We asked Alice Brereton, Postgraduate Recruitment Manager, to tell us all about Bristol’s postgraduate open day in 60 seconds.

“You have the opportunity to meet our internationally renowned academic staff and current postgraduate students, whilst getting a feel for the university and city”

Why should students come to a postgraduate open day?

There is only so much you can gather from looking online – the fantastic thing about coming to our open day, is that you have the opportunity to meet our internationally renowned academic staff and current postgraduate students, whilst getting a feel for the university and city.

We recognise that continuing to postgraduate level, or coming back to academic study, is an important decision for individuals. Our postgraduate open day on 20 November allows you to get the answers to your specific questions and experience the atmosphere here – Bristol is a friendly campus in the heart of a vibrant city.

“There’ll be talks on offer, such as personal statement top tips, postgraduate funding, getting back into study, research at Bristol, student panels.”

What can attendees expect from the day?

The day begins at 1.00pm when you can register and collect your welcome pack. The main exhibition will be taking place between 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. You’ll have the opportunity to talk to our students and academics and find out more about course units, types of assessment and anything else you’d like to know. Our support services will also be on hand to explain what support is available to help you feel safe, supported and able to reach your full potential.

From 1:20 pm to 3:50 pm there’ll be a suite of informative talks on offer, such as personal statement top tips, postgraduate funding, getting back into study, research at Bristol, student panels and many more. You can take a look at our open day programme to find out more and plan your day.

From 4:00 pm until 5:30 pm there will be a selection of Faculty specific and subject specific tours and presentations, where you will get to explore the different classrooms, libraries, labs and study spaces.

What else is on offer?

We are running city tours and campus tours in the morning, before the event begins. This provides you with more time to attend talks and chat to academics during the afternoon. Morning tours can be booked in advance and whilst the event is running, from 1pm to 4pm, we are holding student led tours of the campus, which you can book on to at registration.

“I’d recommend making a plan before coming to the event to get as much as possible out of the day.”

How can students get the most out of the day?

I’d recommend making a plan before coming to the event to get as much as possible out of the day, talk to student ambassadors in the red t-shirts, interact with the academics who are on hand to answer questions – along with experts from support services; everyone is keen to help and ensure you get all the information required.

Use the timings in our program so you can attend the talks, go on a tour and also have enough time to talk to academics and students. You can attend as many talks as you like – but please make sure you get to the talks 5 minutes early, as they can fill up quickly.

Most importantly, enjoy the day!

How do I keep in touch with all the latest postgraduate information at University of Bristol?

Remember to like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn and keep an eye on this blog channel. You can also visit www.bristol.ac.uk/vip where you can sign up to receive further information and updates.

Written by Alice Brereton, Postgraduate Recruitment Manager

To find out more about postgraduate study attend our Open Day on 20 November.

Master’s student Lyndon shares his experience of a postgraduate open day

I feel it is important to attend an open day at the university of your choosing for postgraduate study.

Firstly, this is an important step in your academic career, are you ready for the exciting challenge that postgraduate study poses (whether your undergraduate studies have just finished or you are returning from a break in education)?

Secondly, even if you know the university (I didn’t study at Bristol prior to enrolling on my MA) it is important to gauge the feel of the place, the campus, city, course or courses on offer to you and to have conversations with the staff that will teach or supervise your studies.

“My own experience of the postgraduate open day at Bristol was positive… everyone was very friendly and keen to help”

There is considerable information available on university websites even down to unit details, staff biographies/research interests and also student reviews. Although they are a useful first step, I would argue that face-to-face discussions and visits give you a far better idea of what a place is like to study at and what you can expect from your time on a course.

My own experience of the postgraduate open day at Bristol was positive, it was busier than I anticipated, however, there were plenty of volunteers on hand to guide and assist me to find the right people to talk to. More importantly, everyone was very friendly and keen to help, if they didn’t have the answer to a query, they would find the right person to ask and either give you the information or hand you over to that person.

“…after talking to the course director and getting answers to my questions, I was able to decide the best route for my postgraduate degree”

Initially I was considering the MPhil route, as well as the taught MA, but after talking to the course director and getting answers to my questions, I was able to decide the best route for my postgraduate degree. I also needed to decide whether to study full or part time and what that looked like in terms of contact hours, timetabling and study load. I was able to ask questions about units that were likely to be available and what ideas were contained and discussed within the core (non–optional) unit. I chose a full time, taught course, as it suited my circumstances better.

As well as this important, incredibly helpful and informative conversation, there are other benefits to visiting an open day, for example, I was also given guidance about what would be beneficial to include in my personal statement as I was unsure beforehand how to pitch this.

Finally, I was able to get an idea of the geography of the university buildings, including the study facilities, refreshment areas and the libraries. Simply physically walking around the various parts of the campus and its environs, talking to current students and staff gave me a flavour of what to expect should I choose postgraduate study at Bristol.

Reader, despite all the hills, I am glad I chose Bristol for my postgraduate adventure!

Tag: open day

Why attend a postgraduate open day?