Nicholas Masters
Subject area: English
Course: BA English
Level: Undergraduate
Year: 2007
I chose to pursue my studies at Brunel University for a variety of reasons, some perhaps more straightforward than others.
Some of my peers had made a clear plan for not only their undergraduate study but also their professional careers. I decided to base my decision on the few things that I was sure of - if I was going to spend three years studying something, I wanted to enjoy it as much as possible and I wanted to challenge myself. This is why I chose to study English Literature.
I had heard good things about the School of Arts at Brunel. After further investigation and visiting for an open day I had made my decision. The reading lists and modules available on the course at Brunel were varied and included works from periods that I had always wanted to study. The campus was a thriving mix of students from all backgrounds and disciplines. I was not disappointed once I arrived in the September of 2004 and for the next three years.
My greatest achievement during my time of study at Brunel was definitely my dissertation in my final year. The degree course was designed to allow you to decide on your own topic of study, with the supervision of your personal tutor to guide you along the way. My final piece was a study of the transition from the late Victorian to the early Modernist novel; using primary texts including The Turn of the Screw by Henry James and culminating in Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist. The worked seemed like a fitting way to end my journey of study at Brunel, from an A-level student to a graduate, defining what I wanted to study because I found it particularly interesting.
After graduating with a second class upper (2:1) I joined the NHS as a trainee in information and performance. Now, as an information analyst in an acute hospital performance department, I am required to assimilate information quickly and make decisions and actions based upon this. You need to be able to communicate information in a way that is accessible for a variety of end users; otherwise a report could be rendered worthless. When writing an essay or a dissertation, you are required to study the material you have in front of you and communicate your findings. The close analysis of literature and academic material is a skill which is easily transferrable and has proved invaluable to me in my career.
The best advice I can offer to any prospective student at the School of Arts is to enjoy yourself and not worry too much about the daunting world waiting for you. Your university years are a time for you to learn to love your subject and enhance your ability to work under your own initiative. A path toward your future career isn’t always as clear cut for everyone, it wasn’t for me, but your university years will stay with you for the rest of your life and the basis of your future wherever you may find yourself.
Some of my peers had made a clear plan for not only their undergraduate study but also their professional careers. I decided to base my decision on the few things that I was sure of - if I was going to spend three years studying something, I wanted to enjoy it as much as possible and I wanted to challenge myself. This is why I chose to study English Literature.
I had heard good things about the School of Arts at Brunel. After further investigation and visiting for an open day I had made my decision. The reading lists and modules available on the course at Brunel were varied and included works from periods that I had always wanted to study. The campus was a thriving mix of students from all backgrounds and disciplines. I was not disappointed once I arrived in the September of 2004 and for the next three years.
My greatest achievement during my time of study at Brunel was definitely my dissertation in my final year. The degree course was designed to allow you to decide on your own topic of study, with the supervision of your personal tutor to guide you along the way. My final piece was a study of the transition from the late Victorian to the early Modernist novel; using primary texts including The Turn of the Screw by Henry James and culminating in Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist. The worked seemed like a fitting way to end my journey of study at Brunel, from an A-level student to a graduate, defining what I wanted to study because I found it particularly interesting.
After graduating with a second class upper (2:1) I joined the NHS as a trainee in information and performance. Now, as an information analyst in an acute hospital performance department, I am required to assimilate information quickly and make decisions and actions based upon this. You need to be able to communicate information in a way that is accessible for a variety of end users; otherwise a report could be rendered worthless. When writing an essay or a dissertation, you are required to study the material you have in front of you and communicate your findings. The close analysis of literature and academic material is a skill which is easily transferrable and has proved invaluable to me in my career.
The best advice I can offer to any prospective student at the School of Arts is to enjoy yourself and not worry too much about the daunting world waiting for you. Your university years are a time for you to learn to love your subject and enhance your ability to work under your own initiative. A path toward your future career isn’t always as clear cut for everyone, it wasn’t for me, but your university years will stay with you for the rest of your life and the basis of your future wherever you may find yourself.
