Arts degrees open a world of possibilities for students

College Choice:Arts courses are the the most popular in the CAO system. More than 25 per cent of all first-preference level eight degree and 14 per cent of level six/seven applications list humanities and human science courses as their first-preference choice in their CAO application.

Arts degree programmes form the bedrock of the student population of most of our universities, and to a lesser extent ITs.

The biggest intake in any course in Ireland is into arts in UCD (DN012), which in 2006 awarded 1,194 places.

The next three biggest programmes in the CAO system are all arts degrees: UCG (GY101), with 1065 students; UCC (CK101), with 929 students; and NUI Maynooth (MH101), with 840 students. The next biggest programme in the system, primary school teaching in St Patrick's, Drumcondra, offers only 375 places.

Similar numbers of students in Trinity College - as well as those taking an arts degree at the University of Limerick (plus degrees offered jointly through Mary Immaculate College), and St Patrick's College, Carlow College, the Dublin Business School (fee-paying) - show that this area of study is of the greatest interest to prospective students.

• What should a student who selects an arts degree expect?

The BA is a vast degree covering a multiplicity of subjects. Take UCD, for example, which offers 30 distinct subjects. All the other universities listed above have a similar range of subjects.

Some subjects, such as English, are extremely popular and students are inevitably surprised at how different it is to studying the subject at school level. The challenge at university is "independent learning".

The success and enjoyment of the student depend on how much he or she is prepared to engage their chosen subject through reading, discussion and critical thinking. ...

• What type of programme: general or specific?

Within the general or omnibus programmes, students can "taste" subjects before making their final selection.

The number of subjects can vary between three and four in first year, dropping to two or sometimes one subject for the remainder of the degree.

Within the specific or denominated degrees, students choose their subjects before entering university. Tiny numbers of places are offered on these programmes, sometimes as few as 10, which inevitably results in them having very high entry points, which increases their status in the eyes of students.

• My advice - be cautious!

I would advise students to exercise extreme caution before selecting a specific denominated programme, as you will be sharing the same classes with those entering through the general omnibus route.

With growing modularisation in the system, students who select omnibus programmes have far greater flexibility than denominated students, who are committed to one or two specific subjects from day one.

The best-known two subject arts degree is Trinity's (TR001), where the two subjects selected are studied for the full four years or for the first three years, with one subject being studied in the final year.

The University of Limerick offers (LM035) English and History; (LM033) English and New Media; (LM048) Irish and New Media; (LM020) Law and Accounting; (LM03) Economics and Sociology. They also offers a wide range of other arts degrees.

• What can you do with an arts degree?

For many potential employers, an in-depth knowledge of particular subjects is less important than the independent learning ability and the skills of self-motivation demonstrated by an arts graduate.

Also relevant is that in achieving these competencies, they were involved in numerous college societies, learning the skills of public debating, as well as actively participating in the sporting life of the college. Therefore they prove to the employer their suitability to be similarly self-motivated in acquiring the specific skills necessary to perform new responsibilities.

• What do graduates of arts/humanities degrees do following graduation?

Recent UCD statistics show that within 12 months of graduation over half were involved in postgraduate study while 40 per cent were in employment. Fewer than 4 per cent were seeking employment.

The range of careers open to such liberal arts graduates is enormous, including teaching, politics, civil service, journalism, performing and visual arts, public relations, financial services, recruitment, management consultancy and customer service. The list is endless.

Arts and social science graduates have the flexibility to move in any direction they wish. Many of them take postgraduate masters in specific career areas, such as journalism or business. The key strength of the qualification is its flexibility.

• What are the points likely to be for arts degrees?

In 2006, the minimum entry points dropped across the board in many colleges to 350, in the case of UCD and UCC, with other colleges being somewhat higher. For those prepared to pay fees, entry to an arts degree can be obtained through the Dublin Business School at about 250 points.

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