The most exciting thing about studying Anthropology

An obvious answer regarding the most exciting experience that my degree has facilitated would be my year abroad in Sydney, Australia. Where university will inevitably teach you independence in many respects, spending 13 months on the other side of the world taught me a whole new set of skills beyond what I ever imagined when starting university.

As an anthropologist, it presented me with a whole new scope of accessibility, culture and insights that I would otherwise not have had access to. I was able to study indigenous culture through the lens of Australian lecturers and was also able to travel, both throughout Australia, as well as to Thailand and the Philippines. 

The entire experience created a newfound depth and richness to my degree - Anthropology and Politics - and has even fuelled the topics that I have chosen to discuss within my final year dissertation. The University of Birmingham without a doubt encouraged this year abroad and it would have not been possible without the support and opportunities provided to me by the University.

My degree created a richness and understanding in the way I viewed the culture I was lucky enough to observe whilst on my year abroad and my year abroad in return continues to deepen my understanding of my degree on a daily basis.

A second to this would be the cultural events that the University holds for Anthropology students, particularly where we have been lucky enough to experience cooking classes led by a Sudanese chef and kitchen (pictured above).

It was not only a unique opportunity to gain a unique perspective of a culture that is unknown to many of us, but it also acted as an opportunity for us as a cohort to get to know each other better, making Anthropology at Birmingham a uniquely tight-knit course.