Sophie Angus

What undergraduate course did you study and where?

Geography and Geology BSc (Hons) at the University of Leeds

Why did you decide to study a Masters?

I knew I wanted to work in property but to get onto the commercial property graduate schemes at the big firms I needed an RICS accredited degree, so following the completion of my undergraduate degree I worked in residential property for a year in London to get experience before moving home to undertake the RICS accredited MSc degree.

Why did you choose Northumbria University? Why did you choose your specific course?

I chose Northumbria because it has a very good reputation for the course I wanted to do. I chose the course because it would enable me to follow the career path I wanted to.

What makes your course challenging/inspiring/different? How would you sum up the difference between undergraduate and postgraduate study?

The Masters degree is very fast paced and intense as its only 12 months long. You have to be able to work much more independently than at undergraduate and be able to work on several large pieces of work at any one time, with several deadlines often within a short period of time. I found the Masters course much more rewarding than my undergraduate, especially with it being a vocational degree, I found that what I was learning was current and it was knowledge I could use on a day to day basis.

What was it like studying at Northumbria?

The course is taught through hour long lectures, immediately followed by an hour long seminar in which we work through examplesand exercises to ensure that what we learnt in the lecture we fully understand and grasp before we move onto a different topic. This really helps as there isn't a lot of time to keep going over things because there is a lot to learn in a short period of time. We have had several interesting guest lectures throughout the year, including ones from Greggs and Heineken. On a trip to London we also had lectures from large firms such as Knight Frank and Kier Group during which they gave us lots of helpful tips for interviews and job applications within the industry.

How connected is your course with industry? Do you have the opportunity of a placement, or work on projects?

The course is very well connected with industry as most of the lecturers are qualified chartered surveyors with several years’ experience in industry. The MSc course doesn't allow for long placements due to lack of time, however there are always emails flying around about positions that are opening within companies that we are able to apply for.

What impressed you most about our academic staff?

They operate an open door policy and are always willing to go the extra mile to help. They are all so easy to get on with and want you do to well as much as you want yourself to do well.

How accessible do you find our staff?

They are almost always available, and if they aren’t they are happy to arrange a time to see you.

As a postgraduate student, what aspects of university life are important to you?

It’s good to have a quiet area to work when there are lots of reports due in. The Wynne Jones building is a good place to work when I need silence, but if I am looking for a more vibrant, inspiring place, I work in "The Hub" as you find yourself surrounded with people all doing a similar course, and its full of property
books/magazines/posters.

What doors do you think this course will open for you?

The course has given me the necessary qualifications to enable me to apply for the graduate schemes I wanted to. The support from staff and the knowledge I have gained in such a small period of time helped me to get a job at CBRE as a graduate surveyor for when I finish the course. The application process starts a matter of weeks after the course starts, so it was important that I learnt as much as I could at the start of the course to put me in a good position for the recruitment process.

Have you changed as a person?

I have become a lot more organised! Exposure to the property industry throughout this course has really confirmed this is what i want to do with my future.