Video transcript: How I balanced full-time work and a postgraduate certificate in disability studies

Video transcript for ‘How I balanced full-time work and a postgraduate certificate in disability rights’, embedded on Gill Brown’s student profile page.

(A graduation video montage is shown with the words ‘Disability Studies, Rights and Inclusion MSC, Online exclusive’.) 

(Gill Brown, a graduate of Disability Studies, Rights and Inclusion, Online exclusive is shown on screen) 

Gill Brown: My name is Gillian Brown and I studied a Postgraduate Certificate in Disability Rights and Inclusion.  

(The text ‘Where were you based whilst studying your online degree with the University of Leeds’ appears on screen.) 

Gill Brown: I was based in Glasgow when I did my postgraduate study at the University of Leeds, and I was working full-time at Channel 4. 

(The text ‘What specific factors about the University of Leeds influenced your decision to pursue your studies?’ appears on screen.) 

Gill Brown: I actually think it was the only place I could study what I wanted to study. 

(The screen shows the Leeds University campus, then Gill appears with the text ‘What support did you receive throughout your studies?’.) 

Gill Brown: During the application process, I couldn't find my undergraduate certificate, so people were very helpful in providing things that could prove that I had an undergraduate degree. I had a huge amount of support from the sort of Leeds tutor on my course because I was managing my studies alongside quite a busy, stressful job. 

(A student studying at home appears with the text ‘Could you describe how having a personal tutor enhanced your learning experience?’) 

Gill Brown: I had such a good relationship with the tutor who ran my course, so I worked more directly with her, and she was really, really helpful, particularly when things were very busy at work. She was able to direct me to the sort of key things that I had to study for each module and helped me prioritise so I could get through the workload. 

(A video montage appears with the text ‘What would you say to someone considering studying an online degree with the University of Leeds?’) 

Gill Brown: I think you get the same support as you would do if you were physically here in Leeds, both with the content and sort of pastoral care as well. 

(The video montage continues and the text ‘How has completing your degree at Leeds changed your life and supported your career ambitions?) 

Gill Brown: Well, I wanted to study my postgraduate because I work in television, and I think it's really important that disabled people are better represented both on and off-screen. 

(A video montage beginning with a graduation ceremony at Leeds and then back to Gill speaking appears with the text ‘What are your future plans?) 

Gill Brown: Now that I've graduated, I hope to use what I've learned in my day-to-day life at work, making sure we are thinking about disabled people and how they're included and how we can make being employed in television easier for them also. 

(A graduation video montage plays with the text ‘Can you share a standout memory or moment from your time at Leeds?’) 

Gill Brown: I think the sort of standout thing from my postgraduate is how we managed to create a community, even though we were all over the world.  

(The screen shows a globe with the text ‘How is everyone finding Module 4’ and ‘Really interesting so far! Have you started the first essay?’.) 

Gill Brown: One of the girls in our group set up a WhatsApp group, and that meant that we could all support each other, particularly around when essays were due and when we had questions. 

(A graduation video plays which switches to Gill speaking with the text ‘Would you recommend an online degree at Leeds and why?’. Then the text ‘>Community, >Accessibility of tutors, >Course layout online’ appears.) 

Gill Brown: So, I've not studied online anywhere else but at Leeds, it was a great experience and I think that's the community that's built around the courses. It's the accessibility of tutors and it's the way the course is laid out online, that makes it very easy to follow. 

(The screen shows the Leeds University campus  with the text ‘Disability Studies, Rights and Inclusion MSc Online exclusive, Find out more at leeds.ac.uk/online-courses’ and the University of Leeds logo.)