University Keele or Portsmouth

[Truds]

Hi. My daughter has been offered a place at Keele and Portsmouth Uni for Sept. She is struggling to decide on which one as we can't visit any to get a real feel. Her subject is Forensics and criminology. She is quite reserved and enjoys her own company so we are leaning more towards Keele as it's more campus life than Portsmouth which is more city. Any feedback or experience on either of these uni's will be greatly appreciated x

Which is higher in the league tables?

Keele University.

Then Keele! A campus probably much nicer in the first year.

I think Keele too.

Keele has a far better reputation than Portsmouth.

It is very self-contained & I gather in normal times campus life is thriving. It’s always had a reputation for bands etc going to play there. In the middle of beautiful countryside about 10 minutes bus/drive from Newcastle-under-Lyme. This is a small market town full of pound shops although there is a Vue cinema (I go there instead of the one in Hanley by choice) & if you like theatre the New Vic is a theatre in the round.

My kids can’t wait to leave the area as they both like big cities (nearby stoke on Trent is not exactly cosmopolitan) but I like it.

We visited Keele and it is a beautiful campus with a lovely feel. The students told us many of them didn't leave the campus at all the first year and they refer to it as the Keele bubble - that was before covid times by the way so no reference to that kind of bubble! It is most definitely a campus university and some might find it a bit isolated if I'm honest as it's a bus journey to go anywhere. It felt extremely safe and secure.

Keele doesn’t beat Portsmouth in all disciplines. As this is a degree that’s work based (forensics) who gets jobs from these courses? In the future, getting a job would be important.

Keele is very isolated. Portsmouth has way more going on. My friends DD went there. Quiet girl but was more than happy. The students are in halls and have the same opportunity to make friends as students on a campus miles from a city. Portsmouth is vibrant and there might be more opportunities for work and broadening interests, eg theatre, music venues, pubs, cafes, restaurants etc. (Obviously assuming a return to normal student life).

Overall the complete university guide puts Keele at 56 and Portsmouth at 61. Not sure employers will be very bothered by the rankings. More likely to be concerned about what the student can do and soft skills.

I was specifically looking at the rankings in relation to biological/Earth sciences and social sciences.

For Forensic Science Keele is ranked 3rd & Portsmouth is ranked 23rd

of course league tables can only give you so much info. Also worth looking at things like graduate employment rate.

Portsmouth has 75% overall graduate employment rate for Forensics/Criminology with 45% in skilled work & 55% in other work

Keele is 80% overall graduate employment with 70% in skilled work and 30% in other work.

If courses like this had a year in industry it would help. Difficult to know how many grads are actually working as professionals in forensics. How many are in the police and other “skilled” roles which are not forensic scientists? How skilled is skilled? What does it mean? A friends DS did forensic science and never got anywhere near doing police forensic work.

If Keele suits, choose Keele by the way but the universities are very different in terms of location and vibe.

Keele's lovely.

It's got a good reputation for Forensics and while the campus is cut off from the local town, it gives a greater community feel for students.

The Union Square has the Union, a pub, shop, library and when I went there at least, a bookshop and bank too.

Each accommodation block has a canteen (except for Lindsay I think) but that block is closest to campus.

It feels very secure and you get to know lots of people quickly, from your course, your accommodation block and I suppose you get to see the same people getting a coffee or at the library. It was a hotbed for gossip too ;)

Another thing worth looking at is any accreditations

The following universities have courses which are accredited by The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences

Bournemouth
Cranfield
Derby
Huddersfield
Keele
Kent
Kingston
London South Bank
Northumbria
Nottingham Trent
Robert Gordon
Staffordshire
South Wales
Strathclyde
Sunderland
Teesside
West London
Wolverhampton
Worcester

Portsmouth is vibrant

I live near Portsmouth and I beg to differ

My son went to Keele ( met my daughter in law there). I only visited once but thought it was really lovely there, it is does seem to have a more campus community vibe.
Strangely enough while he was there our GP mentioned how she used to go there during summer break for medical seminars and how much she liked it there. Hope she enjoys wherever she goes.

@Frodont. In comparison to Keele! Bournemouth would definitely be definitely fun.

It’s interesting that Forensic science doesn’t appear to be offered at RG universities (From the list above) but they do offer Criminology. I find that a bit odd.

Keele was DD3s second choice for forensics (she's currently at Kent) - the staff were very enthusiastic at the open day we went to, showing off a brand new chemistry lab (so new that equipment was still wrapped in cellophane!), and the campus is beautiful. The main selling point for DD (other than the opportunity to go to the US to the FBI's body farm) was they bring in an arson specialist who sets fires in a shipping container decked out as a house, and you get to play with the arson dog .

DD opted for Kent in the end as she was thinking about where she'd be living in 2nd-4th years, and decided that Canterbury was prettier than Stoke/Newcastle-under-Lyme, but it was a close run thing course-wise.

[quote PresentingPercy]@Frodont. In comparison to Keele! Bournemouth would definitely be definitely fun.

It’s interesting that Forensic science doesn’t appear to be offered at RG universities (From the list above) but they do offer Criminology. I find that a bit odd.[/quote]
Forensic courses seem to be either Chemistry based or Biology based, so it would depend on whether either of those courses are strong at a particular uni, and had space to expand, I'd've thought. Also, there doesn't seem to be an awful lot of forensic specialists available for teaching. It's quite a niche course, especially if you want an accredited one, and even more so if you want an integrated masters. We found most of them at places you wouldn't necessarily consider if you were more academically minded tbh.

Maybe chemists convert to forensics after graduation? I don’t know but I found the list surprising.

I didn't find the list surprising.

RG universities tend to focus on studying academic subjects for the subjects own sake other than medicine and dentistry etc

Other universities (often but not always ex polys) may focus more on career based degrees with industry accreditation of which forensic science is one.

I'm studying for a Master's at Keele, in an unrelated but scientific subject. This is my 3rd degree and I have completed some masters modules at 2 other universities.

The thing I have noticed about Keele is how unbelievably helpful and kind all the staff are, from IT support, student services, library staff and lecturers. I can't comment on undergrad as I am old enough be be their parent however it seems like a very supportive and well run university compared to the others I have studied at (3 Russel Group among them).

I did an undergrad and masters at Keele, admittedly a long time ago and I'm no doubt a little biased, but I loved it there. Everything we needed was on campus and always lots going on and everything close to hand. My daughter is at Edinburgh Uni and it all looks and feels very anonymous compared to the general feel of the place at Keele. Probably related to it being a smaller uni, but as a previous poster said, there was such a friendly feel to the place that I will always look back on my time there very fondly. Of course, it's important to look at the course specifics, but as a place to be, I would very much recommend it.

Keele Alumni here - I fell in love with it the moment I visited and still very dear to me. Its an incredible campus and just gives you everything you want that really makes a uni experience. Academically good of course, but also what you gain in all the extras. Ah, to relive those 3 years!