Hi everyone, my name is Magdalena Breyer and I am sadly and unfortunately an alumni of Liberal Arts, I'm no longer at Warwick which is very sad. I was part of the first cohort which meant I started in 2016 and then I graduated this past year in 2020 after also spending a year studying abroad in Singapore. In regards to my pathway, my pathway title was a bit less creative than some other people in my cohort, it was just 'Global Sustainable Development' which meant that I combined modules largely from Liberal Arts and the Global Sustainable Development Department.

So since graduation, I have started a postgraduate degree and I'm about to enter my second year of my international Master's in Security, Intelligence, and Strategic Studies. Officially it falls under the University of Glasgow, but it is an Erasmus Mundus joint Master's degree which means my degree is ultimately awarded by three different universities across Europe. So each semester I have spent in a different country. My first semester was in Scotland, my second in Italy, this next semester I will be heading to the Czech Republic, before starting my thesis process and my fourth semester.

Why study Liberal Arts at Warwick?

First off when I was 17 or 18 I very much did not know what I wanted to do with my life, not that I completely know now either, but the idea of already going to university and specialising or settling on one field just didn't fit what I envisioned for myself, given that I'd always been interested in a lot of fields and a lot of subjects and I wasn't ready to commit to one of those. Especially in light of the issues we face and how complex and interdisciplinary they are, I really wanted to continue studying as much as possible which was why Liberal Arts was ultimately the correct choice for me and then particularly at Warwick, the Problem-Based Learning approach and the fact that we were constantly engaging with these big issues was ultimately the reason why I chose it.

Tell us about your time studying abroad in Singapore

I really loved it which is what everyone says or not even but what a lot of people say when they go abroad, but for me it was a very different experience. I'd never been to Asia whatsoever, so for me Singapore was also a way to jump out of my comfort zone and I made a lot of really great Singaporean friends and also international friends. I engaged with a completely new culture and way of thinking and was also fortunate enough to be able to travel through Southeast Asia. I spent four weeks over Christmas traveling through China and then another two weeks in South Korea, so on the whole it was a really incredible experience not only academically but also in terms of the things I learned outside of the academic context.

How has Liberal Arts prepared you for further studies?

I think Liberal Arts is the perfect degree to prepare you for any further studies. I think you learn such specific skills that no matter what postgraduate degree you go into it will be incredibly helpful. Especially the skills we learned through Problem-Based Learning and being able to see a problem as well as all the small issues or interdisciplinary factors which come into play and influence this larger problem is incredibly useful and I think also valued by many in different fields. As I'm studying another degree that is quite broad and interdisciplinary, I think the kind of skills I developed in Liberal Arts have been incredibly helpful and also enabled me to do my postgraduate degree.

What can you do with a Liberal Arts degree?

There are so many things to do. Even in my cohort people have gone in completely different directions. People are either studying at postgraduate level or they're employed. Nobody has had any issues finding a job (I mean obviously the pandemic has played into it a bit). I guess my advice is if you are on the edge and are being swayed by questions of 'Oh what will I do afterwards?' or 'Will there be jobs available?' the answer is yes. With Liberal Arts you also have the power to construct your degree in a way that fits what you want to do with your future. So really all doors are open for you, maybe more so than other degrees because you also look unique on a resume.