Downgrade to York?

Hey guys,

I'm currently studying 'education studies - history' at Durham, I haven't really clicked with the course or many of the people. Ultimately I want to study history of art and history and I've applied for York and got a place on their course. The thing is, is it worth sacrificing the status Durham has for history (bare in mind I'm not studying full history, I got rejected and had to settle for 50%) to do a course I know I'll enjoy more? At the end of the day I'm here to move forward so job prospects are key. I'm completely torn, I imagine if I leave I'll regret it forever. Thanks.

Reply 1

Stacy_T

If you think you'll be happier and the financial implication of starting again is something you can take the burdon of, then I don't think you should let the issue of reputation put you off. I reckon most people would rank Durham and York quite similarly...I don't think there is a huge gap between the two and York is a great place. Definitely 'cooler' than Durham.

Durham University

Durham

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Reply 2

Sequin

If you don't mind me asking, what didn't you like about Durham?

Reply 3

Dann

I don't think York is much of a 'downgrade' from Durham...

Reply 4

freija

Well, York is a damn good uni, so I'd argue that looking at it as a 'downgrade' is entirely the wrong way to approach this. And I'm not sure what you want to go on to do, career-wise, but I cannot believe that having studied at York will place you at a serious disadvantage to anyone from Durham. :smile:

Spending three years being miserable, however, may well.

So really, it depends on how much happier you think you'll be, whether studying Art and Art History themselves will leave you in a better position to do what you want to after your degree than the course you're on right now (which, if you don't want to teach, I'd guess it might) and, as the sage person above said, whether you'll be okay with the emotional and financial upheaval of going back to square one and starting again now. How far are you into your course? If you're only halfway through the first year, and you're as sure as you can be that changing courses will make you happiest, then it would make sense to go for it - but if you're not sure if you want to leave Durham at all, then I'm afraid we can't really help.

It sounds as though you probably need to visit York, look around the departments if possible, talk to the tutors there and maybe even try discussing your situation with someone within Durham, if you feel you can do that. Good luck. :smile:

Reply 5

Foxfight04

Hey, out of 'history and history of art' at York or 'education studies - history' at Durham, which do you think opens the most doors for someone who has no idea what do with their future? Thanks.

Durham most likely.

Yeah unfortunately that's what I thought. I'm at Durham now but I'm really struggling under the pressure, I have an offer from York to study said course but I don't want to regret leaving Durham.

Reply 8

Aula

Stacy_T

This, basically.

Better to go somewhere you'll be happy, especially since York isn't much worse than Durham, and in some cases it's probably better.

Reply 9

*River

It's a moot question - neither of the two degrees really lead you anywhere specific (like a lot of non-vocational courses). If you're going to be happier at York, then go there. Don't make the decision based up on arbitrary measures of prestige - it's not worth being unhappy for a couple of places on a league table.