How my GSD MASc got me to where I am: Ben’s Story

In this blog series, we sit down with some of our GSD Masters alumni to discuss their experiences of the course and some of the ways studying GSD has helped benefit their career. Ben graduated from our MASc course in 2025 after initially studying History for his undergraduate degree. He currently works in the Global Investments and Innovations Incentives team at Deloitte and credits his interdisciplinary studies with helping him succeed in the world of tax consulting. We spoke to him to find out more about his student journey and how you can tailor your GSD studies towards your career goals.

Why I chose to study the GSD MASc course

After studying the past for over three years as a History undergraduate, I was now drawn to studying the future, and GSD seemed to be a good match for this need as its premise was to seek solutions for building a better and more sustainable future. At the time that I was enrolling, the GSD MASc was still relatively new, so I suppose that novelty also attracted me. The teaching staff on the course come from a wide range of disciplines - from marine science to economics, international relations and sociology - and I was interested in getting to learn lots of unique subjects and perspectives.

It had always been in my plan to study a Master’s degree after my undergraduate degree, as both of my parents had also undertaken postgraduate study (my dad specialised in IT whereas my mum has an MA in Christian Leadership) and I had seen firsthand how it had helped advance each of their respective careers.

My experiences of the GSD MASc course

One of the modules I remember fondly was Popular Movements. Not only did the module convenor Dr Edward Loveman work hard to ensure that the content every week was unique and interesting, but it made me think about the impact I could have on the wider community regarding social movements.

For my Capstone Project I chose to do the Practice-Based Project (supervised by Dr Jonathan Clarke), as by this point, I had realised that I was interested in pursuing a consulting career after completing a summer internship at a strategic advisory firm. Many of the things I learned from doing an interdisciplinary degree like the GSD MASc are applicable to a career in consulting, as the course helps you understand problems from multiple different lenses so that you can offer feasible, realistic solutions for clients. GSD promotes a solution-oriented way of thinking, and the exercises we completed in class as well as assignments helped give me the confidence to present my ideas to corporate leaders.

What I am doing now

I currently work as an Analyst in the Global Investments and Innovations Incentives team at Deloitte, where my work focuses mainly on government incentives and tax. I serve companies across a wide variety of sectors, by advising on the preparation of their Research and Development claims, so that they can secure beneficial credits.

As a firm, Deloitte are highly invested in developing their people’s skills and professional growth and are currently funding my training to become a fully qualified chartered accountant.

My advice to those considering the GSD MASc course

Go into it with an open mind - it is a great course as you will get to work with and be taught by highly passionate people. The professors are good at what they do and will encourage you to not be afraid to highlight issues which matter to you and become involved in researching about them!