There are many reasons to choose BU for postgraduate study.  Here are the top three reasons why I, personally, chose BU for my Master’s.

The place

BU was an obvious choice for me as it is the closest university to my home town of Poole.  That said, I would’ve been quite happy to relocate to beautiful Dorset had I not already lived here!  Bournemouth and the surrounding areas have a lot to offer and I’m glad to have stayed local.  There’s always something new to discover even though I’ve lived here all my life, and being a part of the BU community has broadened my horizons and social opportunities which is great.

My view from the train travelling back from campus one evening; one of life’s simple pleasures showcasing lovely Dorset!

The course

I decided I wanted to do a Master’s before I decided what course I wanted to do, so I needed something to really grab my attention before I committed to it.  BU’s Master’s in Public Health did just that for me.  To be honest, I hadn’t really known Public Health existed as a discipline until this point, but realised it really fits with my ambition of contributing to improved health at population level.  The course also looked like it would equip me with the necessary practical knowledge and skills to be able to do this, whereas other wellbeing-related courses I looked at seemed to offer a lot of political understanding but less practical health improvement knowledge.

My latest item from the BU library.  My course teaches me about the principles of Public Health, such as tackling inequality, and allows me to apply this to my areas of interest, such as mental health.

The mode of learning

Once I’d realised Public Health was the field of study for me, BU seemed the best choice, not just because of the location but because of the way the course is delivered.  It offers the choice of full or part-time study, with a great deal of flexibility within the part time option.  Other universities only offered a full-time option, or distance learning only.  I knew I couldn’t study full-time, maintain a decent number of working hours and retain a social life and my own wellbeing all at the same time, so taking a flexible part-time course was a no-brainer.  Also, I felt the face-to-face element of studying would be important, and this has turned out to be very true of the Public Health course due to the rich variety of experience and perspective that comes with the multi-national nature of the group.

By Lauren Bishop