Making the most of your Personal Tutor

Every student at Newcastle is allocated a Personal Tutor; a member of staff from your academic school who can help you with any problems you might have.

Chiara, a 3^rd year Biomedical Sciences student, shares her tips on how to make the most of your Personal Tutor.

What is a Personal Tutor?

Each student at Newcastle University is assigned to a university staff member during their studies. This is termed a ‘Personal Tutor’. This member of staff strives to support their tutees (you) both personally and academically. They act as your first point of contact for almost everything, whether that’s personal wellbeing support during your studies or helping you think about career options and work experience both during and after your degree programme.

Their primary focus is on your academic progress, and so talking with you about issues relating to your studies. If you are seeking advice to support your wellbeing, they can signpost you to other appropriate support this may include the University Student Health and Wellbeing Service (SHWS), or you may wish to contact SHWS direct.

How can my Personal Tutor support me?

Your personal tutor will arrange a minimum of four meetings with you in each year of your studies, two in the autumn term and two in the spring. These are a chance for you, and your tutor, to discuss your academic progress.

In addition to these meetings, your Personal Tutor is a useful point of contact should you require more specialised support. Your Personal Tutor is unlikely to be an expert in all areas of university life, but they will be able to signpost you to people who are.

For example, if you are interested in certain graduate schemes your Personal Tutor will be able to refer you to the Careers Service for advice on dates, and to support you through the application process.

During my second year, when I was applying for placement opportunities, my Personal Tutor promptly provided me with an amazing reference after I emailed to ask. This helped relieve some of the stress when applying!

Additionally, during a check-in meeting we discussed how I could travel back to Newcastle from a Red List Country. He was able to provide me with some advice about when to plan my return as well as talk me through personal concerns during the COVID pandemic which was something I found really helpful.

Now that I am in my final year and I am looking at multiple career options, I know my Personal Tutor is available to help if needed and while he is not a careers expert, he has already flagged some opportunities that I was not previously aware of. 

How can I make the most of having a Personal Tutor?

You can make the most of your Personal Tutor by being proactive and engaging with them as much as possible. This includes reaching out for meetings, discussing your career ambitions, asking them for references or even raising concerns you have, academic or personal. 

To find out more about the Personal Tutoring scheme, and to see other sources of support, see this webpage.