Dasha Ryabova is in her third year of her BA Economics and Business with East European Studies degree.
Why did you choose to study at UCL SSEES?
UCL SSEES has such a wide variety of courses both in your subject area (Economics and Business for me) and in other departments that you can take, where you can be really flexible in what you choose to make your degree. This, and the specialisation of resources and professors at SSEES stood out to me and motivated me to study here.
What are you studying and what attracted you to this particular course?
I study Economics and Business with East European Studies at SSEES. The flexibility of module selection and specialisation of professors at SSEES is something that I loved about this course and I couldn’t find anywhere else.
How is your course going? Any favourite modules so far?
Though it has been challenging at times, I really have enjoyed my course so far. There are a range of theoretical and quantitative modules as well as modules from other SSEES departments I have taken so far, such as political modules. Among my favourites, I enjoyed taking International Trade, Understanding Society: Introduction to Political Sociology and Emerging Market Economies: Economics of Transition.
How would you describe the academic staff at SSEES? What is the support like?
The support students get at SSEES both academically and personally has been great for me. Each SSEES student gets assigned to a Personal Tutor at the start of their degree, who can help you with academic and personal questions. Aside from this, the small group sizes of tutorials and office hours I find really benefit students in terms of progressing through modules.
What are the facilities like at SSEES and the UCL campus generally?
The common room in SSEES is a great place to relax and socialise with your peers’ in-between lectures and seminars. This is where a lot of academic talks and career-focused sessions take place too. The SSEES Library is a great quiet place for studying and if you are working on a group project, there are a couple group-study rooms you can book as well! Otherwise, UCL generally has a wide range of facilities including bookable group study rooms as well which I have found useful for group work.
What about the social life?
SSEES Society (which as part of the department you will automatically be in), organises a wide range of events and social gatherings for various tastes. From career-focused events to doughnuts in the common room, you will be sure to take part in something you enjoy and meet similar people!
How would you describe your fellow students?
Everyone at SSEES is extremely friendly and starting from my first year I have made amazing friendships with both people from my course and other SSEES courses! SSEES has such a strong and welcoming community of students, and it has been amazing to study with so many people from all over the world.
Where do you hope your degree will take you after graduation?
After graduation, I would like to pursue a career in a professional services firm. Particularly, I am interested in management consulting.
Any advice for those thinking about taking this course?
If you are new to studying economics, try to read relevant chapters of textbooks before each relevant lecture (or if you’re not new!). Having not studied economics or business at A-level, I have found reading about concepts prior to lectures extremely helpful so that I can familiarise myself with them and not fall behind during my lectures.
Find out more about Economics and Business with East European Studies BA at SSEES.