Rachel reflects on her incredible year abroad in Canada, studying psychology at the University of New Brunswick (UNB).
Me skiing on Crabbe Mountain with UNB ski society.
Rachel Shaper
UNB in the snow.
Whilst I was abroad, I learnt so much, academically, about myself, about Canada and about the wider world in general. It was a great experience, and it couldn’t have been made possible without the help and support from the University of Birmingham (UOB). When I was planning my year abroad, I honestly didn’t know where to start. With over 175 partner universities, I really had my options laid out for me. The variety of choices for unis really made me feel like I could go anywhere in the world. I used the Go Global tools to narrow down my searches to unis that taught psychology in English, were within my budget, had interesting curriculums, and had sports and societies that I wanted to try.
I chose UNB as it had lots of psychology classes that Birmingham didn’t teach – such as Human Sexuality and Close Relationships- as well as other interesting non-psychology modules such as The History of the Horror Genre. UNB also had ski society - I was desperate to learn to ski and so was eager to join the club.
The Northern Lights at UNB.
Once I had been given my place at New Brunswick, UOB sent me an email getting me in touch with other UOB students going to UNB. There were 5 of us in total and we all decided to make a group chat together. We talked about practical things like packing and flights and study permits, but also how excited and nervous we were to leave home and move to Canada. I was so grateful for UOB for getting me in touch with them, as they became some of my closest friends in Canada, and still are now that we are all back at Birmingham for our final year.
Becky (another UOB student) and I on a UNB field trip.
UOB students at the New Brunswick fair.
UOB also helped me out in my application process by referring me towards the Turing scheme – something I had never heard of before. The Turing scheme is a grant for British university students going abroad – either on a study abroad, volunteering, semester abroad etc. I managed to get a few extra payments form the Turing scheme – which I don’t have to pay back – which helped me pay for my flights and extra expenses like ski passes and day trips out of UNB.
If you are thinking about doing a year abroad I would definitely recommend. Birmingham is the place to do it! You have so many options and so much support.
Got your attention? Find out how to apply for your own adventure abroad on our Go Global page here.
Me enjoying the first snow of the season.
Rachel shares insights on psychology, student life, and her year abroad, offering reflections and advice from her univer...
