability to support people with hearing loss. This excites me greatly for my future career because I know that it will be a rewarding one.

Do you have the opportunity to study modules outside of your core subject area, and how do you think they are adding to your experience, or will affect your future plans?

The BSc course doesn’t offer any optional modules, but I’m hoping to do the MSci course where you do have the choice of optional modules. In this fourth year, I’m hoping to do a Health Management module because further in my career I hope to reach a senior position in audiology.

What networking, employment and work experience opportunities have you undertaken and how have they enhanced your undergraduate experience?

During my first year I was able to go on three two-week long placements. I found these extremely useful because I was able to fully develop all of the skills I had learnt at university. For example, in our practical lessons at university, we got to have a go at using audiological equipment to test people’s hearing. However, most people we test have normal hearing, which isn’t representative of our future work. After going on placement, I felt I was better at taking into consideration someone’s hearing loss when carrying out procedures in a real-life situation.

Do you have any idea of what you would like to do in the future? Have the opportunities you have taken up while at the University helped you have a clearer idea of what you might like to do?

From going on placement, I realise now that I would love to work in paediatric audiology in the future. This requires further training, so I’m hoping to carry on to the MSci course that Southampton offers to prepare me for this.

Did you stay in University accommodation? What were your halls of residence like in terms of facilities?

I stayed at Liberty Point halls, and I had the most incredible time! The halls have recently been refurbished and are very stylish! But what I loved most about these halls is that they were right in the city centre. I really enjoyed this because it meant that we had everything that Southampton offers at our doorstep. Even though I was a 20 minute journey from campus I didn’t find this a problem. The University provides free bus passes for first year students so it was incredibly easy getting onto campus for my 9ams!

Do you like living in Southampton? What are the benefits of Southampton as a city?

In my spare time, I love to go out to eat and shop, so Southampton is a great city for me! West Quay has every shop I need and with the recent opening of West Quay Watermark, I am spoilt for choice with food outlets. Another benefit about living in Southampton is the transport systems. For getting round the city, the Unilink buses are great because they cover a large range of locations and are very frequent, even late at night.