Erin Biel

Deciding to pursue Ethnicity, Race, & Migration has been integral to my academic experience at Yale.I decided to pair the ER&M major with Global Affairs, a selective international studies major that admits approximately 50 students per year.I have greatly benefited from the multidisciplinary approach that such a curriculum has provided. While I focused on international security and diplomacy in the Global Affairs major, I chose to focus on the areas of cultural anthropology and ethnography in my ER&M classes,  providing a nice balance of the macro and micro approaches to understanding the world and its rich diversity. 

What I have most valued about the ER&M major are undoubtedly the students and faculty associated with the program. ER&M students have such varied areas of focus, but rather than making the major too disparate, this diversity adds additional flavor to the classes and naturally enhances the learning environment.  Meanwhile, the ER&M faculty are some of the most accessible, passionate, and personable individuals you can find at Yale. The ER&M program is modeled much like a family, and I am going to miss the program a great deal once I graduate!