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Meet Madina

Architecture and Urban Planning BA (Hons)

A degree with social exploration of spaces

My Architecture and Urban Planning BA (Hons) course was designed to integrate several areas of built environment, all combined with social exploration of spaces.

This made the course more fun, challenging me to try different aspects of design and really explore my interests in areas that were previously unknown to me. It also helped me to view designing spaces not only through the perspective of a specialist who designs them, but also of a user who occupies those places.

Madina

Resilient, flexible and adaptable

The exploration of different areas of the built environment through design and research projects gave me the advantage of being more resilient, flexible and adaptable.

If a student decides to pursue career in built environment, their knowledge of the industries involved in it (even if it's minimal) will always be appreciated, since regardless of the path they take, every field within built environments is connected to one another.

Should a student choose to diverge from this study, and build a career in a completely different field, they will easily be able to do so, thanks to the many valuable skills they will have gained from studying this course.


The uniqueness of the course

To me the quality of the education in a specific country is supported by the real examples of that area that exists in that region. The UK has shown a lot of progress in building healthy and sustainable cities, which wasn't the case for my home country in the time I was applying.

I wanted to make sure that I get excellent education from the scholars of the country that has proven its expertise in planning at a global stage. The uniqueness of the course, which was not offered by other universities I have researched, was the first thing that caught my eye.

I foresaw the advantages of studying such an interdisciplinary degree like BA (Hons) Architecture Urban Planning and knew that it would make me a great specialist.


City and connections with staff

I absolutely loved the close connections I built with the staff at the university. Every interaction with them, especially those cosy office hours, has become my favourite memory and something I genuinely miss about being a part of Newcastle University community.  

Newcastle is well-known to be a student-friendly and safe city, which, as a woman relocating abroad by herself for the first time, was one of my main priorities.


Where my degree took me

I have received job offers in the field of planning from several government institutions, however, I chose to pursue a Master's to further advance my knowledge in the niche area of planning.

I have received positive feedback from interviews, mainly covering how broad my mind and understanding about built environments is, especially regarding the social understanding of spaces. It truly showed me how desired this quality is in a built environment specialist. 

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