The Social Side of Postgraduate Study at Manchester

by | Jan 12, 2022 | Postgraduate | 0 comments

For many, the idea of moving to a new city to study a masters is an exciting but daunting thing. Even if, as in my case, you are already familiar with the city you will be living in, the idea of not knowing people is nerve-racking. Additionally, with recent lockdowns and the threat of COVID-19 ever present, I found myself particularly stressed about finding and establishing a group of friends that I could socialise with outside of my studies. As well as this, I had heard stories about the workload being much higher than undergraduate, and
thus I worried about not having enough time to socialise.

The social side of a postgraduate has definitely been different to what I experienced throughout my undergraduate: there is a much wider variety of people of different ages and backgrounds, therefore not everyone is going to have the same interests nor want to do the same things in their leisure time. However, that is not to say that my time hasn’t been brilliant! Through the use of course group chats, societies and the convenient location of the Students’ Union bar near to many of the University’s lecture theatres, very early in the academic year I was able to make a close group of friends from a variety of courses, backgrounds and with several different interests.

Table full of food

Some amazing food myself and friends got at Brewski in Chorlton

Students in Manchester are truly blessed with the large variety of things to do in the city— no matter what your interests are, there will be something that you and others will enjoy. This meant that regardless of what my friends were interested in, there was always something we could do together. In my first semester as a postgraduate student, I have attended several club nights at the Warehouse Project watching world class artists perform; I have eaten amazing food in restaurants and cafes around town; I have sang awful karaoke songs in Chinatown, and have seen fascinating exhibitions at Manchester Art Gallery, such as Grayson Perry’s Art Club exhibition.

Of course, the social side of postgraduate study is fun and exciting, but it is also extremely important. The workload and responsibility of a postgraduate student is a lot more intense than an undergraduate so its important to have people around you who not only understand what you’re going through, but who can offer advice and support. As well as providing this support and an opportunity to destress, ensuring to put aside time for your social life is also vital to maintaining good mental health and a stronger sense of wellbeing, something that is evermore important in the unstable times we are living through at the moment.

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