bɹˈɛnən ɹᵻsˈiːvd hɪz mˈæstɚɹ ʌv ˈɑːɹts ɪn baɪˈɑːlədʒi fɹʌmðə jˌuːnɪvˈɜːsᵻɾi ʌv ˈɑːksfɚd ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd fˈoːɹɾi ænd bɪɡˈæn tə wˈɜːk æt ðɪ ɪmpˈɪɹiəl fˈɔːɹɪstɹi ˈɪnstɪtˌuːt nˈaʊ ðɪ ˈɑːksfɚd fˈɔːɹɪstɹi ˈɪnstɪtˌuːt ɪn ˈɑːksfɚd.
Brenan received his Master of Arts in Biology from the University of Oxford in 1940 and began to work at the Imperial Forestry Institute (now the Oxford Forestry Institute) in Oxford.