Caitlin's Exchange to University of Dundee | Scotland
My name is Caitlin Ferguson and I studied abroad at University of Dundee in Scotland in Semester 2, 2019. At Murdoch University, I am studying a double major of Law and Global Security.
The key factors for myself choosing to study at University of Dundee were...
Ever since I was a little, I have always had a complete and utter fascination with the UK. While other kids were watching the Wiggles, I was watching the Tweenies, Jamie Oliver and Billy Connolly (much to my Grandma’s horror because Billy Connolly loves a good swear word). After contemplating going to the US for my exchange, it ultimately felt right to spend my semester abroad in the UK. When I discovered that the University of Dundee is one of the top rated universities for law in the UK, I knew that was where I had to be. I was very excited by this because I have always loved the Scot’s sense of humour and warmth in their personality. I also loved that Dundee was a small town but still close to major cities like Edinburgh.
A little about University of Dundee...
I absolutely loved studying at the University of Dundee. Both the administrative and teaching staff were incredible at answering all the questions I had (trust me, there was plenty!) and were super welcoming. While in Dundee, I took two classes; international law and public law. It was really cool to be able to study a subject like public law, with a such a heavy focus on the European Union, as Murdoch does not offer any classes like that domestically. I also loved my international law class as it was more of a collaborative class with really engaging debates.
The teaching system in Dundee was very similar to Murdoch with classes consisting of lectures, tutorials, an assignment and an end of semester exam. The key difference was that for my final exam for international law we had an oral exam. I had never done an oral exam before (with no notes!) so I was quite nervous about it but it turned out to be a really positive experience! I found that I actually engaged on a deeper level with the content knowing that I couldn’t rely on my notes.
For public law I had a one-hour lecture
every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday with a two-hour tutorial five times
throughout the semester. For international law, I had one two-hour
lecture/workshop every week. This meant I had a lot of free time on my hands to
go out exploring!
A little about the city I lived in, Dundee...
The locals in Dundee were exactly how I pictured them to be; warm, funny and super friendly. Dundee is a very small city in Scotland which meant that everything was within walking distance. This turned out to be very handy when coming home from the pubs late at night! The public transport system in the UK is fantastic in comparison to what we have in Perth (sorry Transperth!). My mind was blown when I used to go down to London to see one of my best friends and it would only take 7 hours to get to the other side of the country. Crazy!
Despite being a small city, Dundee has plenty
of cool pubs and cafes to visit. One of my favourites was a little café owned
by New Zealanders in town that served hot Milo and sold Tim Tams (and no, I did
not buy any because they were $7 a pop- which is daylight robbery if you ask me).
Little home comforts like this made the difference in not flaring up my
homesickness. There was also a little pub/café right at the end of my street
where I lived where we would all go for dinner on Sunday night. I will always
remember the big group of us crowding in on a Sunday night to have dinner
together and decompress before the next week began.
The best parts of my experience...
Undoubtedly the best part of my exchange experience was the absolutely incredible people I met. Before I left for the airport thinking, I couldn’t help but think how crazy I was. I could not believe that I was getting on a plane to study in Scotland for four months hardly knowing anyone. I reasoned with myself that I wouldn’t be alone the entire time because one of my best friends, Bec, was studying in London and I’d at least be able to go see her a few times. I was just hoping I’d make at least a couple of friends to go travelling with on the weekends. Oh how silly it is to be writing this now as I ended up meeting some of the best people I have ever met in my entire life.
We laughed together, we cooked
together, we danced together, we cried together, we partied together, we did
our grocery shopping together, we crammed for exams together, we travelled together.
I vividly remember the first day I met everyone and I instantly felt that
everything was going to be ok. I could not have been luckier. I’ve already gone
over to Canberra to see two of my flat-mates and I facetime at least one person
from exchange every week because I miss everyone so much!
Some of the challenges about studying abroad...
Although I had a great support
network around me in the people that I met and the university itself, I
couldn’t help but feel homesick a few times. The homesickness was the result of
feeling guilty about missing things that were happening at home; particularly
my brother doing his final year 12 exams and my best friend graduating
university. However, this homesickness truly did not last long. I figured out
very early on, when I felt homesick in my second week, that if I was going to
get through this I had to talk about it. I remember walking into our kitchen
after spending all day in bed and just talking about random things with my
flat-mates while we were cooking dinner. This instantly got my mind off home
and made me feel 100% better. The key for me was to just immerse myself in the exchange
experience and think about the four months I was away in terms of my entire
life; it’s really not that long to be away from home for.
A little about my accommodation whilst studying abroad…
I lived in student accommodation on campus.
I found out about this accommodation when I was researching what university I
wanted to spend my semester abroad at. For me, it was really important to live
on campus because I feel like that was a big part of the university experience
I have missed out on at Murdoch as I still live at home. I thought the
accommodation was great (although my neck and back really missed my own pillow
and bed haha). I lived with 5 other people in my flat. We each had our own
bedrooms and showers but shared a kitchen. The best thing about the
accommodation was that it was heated, which I would say is essential in the
survival of any Australian going to study in Scotland. If you are going on
exchange and really want to immerse yourself in the exchange experience, I
would highly recommend living on campus!
Funding my exchange experience…
I worked hard in the year leading up to exchange, taking up more shifts in the months leading up to leaving. I was very lucky to receive a $2,000 scholarship from Murdoch which paid for my flights. I also took out an OS Help Loan because who is going to say no to a $6,000 loan from the government to go on exchange!
Whilst on exchange, I travelled to…
I travelled more than I ever
thought I would on exchange. But seeing as though Australia is so far away from
Europe (you have a lot of time to consider this on a 17 hour flight), it would
have been silly not to go out exploring! I went to see my friend Bec in London
a few times which was fantastic. A particular highlight for me was when we went
to Windsor Castle and to the church where Harry and Meghan were married. My
favourite week of my entire exchange was when a few of us went to Dublin. We
explored cathedrals, learnt how to drink Guinness and climbed the Cliffs of
Moher in the middle of a hurricane (please don’t tell my grandparents I did
that). It was a lot of fun and somewhere I definitely want to go back to in my
lifetime. I also went travelling to Stirling, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Loch Ness and
Edinburgh which all had spectacular scenery.
Advice I would give to someone considering studying abroad…
In the wise words of Nike; JUST DO IT!! Honestly, I never thought I would go on exchange when I started university but I am so incredibly glad I did. I experienced four of the best months of my life so far. It sounds cliché but you learn so much about yourself on exchange; things you wouldn’t necessarily learn if you don’t challenge yourself. I am extremely grateful for all the lessons I learnt on exchange. Also, I would advise everyone going on exchange to just say yes to everything (within reason of course- please don’t take this advice and get yourself arrested haha). This was my mantra going into exchange. I promise, you will make some incredible memories by being open to experience everything exchange has to offer.
- Caitlin studied abroad at the University of Dundee in Scotland.
EMAIL: studyabroad@murdoch.edu.au
WEBSITE:https://www.murdoch.edu.au/mymurdoch/support-advice/murdoch-experience/travel-while-you-learn
