It's a real degree studied by white kids from the Home Counties. At least it was at Birmingham circa 2008.
Both can be difficult degrees which lead to something if done at the right uni. SOAS in London is a pretty good uni which specialises in that (as the name suggests) but elsewhere it's about as soft a subject as you can get. At my uni we could do one module outside of our degree area. I mostly did business modules as they were easier than Economics and helped bump my marks up but people were doing all sorts of joke subjects.
Durham does a degree on Harry Potter. I'm all for literature appraisal but this seems a bit limited - what do you do with the degree, apart from devoting your life to stalking J. K. Rowling?
First time posting on here, but I think I can provide some useful insight. I got my A Level results last week, confirmed my place for Oxford Brookes uni and will be studying history there in September. I personally don't agree with much of the sentiment towards my generation going to uni. Lots of the people from my (state) school have rightfully earned the opportunity to go to university and get a degree. There is a lot of pressure on students in sixth form nowadays to go to uni, in order to increase the school's reputation. I feel it's grossly unfair to judge my generation as we are being just because we strive to do something we actually want to do. I will, however, accept that there are too many courses for subjects that aren't real (e.g. Nutrition, what even is that?)
Congratulations, and good for you on giving your perspective. I don't think we are having a go at your generation, justthe system that you are studying in. 'Oriental Studies' was a euphemism for shagging used in Private Eye when it was good. Before your time Wats, and not very funny anyway.
Don't thing anyone is being judgemental as such but you yourself have raised an issue that ties in with all of this. Why is the reputation of the school being put above what is best for the pupils? It's the reasoning behind it I think that many have an issue with. My nephew is doing Physics at Nottingham, he's extremely good in an academic environment. No so for me or his mum. I went to uni and it hasn't made any difference to my life. I'm just glad I didn't have to get into stupid debt to do it. That is one thing I really feel sorry for todays student about. P.S... Welcome on board mate.
Nice one. I'd like to think I'm still in the same generation (25). My current girlfriend went to Brookes. You'll have a great time. It's increasingly becoming not the case but some employers, depending on what you want to do, look down on both Arts subjects and supposed inferior unis so my advice would be to have a clear idea about what you want to do post-uni as early as possible and plan towards that with work experience, internships etc. First year is the best year of your life and you'll have plenty of free time so it's a great chance to learn about what's out there before the work steps up in second year and particularly final year.
Oh and **** everything and do every illegal thing you can while you're still young enough to put it down to the follies of youth.
No it doesn't. It did (in 2013/14) a module on the cultural phenomenon of Harry Potter, using bits of it to look at education, politics etc. Still bollocks of course, especially as she can't write for **** (I remember starting to read the first one to my son when he was small, got a couple of pages in saying 'sorry mate, this is unreadable, illiterate crap and there are hundreds of pages of it, I can't go on. But it will be in a film soon'). But it's undeniable that it is a cultural phenomenon and worthy of study (I'm all for study with no practical relevance). I take great pleasure in yelling 'It's a children's book FFS' at any adult professing to love Harry Potter. Here's the module content. Undeniably poncey, and embarrassing for me, as I went to Durham, back when wooly mammoths still roamed the land. Aims to place the phenomenon that is Harry Potter™ in its social, cultural and educational context and understand some of the reasons for its popularity; to consider the relevance of Harry Potter to the education system in the twenty-first century; to understand twenty-first century education in the light that the Harry Potter series, and other educational fiction, casts on it; to make explicit connections between Harry Potter and citizenship education. Content The content will explore a number of key themes, including: Home and away: the shock of education Post-1945 as the Age of Illusion Harry Potter and the remaking of England Welcome to Hogwarts: the commodification of education. The sign replaces the thing - a reassuring world of uniforms, gowns and rituals Gryffindor and Slytherin: prejudice and intolerance in the classroom Anarchy and rebellion from Tom Brown to Harry Potter Myths and models: the power of educational examples Muggles and magic: the escape from the treadmill and the recovery of enchantment. Magic, reason and reality The peer group: bullying, friendship and solidarity Ideals of manhood: courage, ingenuity and integrity ‘My station and its duties’: Harry Potter and the good citizen The moral universe of the school. J.K. Rowling and the legacy of the school story from Rudyard Kipling to Grange Hill Though I would happily do a degree on the highlighted bullet point, with no expectation of a job with a FTSE 100 company as the prize.
Who writes that drivel - please tell me that's not a real course syllabus! I did an apprenticeship, coupled with college education, and re-visited college in my mid 20s, earned a HND in engineering, have never been out of work, probably far more valuable than a lot of degrees that my peer group earned. I feel sorry for people like Ranger96, who's job opportunities will be limited as the marketplace will be flooded with graduates. Given that, I will still be hoping that my son heads to Uni (thankfully some really good ones just down road in Glasgow, with no tuition fees - thank you SNP!) and gets whatever qualifications he can. Best of luck Ranger96, enjoy Oxford, an welcome to the board.
Good skills 96 and I wish you the best .. go for it may i ask how you are financing your education? What do you want to become? The cream will be rewarded but only after the job positions have been filled by way of arrangement. Nutrition! well you may find out if you can't afford to eat … Tip get a part time job in the catering trade, may be more useful later on
For me, the key to a lot of this is, out of those 350-500K people, how many are educated to the same standard as those in 1980? If they are all educated to the same proportional standard then great Universities are doing their job; but i suspect they are not! I would certainly argue that many of those attending the 'newer' Universities are not, and would be better suited in a different model of career development/advancement and are simply saddling themselves with huge debts. Working in recruitment, and dealing with a lot of graduates I deal with many who do have a sense of entitlement for level of position and salary expectation - one this week was because 'I am a graduate, approaching my mid 20's, and it's what my friends tell me I should be earning'). I also feel that many have been mis-sold, as someone has pointed out, Education has now being industrialised, and it is in the interests of the institutions to sell the benefits of their product to get the figures in. Ultimately, it has become a business, and like all business they are answerable to their shareholders/owners first and foremost. Sadly, like professional footballers, there is a huge difference between the ability of a 'Premier League', or even 'Championship' Graduate than to their League One and Two Counterparts from the newer uni's. I feel that sadly the system letting them down by selling the dream of being the next Wanye Rooney, but giving many the attitude of an Adel, who doesn't really want to play at Barnsley on a wet windy January Tuesday night.
Second vote for getting a part time job in catering while you do your degree. I worked 3 evenings a week at a restaurant in Smithfield during my degree - meant I always had beer money in my pocket and was fed well so kept my own living costs down. Made some lifelong friends, learned about people (being a waiter/barman you see and experience all sorts) and met my future wife - even though I didn't know it at the time.
With regards to work - http://www.recruiter.co.uk/news/2015/08/work-experience-key-for-graduates-prospects/ Seagull/DT - You are right that you need work experience these days, but the sterotypical 'student' jobs don't really cut it any more. Yes you'll have a great time, but when you come out the other end you will be much more up against it in finding something that you want to do (unless you have a very specific vocational/academic degree). You really do need to try and get relevant work experience, if not in term time then during summer holidays or even better a good placement year. Your degree doesn't get you the job you want, your work experience does. If I see a CV with Degree, non-relevant work experience its a real struggle to help those people (no matter how promising they are, because employers will quite probably have 10 CV's on their desk with related Degree and related work experience. There will be no doubt many on here who will say they wouldn't judge somebody's potential on a piece of paper, but sadly the reality is it's the piece of paper that gets you the interview for your potential to be judged.
Thanks for the welcomes guys (don't know how it all works, quoting and stuff). I've got my student loan sorted, because of my house finance I get the highest level of maintenance loan, and hope to get a grant from the university as well because of that. And after uni I want to do a PGCE to become a secondary history teacher, which has been the plan for two years, but I know a lot of people who have no idea what they want to do, such as my best friend is going to do law and doesn't know what he wants to do after. Fortunately there is a shortage of teachers so I could be going into a worse sector. I will definitely be making the most of freshers and my first year, and making as many bad decisions as possible!
