Joel Food and Human Nutrition BSc Honours
Choosing Newcastle
My decision to study at Newcastle University was influenced not only by the reputation of the degree programme itself, but the excellent reputation of the University and the city in general. I was also attracted by the University's convenient city-centre campus location, competitively priced student accommodation and the variety of different attractions in the surrounding region.
Course so far
So far, the course has been great. We've studied topics ranging from biochemistry right through to psychology and marketing. I like the variety of things that we learn, and the breadth of knowledge that you achieve around the general theme of Food and Human Nutrition.
Facilities
The labs we use for practical sessions are well-equipped and up-to-date. There is no dedicated computer cluster within the Agriculture Building, but there are plenty of others close by.
Field trips and placements
During the second year we participated in a series of field trips to different food-related businesses. These trips were really good for seeing first hand the different methods of food production and how certain laws and regulations we'd been learning about, in relation to food safety, could be put into practice. Also, during my current placement year I've worked on a number of different projects relating to public health, which have all been very interesting as well as being fantastic experience for the future.
City
Newcastle is a lively city, with plenty of things to do and see. The city centre is fairly small, which is nice, but if you don't mind exploring a bit there are some fab little finds not far away too, such as the Ouseburn Valley (great for bank holidays and live music), South Shields (an extremely long pier, a rickety old rollercoaster and a pub at the bottom of a cliff that you can only get to by lift), and St. Peter's Basin (for the viewing of expensive yachts...).
Where do you live?
In first year I lived in halls at South Gosforth, which was good because I had my own bathroom! In second year I lived in Heaton, which was cheap, convenient and a stone's throw away from the coolest coffee shop in Newcastle, Heaton Perk.
Accommodation tips
Have consideration for the other people you live with... Utter disregard of others in terms of uncleanliness is very trying and can strain relationships with your friends.
