Anthropology, 2015
“I can definitely count the sophisticated writing, critical thinking, presentation and group work skills that I’ve gained from my time at Brookes as being things that I utilise now in my postgraduate studies – and these skills will definitely make me attractive to employers”
Bethany studied single honours Anthropology, graduating in 2015. She is now studying for a Masters degree in Public Health from UWE, Bristol.
After studying for my A-levels in History, Maths, English Literature and ICT I took a year out to travel and work, starting at Oxford Brookes in September 2012.
Anthropology appealed to me as a subject area as I find people fascinating; not so much from a psychological perspective but the variety of cultural ideals, rituals and traditions which exist within and between different groups of people.
The balance between social and biological anthropology really attracted me to the course at Brookes. When applying, I was more interested in social anthropology but wanted to also learn about biological – and in fact by the time I graduated I actually had far more interest in the biological side of the subject! Another great thing about the course was being able to choose from a wide selection of modules, something that allows you to tailor the course to your own preferences and interests. Oxford in itself is a very multicultural and diverse city which makes it a really enjoyable place to live.
Now that I have graduated, I am studying towards an MSc in Public Health from the University of the West of England in Bristol. Anthropology is a great subject when it comes to choosing your future career as it enables you to work in a multicultural setting and to understand others’ cultures and lives. This is something which I believe is vital in the field of public health, as in order to improve a populations’ health it is important to understand their values and beliefs so they can be respected.
I can definitely count the sophisticated writing, critical thinking, presentation and group work skills that I’ve gained from my time at Brookes as being things that I utilise now in my postgraduate studies – and these skills will definitely make me attractive to employers!
Inspiring people at Brookes have to include Simon Underdown and Sam Smith. They are really great lecturers and are clearly very passionate about their subjects, making lectures interesting and fun. Their module ‘Cognitive Evolution’ was great as they taught it side by side, so ideas were bounced around and the learning environment was far more enjoyable and engaging than the traditional lecture format.