Lierin Martin

Lierin, from the USA, graduated in Forensic Anthropology. Here, she discusses the difference between education back in the States and at Dundee.

In what ways is undergraduate study here different to undergraduate study in the USA?

After spending two years at university in the States, I decided I wanted to be more focused. Although the US approach towards university education has its merits, including giving the student an opportunity to really determine what they want to study by offering a plethora of classes during their first two years in attendance, it also presents its own 'downfalls'. For a liberal arts education, the constant reiteration of core classes takes up so much time, and thus money.

However, UK universities require their students to pick their major even before applying. This is a suitable approach if a student is dead set upon a pathway, but even I didn't know what I wished to follow when I left high school. It was only after two years at a US uni, after I had taken an Introduction to Forensic Anthropology course, that I realized this was what I wanted to study. Only then would I make such a big decision to find a very focused program within that academic field, across the Atlantic, in Dundee.

What advantages do you feel you have gained by studying at the University of Dundee?

By the structured system Dundee has set up, with very few elective options, if any at all, you really get a focus for the material, truly preparing yourself for the 'outside world' upon graduation. Whereas in the States, although I would have majored in a particular topic, the generality of classes seems to leave each individual with a vague sense of direction.

At Dundee, I'll know exactly how to do what I studied and was simultaneously trained for within Forensic Anthropology. I think that may be the basic difference between the US and the UK, at least in my department. US schools teach you, but UK schools additionally train you. I feel I have a sense of purpose and stability and whether or not I decide to further my education in Forensic Anthropology to a Graduate or PhD level, I am still confident in what I know and how to utilize my knowledge for the greater good (and myself).