Catherine Sargent

The University of Manchester stood out for me because it offered the chance to study the history of Manchester, as well as British and World history. I wanted to gain a real understanding of where I was going to be living for three years, which this course absolutely allowed me to do. Alongside that, the range of specialties available at the University of Manchester really stood out for me.

I found that the school curriculum I had studied at my GCSEs and A Levels had been very anchored in nineteenth and twentieth century history, but studying at the University of Manchester would allow me to broaden my scope of interests.

My time at the University of Manchester undoubtedly helped me to prepare for the world of work. I found that much of the work I was set encouraged me to work independently to reach conclusions and to produce assessments on my own, something that has been invaluable in my work.

The structure of the seminars, also, helped me to gain confidence in my opinions and in my ability to vocalise them, something that the lecturing staff and seminar leaders always encouraged. This is completely essential in the work I do now.

I mainly use the research skills that I gained during my History degree in my career. Working in a museum, you have to be able to read extensively and effectively, often in short amounts of time, drawing on a variety of different sources to gather information, something I learnt how to do during my History degree. On a basic level, having a clear grasp of historical trends and key moments in history is undoubtedly useful in everything that I work on.

I would say that you shouldn't be daunted by the number of people who study each year at the University of Manchester. You gain a lot of different opinions and experiences from working alongside a lot of people, and that can be invaluable to your learning.