Academic and Personal Support
Academic and Personal Support
In addition to your MSc course convenors and the School office, you can also get valuable information, advice and support from the Student Centre. They can help you with many issues including:
- Personal concerns affecting study progress or well-being
- Funding and finance including scholarships, bursaries and hardship funds
- Sources of help to improve academic performance – identifying obstacles to learning
- Understanding university systems and regulations in relation to assessment, services, complaints, conduct, and discipline.
- Progression, intermission and withdrawal processes - discussion and support
- Referrals to other professional services on campus
- Exceptional circumstances help
If you don’t know who to talk to or who to ask – start at the Student Centre.
The Student Centre is located in Chichester 1 building, University of Sussex, BN1 9QJ
T.: 01273 87 6767
F.: 01273 87 3344
Text ‘slcentre’ to 88020
E.: studentcentre@sussex.ac.uk
Study Skills and Resources
Make use of the websites and information on this page in case you need additional support for your MSc course.
Turnitin
Turnitin is an online ‘text matching’ tool that compares a student’s work to a huge database of other files and shows where there are strong similarities. It is often referred to as plagiarism detection software.
Skills Hub
The University’s guide to study skills gives advice on writing well, including hints and tips on how to avoid making serious mistakes. Visit the Skills Hub and make use of the resources there. You will also find helpful guides to referencing properly and improving your critical writing skills.
Referencing
Please visit the following webpages for advice on how to reference properly in your essays or dissertations:
Or contact the Student Services Support Unit for further guidance
E: studentsupport@sussex.ac.uk,
T: 01273 877466.
Students Services Support runs workshops every term on study skills. This is useful for students who know how to reference and want to check the formatting styles.
Academic Development Support
Visit the The Sussex Language Institute for further support if you are an international student.
This support is available free of charge to all full-time international/overseas students completing a full degree. Here they offer support with academic cultural differences; learning styles; what is meant by plagiarism, argument and critical analysis, as well as looking at English for academic purposes.
The Sussex Language Institute runs free ‘English Language and Study Skills Support’ sessions for International students, including in-depth guidance on referencing. There is also advice on how to reference using the Harvard, Vancouver, Numeric and MLA referencing styles.
Important
If you are dealing with difficult circumstances, such as illness or bereavement, do not try to rush your work or hand in something which may be in breach of the rules. Instead you should seek confidential advice from the Student Centre. Visit the Student Centre webpages for more information.