Get to know Matilda
Matilda is a third year studying Politics, Religion and Philosophy with a Year Abroad at the University of Birmingham.
Hi, my name’s Matilda and I am a third year studying Politics, Religion and Philosophy with a Year Abroad at the University of Birmingham. When I tell people what I am studying, I am usually met with slightly puzzled looks, as the combination is pretty rare! I really enjoyed Religious Studies at A level, particularly Philosophy of Religion and the influence of religion in the world, so the combination of disciplines that my degree includes was the perfect combination for me to pursue into higher education. Birmingham became my firm choice because nowhere else offered the same combination and the flexibility to customise my degree as much as I can here – aside from the compulsory modules, that ensure you have solid foundations in each of the disciplines, I had free rein to choose what areas I wanted to focus on more within the three areas. I have really enjoyed being able to bring knowledge from one part of my degree and utilize it throughout my other subjects.
Because of the flexibility of my module selection, I can say I’ve enjoyed pretty much all of the modules I have taken at Birmingham. One module I particularly enjoyed was Sex, Ethics and Philosophy – seeing how traditional philosophy can be applied and have relevance within the modern world and being able to explore less traditional areas of Philosophy.
Beyond my studies, I have really enjoyed living in Birmingham. The university has the most beautiful and green campus that provides a great balance with the huge city that is Birmingham itself, which has been really nice coming from living in the countryside before I moved away for university and definitely gives the best of both worlds. I also joined the Philosophy society’s netball team, where we play against other society teams in social campus league, which has been lots of fun and a great way to meet people outside my course or halls.
I am currently on my year abroad studying at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland and couldn’t recommend pursuing a year abroad whilst at Birmingham more. Moving to a new country and starting from scratch at a new university was terrifying, but I have had the most amazing time so far and done so many new and exciting things, as well as study topics that I wouldn’t have within a three-year undergrad.