Postgraduate visiting days

>> FORREST: Hi, my name is Forrest.

>> ZAYNAH: And I'm Zaynah.

We're students at the University of St Andrews.

Together we created this talk and tour video in collaboration with the University. We hope you enjoy it.

>> FORREST: Thanks.

>> KATE: Founded in 1413, St Andrews is the oldest university in Scotland. St Andrews doesn't have a campus, instead, we have a university that's intertwined with the town.

My name is Kate and I'm a fourth-year studying International Relations here at St Andrews.

On top of my studies, I'm also principal ambassador, which means I work with the admissions team to run the student ambassador scheme.

Most of St Andrews can be found on three parallel streets, North Street, Market Street and South Street. Our student ambassadors will now show you each street of the town.

>> ELLA: Hi. My name is Ella and I'm a Fourth-year biology student.

We're currently standing in St Salvator's quad. This is one of the oldest, most central parts of the University. 

During term time, the quad is bustling with students, sat out studying or eating lunch on the lawn behind me.

Just behind the college hall to the right of the quad is Lower College Lawn. This is the site of our infamous Raisin Monday foam fight, where the students get dressed up in fancy costumes and are let loose on the back lawn with cans of shaving foam.

On the ground in front of me are the initials PH marked in stone. This marks the spot where Protestant reformer, Patrick Hamilton, was burned at the stake. 

There is a legend tied in with the PH that says that if any student stands on it they are cursed to fail their degree.

Right behind me is the Old Union Coffee Shop, which, as the name suggests, used to be the student union before it was moved to Market Street. Now it's a cute little coffee shop, and you'll often find me in there catching up with friends over a coffee in between classes.

Right next door to the Old Union is the Advice and Support Center, or The ASC. They're there to help you find your way as a student and to answer any questions you might have during your time here at St Andrews.

Tucked in just off of North Street is our Main Library.

The University actually has a number of different libraries, some of which are subject-specific, but this is the biggest, and this is where all of the texts you'll need for your degree are held.

I spend a lot of time in this Library, particularly on the bottom floor. This is a loud floor, and you're also allowed hot drinks and food down here.

It's a great way to socialise with friends, to do group work and, if you're like me, just like a bit of background noise when you're studying.

If you like silence, then the top two floors are both silent study areas.

The Library is also home to a number of different study rooms and booths that you can book, which make them perfect for group study.

Just behind the Library is the Arts Building. This is home to the School of International Relations and has a number of different lecture theatres and seminar rooms.

On the top floor, you get amazing views all over St Andrews.

We're now standing on the North Haugh, which is only a short walk from the town centre. The North Haugh is where all the science buildings are based. So if you're a scientist, like me, you'll spend a lot of time down here.

Right behind me is the Gateway Building. This is home to the School of Management.

The basement floor is managed by the Library and is a really big study space where you'll find me during revision weeks.

>> CALUM: My name's Calum and I'm a third-year studying English with Modern History.

We're standing in Market Street next to the Melville Memorial Fountain. Market Street's home to a lot of student life in St Andrews.

It's where you'll find lots of the cafés that students like to study in, pubs to hang out in in the evenings, our Student Union, lecture theatres and, of course, lots of shops to do your shopping.

We're standing outside the Buchanan Building, which is home to the School of Modern Languages, and also one of the largest lecture theatres in St Andrews. As a first year, you can expect lots of your lectures to be in this building.

We're standing outside the Student Union at the bottom of Market Street, which is a real hub for student life at the University of St Andrews.

The Union's home to a number of different venues for students to hang out in. Like Rector's, a café that's really popular for students to study in, the Main Bar, which turns into a café during the day and, again, a great place to study, and 601, which is behind me and is the main club of the University.

There's also Beacon Bar that's on the top floor of the union. My favourite though is Sandy's, the karaoke bar. That's where you can find me singing Kate Bush songs, really badly, on Friday nights, to my heart's content.

The Union is also a hub for over 140 different societies that we have at the University of St Andrews. They range across everything, from the weird to the wonderful. There's a club for everyone.

Right across from the Union is the Careers Centre, where you can drop in for an appointment with one of the University's career advisors, get some feedback on your CV, or set up a mock interview in preparation for an internship or a job interview.

At the end of Market Street, you will find the bus stop, which provides loads of great transport links from St Andrews to Glasgow, Edinburgh and all over Scotland, as well as a rail connection to Leuchars, which is our nearest railway station.

>> SOPHIA: Hi, I'm Sophia and I'm a postgraduate student at the University of St Andrews. I study Romantic and Victorian Literature and, today, I'm here to show you around South Street.

Before we get to South Street itself though I wanted to show you Martyr's Kirk, which is a postgraduate research library located on North Street just across from St Salvator's Quad.

The Library itself is a great quiet study space for postgrad students across the University from any school.

Right now, I'm standing in front of the Byre Theatre, which was originally founded in 1933 and was built in a derelict cow byre, which is where the building gets its name. During the term, it hosts a number of seminars, classes and screenings, as well as hosting travelling performers and artists.

We're standing in the Byre Garden right now, which was where I love to come and do my coursework on sunny days.

We're currently in St Mary's Quadrangle, which houses a number of academic Schools and institutions. St Leonard's College provides a networking space for postgraduates across the University.

Overall St Mary's is one of my favourite places in the University. It is a great place to come and just hang out in the sun.

I love to bring a book and read on the quad. It's an amazing little oasis just off of South Street.

Apart from the academic buildings and School offices, which line the street, South Street is also full of pubs and cafés.

These are great places to hang out with your friends between classes, wonderful to study in, and many societies end up having dinners and functions in the multitude of great little hangouts here.

South Street ends in the historic Westport behind me, which was completed originally during the 16th century and refurbished during the 19th century, and is still standing today.

A short walk from North Haugh and the bus station and you find yourselves on West Sands. This is one of three beaches in St Andrews where students come to relax and reflect on their studies. The view that you can see behind me is one of the most breathtaking views in St Andrews.

Thank you so much for coming on our tour. I hope to see you around town soon.

>> PROFESSOR KISHAN DHOLAKIA: By having a very strong research-active University that competes with the best internationally, we can teach our postgraduate community how to evolve as researchers, how to work with
our peer groups, in a way that wouldn't happen were we have to focus solely on teaching.

>> ETHAN: The research interests of the academic staff was the most important thing when deciding to come here.

>> WEBSTER: I find being in this place academically challenging, stimulating, and the community is captivating.

>> JULIA: As a student, St Andrews is world of its own.

I just think it is the most brilliant and other-worldly place you could ever have.

- To be a student in St Andrews is the ultimate of student experience in higher education.

>> PROFESSOR JUDITH WOLFE: St Andrews is a very special University because it is so small and intimate, and yet punches so far above its weight in terms of research, in terms of the calibre of students that we get, and in terms of community.

>> FIONA: The postgraduate community in St Andrews is quite a close-knit one.

>> HOI CHUN: Very warm and welcoming.

Really easy to get to know them just because you are in a small town.

You get that sense of belonging.

>> DR DHARINI BALASUBRAMANIAM: St Andrews is a research-intensive University.

Most of the teaching staff are research active.

So their interests feed into teaching.

- The research really is the lifeblood of the University.

>> NICOLE: The professors are always putting out new pieces of research.

They really are pioneers in the field.

>> JULIE: We're very lucky at St Andrews.

We have really the best of the best flying, and it means we really get a very, very, high-quality student.

>> JAMES: We want people who are curious, who are motivated, who want to understand the world around them.

>> CHARLES: People who are willing to be challenged, and also to challenge, and people beyond their studies, people who are keen to contribute to the wider life of the University.

>> GABRIELLE: I've learned a lot of things and I've made so many contacts.

It's been the best experience of my entire life.

I've loved every second of it.

- One of the things that is really important is that we are a community of scholars.

The staff, and the students.

>> HANNAH: Life at St Andrews is wonderful.

I think it's completely unique.

There's so much to do.

You cannot be bored.

>> MORAG: I have so many ideas about what I'm going to do when I graduate I've had loads of opportunities and I've met so many new people.

- St Andrews has an excellent track record of seeing their postgraduates move onto illustrious careers in all walks of life.

- Students make a lot of contacts during their studies, and that can lead to career opportunities once they graduate.

>> PROFESSOR FRANK LORENZ MÜLLER: We have everything from lawyers, to diplomats, to journalists.

They come with this great mark of quality onto a market that wants to take them into either professional or academic life afterwards.

- When I was studying biology I read a book written by one of the professors here.

Getting to have classes and meet him was, like, amazing for me!

>> KARA: It was really a no-brainer when I went to look for my master's degree.

I really wanted the international community that St Andrews offers as well they've got an international reputation.

- Before studying at St Andrews I have always lived in a big city.

Moving to St Andrews was definitely a change of scenery.

It didn't take me too long to get used to it and it was lovely.

It just makes me feel like I'm home.

- I have loved every second of being in St Andrews and I recommend it to everyone I meet now.

It is welcoming and diverse, and you get so many different people, and new ideas, and experiences that you would never have anywhere else.