Interviewing in: Human Sciences
Background on subject
Human Sciences is an interdisciplinary degree offered at Oxford, which enables students to study the biological, social and cultural aspects of human life. It overlaps with many subject areas, including human geography, anthropology, maths, physiology, genetics and evolution.
There are no essential subject requirements for students to study Human Sciences, though Biology or Maths may be helpful.
Students have to sit the Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA).
Can I interview in this subject?
You do not have to have studied Human Sciences at university to give a robust and rigorous practice interview in this subject.
Volunteers from the following subjects, or similar, will also be able to deliver Human Sciences interviews:
Interview types
There are two different types of practice interviews in HHuman SciencesSPS, which you may be asked to deliver.
Interview on 'application material' - asking the students' questions about their personal statement, or an essay they will submit as part of their application
Interview on 'unseen material' - asking the students' questions on an article, study, or research paper they have not seen before, testing how they handle new material
SAMPLE Resources
Below you can access a folder of resources for conducting Human Sciences interviews:
Interview on application material - you can see a sample personal statement, highlighted with examples of questions which could be asked
Interview on unseen material - you can see examples of articles which have previously been given to students, along with questions
These resources are intended for inspiration - to give you an idea of the level, length and themes of the material we use in our practice interviews. However, should you wish to use this material in the practice interviews you deliver, just let us know so we can make sure returning students haven't seen it before!
Meet one of our VOLUNTEER INTERVIEWERS: Miriam
Miriam Chapman graduated in Human Sciences from the University of Oxford in 2016.
Since then, she has gone on to be a Fellow at Year Here, which is a full time postgraduate course in social innovation. She has also become a Community Consultant at the London Borough of Hounslow, helping to re-invigorate the local community centre and facilitate community engagement events.
Miriam’s advice to students being interviewed for Human Sciences is: “Stay calm! The tutor interviewing is probably more scared of you, than you are of them.”
