Graduate Biographies

Our students go on to diverse careers and take up many opportunities on graduation.  Some of the areas of employment are in outdoor centre instruction and management, youthwork, the use of the outdoors in therapy, development training, outdoor equipment retail and product development, environmental work, research and education, primary and secondary teaching (with PGCE), the Services and Forces including paramedics and police, coaching, expedition work, technology and the media.  Many intersperse employment with travelling, adventuring and exploration!  A selection of their bibliographies are detailed below.
 

L Knowles|
Liz Knowles|
BSc Outdoor Studies
Graduated 2007 
G Batty|

Gillian Batty|
BA (Hons) Outdoor Leadership
Graduated 2003 

P Vousden|

Paul Vousden|
BA (Hons) Outdoor Leadership
Graduated 2003

PGD Development Training
Graduated 2007 

RCairns|

Ryland Cairns
|BSc Outdoor Studies
Graduated 2005

Karen Darke |

Karen Darke|
MA Development Training
Graduated 2008

Kate Sharples|


Kate Sharples
|BSc Outdoor Studies
Graduated 2008

E Lydon|


Emma Lydon|
BSc (Hons) Outdoor Studies
Graduated 2000



I was fortunate enough to be granted sabbatical leave to undertake a small scale research project in 2004/5 into the graduate pathways from the BSc (Honours) Outdoor Studies degree.  This involved contacting all previous graduates and, amongst much news and enthusiasm for the outdoors, some key findings emerged:
  • Outdoor Studies graduates show a very high rate of employment (98%);
  • Employment shows a bias towards the ‘caring’ professions and recreational and sporting activities;
  • There is a trend towards further study or professional development with increasing time from graduation;
  • Career pathway decisions at graduate level are often interest, work satisfaction and values based and less driven by financial gain;
  • Personal and process skills such as leadership, reflexivity, flexibility, initiative, teamwork, decision making and problem solving are successfully developed during the degree and applied in the work place.

Dr Heather Prince, Director of Studies, School of Outdoor Studies

Prince, H. E. (2005)  ‘Graduate Pathways: A Longitudinal Study of Graduates in Outdoor Studies in the U.K.’ Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Leadership. 5(1), pp 21-34.