Managing the Transition to University

Transitioning to postgraduate study can be both an exciting and a little overwhelming experience for many. You might be joining postgraduate study straight after completing an undergraduate degree, or you might be returning to study after time spent working and gaining professional experience. Don’t worry, whatever your background and reasons to study a postgraduate degree, you will be supported according to your needs and aspirations. Being prepared for studying and understanding what’s expected is key.

The best way to be prepared and understand what is expected of you is to pay close attention to the resources available on Moodle for your compulsory module Dissertation, Research and Writing Seminar (LA984). Make sure that you attend all the lectures and seminars for this module and use the online resources that we have made available to help guide you through your LLM journey.

For more support, here are a few tips to help with your transition:

• Get to know your tutors: make sure to attend a meeting at the beginning of term with your personal tutor. If you run into difficulties either with your studies or your adjustment to university, it may be easier to ask for help from your module tutors or personal tutor if you have already met them for a chat and if they recognise you from classes.
• Get to know your fellow students: making new friends by (being brave and) starting conversations with people on your course or attending societies, clubs, volunteering opportunities and sports will help with your transition as you get to know people going through a similar experience to you. If you don’t make friends straight away, don’t worry; sometimes it takes a little longer to find the right fit, and it will be worth it in the long run.
• Get to know the university requirements and deadlines: you have your own personal timetable on Tabula but it may also help to make a plan of key dates and deadlines for registration, essays and exams. Having a view of what’s ahead for the rest of term may help with organising your work and managing your social activities so you don’t feel overwhelmed, as it all seems more manageable.
• Get to know your resources: Familiarise yourself with all that Warwick has to offer. If you know where you can find the Library, the Learning Grid and the Law School Hub, it will make preparing for seminars much easier. Also, it is very important that you learn how our online environment - Moodle, Teams and Tabula - works, as it will make your studies a lot easier and you will be able to perform to your best. Our dedicated Law Librarian, colleagues in the IT team, the Law School Student Well-being Team and the Student Experience Team are all here to support you. And, should you require any additional assistance, the University also has a Counselling Centre and a Disability Support Office as part of the Wellbeing Support Services which will have key resources for you. Here's a full list of key contacts for PG students.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

One of the great strengths of Warwick Law School is the diversity of our community. We have almost 1,000 students across eight undergraduate (UG) programmes, five postgraduate taught (PGT) programmes and our PhD/Research degrees. Around 40% of our undergraduates, and over 60% of our postgraduates, are international (including from the EU). Our talented staff also come from many different countries and backgrounds. We are committed to imbedding principles of equality, diversity and inclusion in everyday practices at Warwick Law School.

Rachael Blakey is the Student Facing Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I), and is available to address any concerns you might have during your studies here. We also have a number of students on the ED&I Team who run various events and workshops throughout the year. Details of events will published, so keep an eye on your emails and social media.

We hire our PGT members in October, so watch out for any advertisements!