Matthew Hunter

Host University: McMaster University
Year of Study Abroad: 2010-11

Where did you live? Would you recommend it?

On Campus - Bates Residence. Living on campus has positives and negatives. On the plus side, you are no more then a five minute walk to any lectures, which is almost a neccessity when the freezing winter months come in, and there is the oppertunity to bond with other exchange students from all over the world. One negative is the social aspect. One big negative however is that each occupant of a residence can only have 2 friends signed in at a time, during weekend evening hours. If you live 'in res' (as they call it) you have to take out a meal plan, and although the food is good, it is expensive. That's the main negative - cost. It's expensive and if I were to do it again I'd find a room in a house out there, as they are in abundance and alot cheaper then in Sheffield. If money is not a primary issue however, go for Bates. I loved my year there and I'm sure you would too.

Which department(s) did you study in?

Geography

How does the workload/classes/teaching styles vary to Sheffield?

McMaster's style and the students work ethic reminded me much more of an A level system as oppose to university. I had roughly 12-15 hours of contact time and 1-2 essays or pieces of coursework per week.

Despite all this, I loved it: class sizes are usually small with only 20-30 other students, teaching is excellent, the work remains thoroughly interesting, and best of all, there are very few courses just theory basesd, if any.

The majority of courses across campus conform to McMaster's philosiphy of teaching through doing, so most classes have interesting hands on based coursework.

What did you do for fun at the weekends and during the holidays?

Travelled. The Greater Toronto Area, and Canada in general has thousands of fantastic oppertunities that you will never have enough time to do any of them. I spent many a day in Toronto at various events and festivals. I vistied Montreal, New York, Washington DC and Philidelphia. I went canoeing, cycling, walking and of course drinking.

Did you join any societies or clubs?

The Outdoor Club was a fantastic society. Although it sounds a little lame, they organise hundreds of events across the year to all four corners of North America, with every possible outdoor sport catered for. McMaster also has the 'MIX' society, or 'McMaster Internation Xchange'. This was a great way to meet the other erxchange students, roughly a 100 in all. From here we did all the things a tourist in North America would want to do. From meeting other exchange guys here, we all became good mates having many a good social night and formed our own intramural sports teams.

Describe the University/City/things to do

McMaster is a campus university with alot to offer. Many of the buildings are new or well kept, sports facilities are superb and cheap, there are loads of shops in the newly built student center and there are good places to eat and drink across campus.

The University is situated in the City of Hamilton, roughly 2 miles from Downtown Hamilton. The 'McMaster Bubble' is the nickname for the university and the surrounding area as many students don't feel the need to leave. You can get everything you need, with many shops, restaurants and bars less then a fifteen minute walk.

There's University Plaza, an out of town style retail area you'd get in the UK. Theres also Dundas and Westdale, two smaller areas about the size of Broomhill with many boutiquey places to go.

Could you give any travel or immigration tips?

Get your visa application in early and make sure you spend time checking that you have provided all the evidence required of you. They take a while to process it and it there are any mistakes it takes double the time.

Would you say it is cheaper or more expensive to live than Sheffield?

I would say it is roughly the same to live over there in all, however it is obvisouly dependant on the exchange rate at the time (when I was out there it was about 1.5CA to 1). Food, alcohol and textbooks especially are more expensive. Clothes, electronics and transport however are alot cheaper. The local buses are free with the use of your student pass and megabus is great for travelling to other Canadian and US cities.