Academic experience
I didn't think I would enjoy my degree as much as I have done, you can choose where you're going in a way that you can't at school. At school you are following a track and working towards leaving, whereas here you're working towards the rest of your life.
Helen Pritchard-Smith, Pharmaceutical Chemistry
You can expect an outstanding education at a top university in a supportive and inspiring environment when you study at Queen Mary. You will be taught by academics who are passionate about their subject, and you can enjoy life in one of the world's most exciting cities.
Use the links on the left-hand side to find out more about studying here.
Matthew Symonds
“I work on newspapers and the wider world of Grub Street in the late Seventeenth and early Eighteenth Centuries: writers, printers, booksellers, and slightly shop-soiled aristocrats. I examine the lives these people lived, often all rubbing up alongside each other in a small handful of London streets, and the newspapers, magazines, and books they produced.
I'm currently publishing a lot of research on a Jacobite newspaper-man called Nathaniel Mist. Mist was absolutely loathed by the governments of the day and he was eventually forced into exile in France after his paper published a scandalous libel on the king, the king's father, the king's mistress, and the prime minister. Naturally, the paper was a commercial triumph.
“I've also just started work on a new project, examining the strained family life of Henry St John, Viscount Bolingbroke, the tory statesman and philosopher, as his step-sister launches into an affair with a minor poet and his despised father so inconsiderately refuses to die.
I was drawn to these areas of research through an interest in hack journalism: it's such a strange and yet attractive way to earn a living. Grub Street is teeming with fascinating, obscure, but amazingly well-documented lives. These lives can be used to illustrate, contextualise, and test some of the larger claims we make about the past, whether in political, cultural, or economic history.
As someone new to the College, Queen Mary has always struck me as an amazingly productive and supportive place for postgraduates.”
Graduate profile:
Dr Rosanna Cox
Studied:
MA in Renaissance Studies; PhD in Seventeenth Century Literature: ‘John Milton and Reading Like a Man’– graduated 2006
Currently:
I am a Lecturer in Early Modern Literature at the University of Kent
Why did you choose Queen Mary?
The School of English and Drama at Queen Mary has an excellent reputation and was recommended to me by my undergraduate Director of Studies. I was really keen to work with researchers such as Professor Lisa Jardine, Dr David Colclough, Professor Jerry Brotton and Dr Warren Boutcher, whose work I very much admire. I was also attracted to the idea of studying in London and using all the excellent resources (such as the British Library, Senate House Library, the theatres and museums) that the city has to offer. Being in the heart of the East End, and at the centre of a diverse student body, the Mile End Campus offers excellent facilities, dedicated research centres, and a real sense of community.
What did you gain from your time at Queen Mary?
Doing a PhD in the Department of English means being part of dynamic research culture and thriving academic community. Members of staff are extremely supportive, intellectually rigorous, and provide a stimulating environment for research. I learned invaluable research skills, gained confidence in presenting my research at the postgraduate research seminar, and received excellent research supervision and encouragement. I had a fantastic time, and it provided a great start to my academic career.
What are your career plans in the next five years?
In September 2007 I started work as a permanent lecturer in early modern literature at the University of Kent. I have organised a major conference in 2008 and I am currently finishing my monograph. Maintaining my links with Queen Mary, I am working on a podcasting project with Dr Robyn Adams at the Centre for Editing Lives and Letters. I have started work on my next research project, on early modern diplomacy, and I look forward to continuing my career in academia.
Graduate profile:
Laura Gillam
Studied:
BSc Biology – graduated 2005
I currently work as a Cardiac Service Improvement Manager for the South West London Cardiac Network.
I work with clinicians, managers, commissioners, patients and their carers across the sector to ensure a coordinated approach to cardiac services throughout the Network.
Why did you choose Queen Mary?
When I went to visit Queen Mary for a day, we were given a few lectures by the different professors, as a taster. I remember coming away feeling totally inspired by a lecture on the genetics of plants – now if there’s a lecturer that can make you feel excited about genetics I think that’s something quite impressive!
What did you gain from your time at Queen Mary?
I really enjoyed my time at the College. I loved pretty much all of my modules and the work was always really interesting and challenging. We had teachers who taught you so thoroughly yet also encouraged you to go and find out more for yourself, and they were always very approachable if you were having difficulties at all. And I definitely got value for money, because of all the hours I spent in labs doing practicals – and they were just great, I felt like a real scientist. I made some really good friends too, and I actually met my husband there! I’ve also come away with a degree from the University of London, which is one of the most prestigious institutions in England. So overall, the three years at Queen Mary was a great three years of experience and development in my life, and has probably enabled me to get where I am today. What are your career plans in the next five years? I want to stay working with the NHS for sure. I find it really satisfying knowing that I can make a difference to a person’s welfare.
Salary bracket: £25-35,000
Damilare Laniyan
“My programme provides an extensive range of study options around the health sciences. Modules include the anatomy and physiology of the human body, and pharmacology. These modules appeal to me and give me an opportunity to develop and gain in-depth knowledge in these fields. The College is well known as a highly rated research centre, where academics are very supportive and willing to assist students in reaching our maximum potential.
The most interesting thing I’ve done on my programme is learning about the complex structures and functions of the human body at first hand. In anatomy classes, I was able to work on a cadaver and appreciate the astonishing network of tissues in our body, study pathological conditions of various parts of the body and see the processes involved in the development of a human embryo.”
