The ultimate guide to Uni of Birmingham study spots so you can finally get that diss done

If you voluntarily sit in Muirhead, get some therapy asap

8 months ago

Many new students have a hard time adjusting to two facts: Firstly, that when you come to university, you actually need to do your university assignments, seminar prep, and revision, if you want to get a degree at an academically challenging university. Secondly, doing your work from bed in your halls tends not to be the most effective way to study or retain information, as you’re most likely doing it half-heartedly so you can get back to watching Netflix sooner. Most students then have the bright idea of actually going to uni to concentrate – and at UoB, we have many study spots to choose from. Where you choose to study on campus is crucial – the importance of a good learning environment cannot be underestimated. With that in mind, here’s a rundown of all the common Brum study spots and exactly what you need to know about them.

Library

Let’s start with an absolute smash which is the library, home to the students that have a daily menty b or give you evils for opening a packet of crisps on the third floor. This yellow ghetto is the home to all students, but there is a hierarch to this library. The first and second floor are home predominantly to first and second year students who gaslight themselves into believing they have weeks before their final exams. Flexing their “weeks” of freedom before exams, they will put you through the mental battle of concentrating with their laughs being heard on all levels. The truest academics brave the third floor where the sound of footsteps makes everyone’s eye twitch, and thats not from the empty cans of Red Bulls.

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When a student hits the last week before final exams they move to the top of this yellow building, specifically to the bordered study desks. I find the judgement of people’s stares for unzipping your laptop case is worse than the intercom that bleeds your ears, reminding the first years who yap too hard about their core memories in Rosies that the library is a quiet zone (true story btw).

Teaching and Learning Centre

For the peeps out there that don’t fancy the oppressive regime of the third floor library, Teaching and Learning is the best place for the students who can’t stop gossiping than doing work. As students battle the early mornings to find a decent place to sit, the majority of this building is bustling with people running for lectures, and also hearing of other student’s lives which puts you in a spiral. To study here you might as well take your laptop to the Circo queue on a Monday night since you love noise so much. Anyone that voluntarily sits here and hates any noise, good luck with this place as this is the breeding ground for hearing the most outrageous stories.

Harding Building

To claim you have entered this place you must be an MI5 agent, because where the hell even is this? If you want to be claustrophobic and be put into a room with many Elle Woode wannabes, this is the place to be! Whilst this building contains 195 study spaces, I feel as if everyone is in each others business?! With the temperature racked so high you could cook an egg, I’m surprised the windows don’t have condensations dripping down them. If you go to this cesspit, I’m certain even hell is not hot enough for you.

Arts Building: Mason Lounge

I can’t lie when I heard people seriously try to study in this place I did cackle. Mason Lounge is where all the “creative” degrees congregate to talk of their unserious degrees and their lack of employment opportunities, myself included. If you thought to yourself that you were going to do serious work today and your mind jumped to Mason Lounge, you were never going to do a serious work grind. This is the matrix where time doesn’t exist, you could sit here for hours and munch on food without ever opening your laptop. With 142 study spaces, this is just a playground to mess about in.

Barber Institute of Arts

Trying to find this study room was easier than finding the hope for some motivation to study. I can already hear the classic bangers of Beethoven when I come close to this building. Immaculate vibes in this study area, you must be one of those Rory Gilmore girlies who studies six hours a day. Since you can’t enter this building due to repairs in Barber, you’ll just have to settle for the brutalist architecture of Muirhead unfortunately…

Muirhead

Only the bravest of souls enter this brutalist building, as no one voluntarily enters higher than the ground floor of this place. Ironically, the more gross it looks on the outside, the less likely you will see civilisation voluntarily sit in here. Whilst Muirhead is the dingiest building on campus, I can bet all my coffee money you will not have yappers in this building. If you want to blend in with the grey architecture and not hear a peep, this is the place to be. For a person with crippling social anxiety, this is a solid choice my lovelies.

Engineering Building

Where graduate jobs are endless, the Engineering Building is one of best places to study outside the library. Anyone that goes here I assume has an entire Apple eco-system out on the table, with their Macbook Pro fan going wild. If you want to find a husband, look no further than the Engineering Building where you will find men with an optimistic starting salary after graduation! Whilst the Engineering Building is new and not like the other girls, those wooden stairs are an issue. Why is it that everyone who sits on them watches you slowly walk up them?! Overall, the Engineering Building is the next best thing with the key card entrance now being removed (thank god).

Hey Brew

Ending it with a banger, we have the hot spot of activity in Selly which is Hey Brew. Not only does it provide a source of entertainment to hear of everyone’s situationship dramas, it also provides the best bagels needed for a study space. The only bad thing is I can’t access the internet in there, not sure if I’m the only one… lol.