Choosing Your Course

It's not just a matter of choosing a subject and a university. There are many different types of course you can follow, and they can last anything from 2 years to 6 years. Some may involve lots of exams, some continuous assessment. Some may involve study abroad. And a course in French, say, at Aberdeen may be totally different from a course in French at Warwick. What questions should you be asking yourself as you make decisions about the course you want to follow?

The difference between a subject and a course.

Once you have narrowed down your choice of subject, you must begin to search for the ideal course. Even more frightening than the 900 subjects is the fact that there are over 50000 courses to choose from. You might decide to do French. But French at Exeter, say, is not the same course as French at Durham. The Times Good University Guide gives "league tables" of different subjects at different universities; but whilst this might tell you something about the quality of the teaching and the amount spent on research, it does not tell you anything about the course content. So now you must turn to prospectuses and websites to see what a particular course involves.

But there is more to it than that. There are several different types of courses. You might like to do French and Italian, for example. Or French and History. Or French with History. Or French and the History of Ideas. Or even French and Welsh with Business Studies. The UCAS website lists every course at every university, and will show you the types of course available.

Have a look at this Hotcourses website - it offers an alternative website to the UCAS website for searching for courses at university, and it gives you the opportunity to request prospectuses etc. by clicking the 'enquire' button once you've found a course.

The types of course

• Single Honours: One subject studied, although a range of specialist options is usually available. You may study some related subjects during your first year.

• Joint Honours: Study of two separate but equal subjects which may or may not be related. Sometimes there might be a major and a minor subject.

• Combined Honours: Study of several subjects, which may or may not be related, often narrowing as the course progresses to one or two subjects. Course titles are usually of the form "Combined Arts" or "Combined Science."

• Interdisciplinary Courses: Study of a number of subjects, all related to a particular theme. For example: American Studies.

• Sandwich Courses: Alternating periods of study and related work placements (normally for one year, either in the UK or abroad). Such courses will normally last 4 or 5 years.

• Modular Courses: The course will be broken down into a number of units or modules, and students can select their own programme. Credits build up to a single, joint or combined honours degree.

Course titles

The course title can often give the game away! "Business Studies with German" means that Business Studies is the major subject and German the minor in a joint honours course. "Business Studies and German" means they have equal weight. "Business Studies and German Business" will lay more stress on German Business than the language.

How long are courses?

Degree courses are generally three years, however:

• Medicine, Veterinary, Dentistry and Architecture courses will extend for more than three years, some up to six or seven.
• Courses at Scottish universities are usually for 4 years, but you get an MA or MSc, not BA or BSc.
• Engineering courses and those with practical training (especially language courses and sandwich courses) are usually for 4 or more years.
• Many courses in languages, science, engineering and business studies (and others) offer up to a year of study in the EU. Under the SOCRATES-ERASMUS scheme you might be eligible for an additional grant. There is at least one ERASMUS programme at every UK university.

Questions to ask

Make sure you know what to expect by asking yourself questions such as:

• Is the course theoretical, practical or vocational?
• What kind of teaching? - mainly lectures, mainly tutorials, both, seminars?
• How regular are tutorials and seminars? How much one-to-one help is available?
• How much written work? How much laboratory work?
• Written exams or continuous assessment or both?
• How wide is the range of course options?
• Do final exams give any exemption from professional qualifications?
• What are the attendance requirements?

Where can I get information?

Many courses now offer "Entry Profiles" on the UCAS website. These include not only the entry requirements, but also a good description of the course, what it contains, what you can expect to get out of it and what you should bring to it. It is invaluable in that it is a means of matching you, the applicant, to the course. You can then go to the relevant departmental website.

Also use the Hero.ac.uk website, where you will find the information presented in a slightly different way. And above all, use the prospectuses. There is a full set in the universities and careers library.

What next?

In choosing a course, you must be confident that it matches your interests, abilities and plans. Since the courses will be different at every university, you must now link your decisions so far with your choice of university.

Choosing your university