Hi! I’m Molayo and I study Human Sciences at St Hugh’s College, Oxford. One thing people ask me when I talk about Human Sciences (besides what it even is), is why I decided to study it. For me, Human Sciences is a great combination of my interests, allowing me to pursue Sciences and Humanities at the same time (they aren’t mutually exclusive!).
In a typical week, I have about 8 lectures on topics ranging from Evolution to International Migration. There are also labs, but these are less regular than that. In addition, we typically have 1-2 tutorials a week on average, with an essay and reading to do for each tutorial, which should take around 3 hours per tutorial. On top of this, we also get problem sheets for the maths side of the degree! For those who didn’t do Biology A-level, there is an introductory class at the start of term, so don’t worry too much if you haven’t.
My interview experience was a little bit different as a gap year student. Walking into the interviews was definitely daunting though, but the tutors are great and will help you to calm down. The interview would typically start with some smaller questions to get you into the topic being discussed – I’d definitely say make sure you’ve read up on genetics, but more so thinking about how the different parts of the human sciences interact. It’s also worth doing a good amount of wider reading before the interview, this will help diversify your approach and may even give you some specialist knowledge.
The interviews then tend to move towards bigger problems which introduce you to things you may have never heard of, typically trying to combine the human sciences well into one question, and you will almost certainly be presented with some form of statistics. The best way to process this is to break it down, think out loud – make sure you fully understanding the key terms/diagrams and what they tell you about the problem at hand. Sometimes, the tutor may direct you, and don’t worry about this, it’s often to lead into follow up questions. Remember, especially with the human sciences, it is not always about the answer, as much as it is how you get there.
In regards to personal statements, I’d say make sure you get started early and write down things you do that may be useful as you go! Show an interest in the different areas of Human Sciences – knowing the course structure (at least for the first year) will help you do so.
Overall, I’d say if you like how to see how science and humanities interact to affect all aspects of human life, you’ll enjoy this degree. It’s definitely got a fairly heavy workload, but it’s more than worth it.