Ask a UCL Arts &amp; Sciences (BASc) student

Original post by npt0608

Hey, thanks so much for answering my questions! I like the laid back, community lifestyle at Durham, but I also like the vibrant, crowdy atmosphere at London as well.
One of my main concern is the career prospects after graduating. What are the internship opportunities at UCL? Will I be able to do internships throughout the entire 3 years, or will is it only in my last year?

BASc have a compulsory internship in second year, you can do an internship every summer if you wish, London have great internship opportunities because there are so many businesses and UCL is in the heart of London

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 322

Original post by kt6345

Hi, I'm in a bit of a dilemma. I have an offer for ESPS but I'm having second thoughts about the year abroad. I was thinking about asking to transfer to BASc for the societies pathway. Would the ESPS department have a problem with this?

Thanks :smile:

I'd think carefully about it, ESPS is a great course and quite different to BASc. I don't believe they would, you'd probably have to write a short essay about why you want to do BASc but quite a few people switched degrees in the first couple of weeks of first year

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 323

Original post by overghost

hi! I don't think this has been asked yet, but: what do you like and dislike about the BASc course? I'm currently torn between two universities and seeing as I haven't been able to visit UCL, I wanna find out as much as possible before deciding :smile:

thank you!

Hi

i really like the range of modules you can do, and you can find a balance of coursework/exams to suit you. I was also pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoy the core modules. London is also amazing there is so much to see and do
The common room for BASc is also great I have so many more friends on my course than some others at UCL because we have a space to chill and socialise
I find the language really difficult, and mine was quite badly taught and organised. It's a big work load. I also picked a really hard science module, and was badly advised that I would be capable of it. There are a lot of science modules to choose from so you can pick one more appropriate to your strengths.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 324

Hi everyone,

I also have an offer for both ESPS and Arts & Science and as I'm just 6 days away from the reply deadline so I'm having a bit of a crisis.
I chose Societies as my major and I was thinking of choosing Science & Engineering as my minor to study Economics, so I'd pretty much stick to "social sciences". I do enjoy biology stuff but I'm more interested in social sciences so I think in the end I'd be taking modules along the same line as ESPS.

On the other hand I find it quite hard to choose what I want to study as I like many things and I love the idea of interdisciplinary (I'm doing the IB).

So all in all I'm really a mess right now, because I don't know just how much you are expected to like both Arts and Science the same, and also how much time of studying what you really enjoy (say Philosophy) you spend in the core modules (which seem really interesting but still).

Also I was drawn to Arts & Science for the possibility of studying somewhere like New Zeland or the States in my third year so just how real is that option?

I'd be very thankful if any of you could help me as I'm an international student and I can't attend any Open Days so I'm having a hard time trying to figure out what the ucl and each degree sort of "feels like".

Reply 325

Auguitar

Hey there, I was in a similar situation between Arts and sciences at UCL and Aero at Imperial. I think at the end of the day, no matter how much you want to study one subject, it's best to take the interdisciplinary program, which in this case will still allow you to take social sciences and economics, while also getting you ready for a much wider range of other subjects that other schools won't offer. And since you're still a little interested in biology, i don't think you should give it up; it could always help you in the future.
In the core modules i believe they mix the arts and sciences so i think you might still find some of your pathways mentioned in the core, but perhaps not as much in depth.
As for the year abroad, your chances are pretty i would think - they say you need a 2:1 to be able to go abroad, which probably isn't that hard to get, so if you got even a 1st i'd say your chances are very good for going to New Zealand or the states.

I would say arts and sciences is the better pick, but it is really up to you :smile:

I just firmed it last week cause i kept going back and forth between my choices! don't worry, you're not the only one :wink:

good luck!!

Reply 326

Auguitar

Hey there, I was in a similar situation between Arts and sciences at UCL and Aero at Imperial. I think at the end of the day, no matter how much you want to study one subject, it's best to take the interdisciplinary program, which in this case will still allow you to take social sciences and economics, while also getting you ready for a much wider range of other subjects that other schools won't offer. And since you're still a little interested in biology, i don't think you should give it up; it could always help you in the future.
In the core modules i believe they mix the arts and sciences so i think you might still find some of your pathways mentioned in the core, but perhaps not as much in depth.
As for the year abroad, your chances are pretty i would think - they say you need a 2:1 to be able to go abroad, which probably isn't that hard to get, so if you got even a 1st i'd say your chances are very good for going to New Zealand or the states.

I would say arts and sciences is the better pick, but it is really up to you

I just firmed it last week cause i kept going back and forth between my choices! don't worry, you're not the only one

good luck!!

Reply 327

Hi everyone,

I also have an offer for both ESPS and Arts & Science and as I'm just 6 days away from the reply deadline so I'm having a bit of a crisis.
I chose Societies as my major and I was thinking of choosing Science & Engineering as my minor to study Economics, so I'd pretty much stick to

Reply 328

Original post by Auguitar

Hey there, I was in a similar situation between Arts and sciences at UCL and Aero at Imperial. I think at the end of the day, no matter how much you want to study one subject, it's best to take the interdisciplinary program, which in this case will still allow you to take social sciences and economics, while also getting you ready for a much wider range of other subjects that other schools won't offer. And since you're still a little interested in biology, i don't think you should give it up; it could always help you in the future.
In the core modules i believe they mix the arts and sciences so i think you might still find some of your pathways mentioned in the core, but perhaps not as much in depth.
As for the year abroad, your chances are pretty i would think - they say you need a 2:1 to be able to go abroad, which probably isn't that hard to get, so if you got even a 1st i'd say your chances are very good for going to New Zealand or the states.

I would say arts and sciences is the better pick, but it is really up to you

I just firmed it last week cause i kept going back and forth between my choices! don't worry, you're not the only one

good luck!!

Thanks, it's always nice to hear you're not alone in this. I'm just soooo terrible at making decisions haha

The thing is the ideal thing for me would've been to be able to study philosphy and politics and that kind of stuff along with literature, which is why I applied for this degree in the first place.
But then I realized that I couldn't do that because I was expected to take a science module.
But then I can't do that in ESPS either, and actually this looks more open so...

And I'm also a bit worried about this thing about ESPS being "the elite" that I'm reading around. I mean...

Reply 329

Original post by JIT96

Hi everyone,

I also have an offer for both ESPS and Arts & Science and as I'm just 6 days away from the reply deadline so I'm having a bit of a crisis.
I chose Societies as my major and I was thinking of choosing Science & Engineering as my minor to study Economics, so I'd pretty much stick to "social sciences". I do enjoy biology stuff but I'm more interested in social sciences so I think in the end I'd be taking modules along the same line as ESPS.

On the other hand I find it quite hard to choose what I want to study as I like many things and I love the idea of interdisciplinary (I'm doing the IB).

So all in all I'm really a mess right now, because I don't know just how much you are expected to like both Arts and Science the same, and also how much time of studying what you really enjoy (say Philosophy) you spend in the core modules (which seem really interesting but still).

Also I was drawn to Arts & Science for the possibility of studying somewhere like New Zeland or the States in my third year so just how real is that option?

I'd be very thankful if any of you could help me as I'm an international student and I can't attend any Open Days so I'm having a hard time trying to figure out what the ucl and each degree sort of "feels like".

From my experience, arts and sciences is the friendliest course at ucl. I spend about a third of my time doing my major modules, a third doing the core modules, and a third doing my language and minor- but the majority of my time stressing about failing my language and minor module.
You need a 2:1 to go abroad, but the majority of people I have heard who are currently in second year have been accepted to study abroad in their first choice country :smile:

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 330

Original post by JIT96

Thanks, it's always nice to hear you're not alone in this. I'm just soooo terrible at making decisions haha

The thing is the ideal thing for me would've been to be able to study philosphy and politics and that kind of stuff along with literature, which is why I applied for this degree in the first place.
But then I realized that I couldn't do that because I was expected to take a science module.
But then I can't do that in ESPS either, and actually this looks more open so...

And I'm also a bit worried about this thing about ESPS being "the elite" that I'm reading around. I mean...

You can do that- you can choose 3 modules from your major, and the boundary between societies and cultures is pretty flexible.
Your first year could be politics philosophy literature a science or maths a language and then the core

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 331

Original post by indigoheart

You can do that- you can choose 3 modules from your major, and the boundary between societies and cultures is pretty flexible.
Your first year could be politics philosophy literature a science or maths a language and then the core

Posted from TSR Mobile

I'm actually a bit concerned about the very few hours you spend in your elected majors and minors. I've been looking at the modules and for example in philosphy you can only choose An Introduction to Political Philosophy and the same goes for literature and the rest.

Aren't you missing out in a lot of stuff?

Reply 332

reed18

Does anyone know if the UCL admissions are strict with offers, for example if I got a*ab would that be accepted in replacement of AAA

Reply 333

ninio_o

Hi!
I am a Pre-IB student from Sweden and I am interested in taking the Arts and Sciences program of UCL. It sounds like a very unique program and seems to be very promising. However... I have questions about the entrance requirement.

Here is what is stated on the UCL website:
Entrance requirement
IB Diploma
Points 38
Subjects
A score of 18 points in three higher level subjects with a mixture of arts/humanities/social sciences and sciences/Mathematics.

Major pathway requirements:
Culturesor Societies: either one higher level subject from groups 4 or 5 and two higher level subjects from groups 1,2,3,6; or three higher level subjects from groups 1,2,3,6 and two standard level subjects from groups 4 or 5, with grades of 6 in each.
Health and Environment: to include higher level Chemistry or Biology at grade 6 and a further higher level subject from groups 3,4 or 5.

I wish to choose Culture as my major and Health and Environment as my minor, but do I need HL biology as they say here if I wish to take the latter, or since I only want it as my minor and this is the so called "Major pathway requirements" I should be fine with only having SL biology?

Thanks a lot for your attention!

Reply 334

Original post by JIT96

I'm actually a bit concerned about the very few hours you spend in your elected majors and minors. I've been looking at the modules and for example in philosphy you can only choose An Introduction to Political Philosophy and the same goes for literature and the rest.

Aren't you missing out in a lot of stuff?

well yes we only cover a small part of the syllabus for each discipline, but the point is you're supposed to find a common theme that links together your elected modules so that you spend half your time on that theme rather than on each individual discipline.
If you want to study philosophy you should do a philosophy degree or a philosophy joint honours, basc students generally want to do a range of modules, so don't feel like we are missing out..

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 335

Original post by ninio_o

Hi!
I am a Pre-IB student from Sweden and I am interested in taking the Arts and Sciences program of UCL. It sounds like a very unique program and seems to be very promising. However... I have questions about the entrance requirement.

Here is what is stated on the UCL website:
Entrance requirement
IB Diploma
Points38
Subjects
A score of 18 points in three higher level subjects with a mixture of arts/humanities/social sciences and sciences/Mathematics.

Major pathway requirements:
Culturesor Societies: either one higher level subject from groups 4 or 5 and two higher level subjects from groups 1,2,3,6; or three higher level subjects from groups 1,2,3,6 and two standard level subjects from groups 4 or 5, with grades of 6 in each.
Health and Environment: to include higher level Chemistry or Biology at grade 6 and a further higher level subject from groups 3,4 or 5.

I wish to choose Culture as my major and Health and Environment as my minor, but do I need HL biology as they say here if I wish to take the latter, or since I only want it as my minor and this is the so called "Major pathway requirements" I should be fine with only having SL biology?

Thanks a lot for your attention!

You need to have either maths or a science at high level regardless of whether it is your major or minor

You could also have 2 standard level sciences instead of one at high level so you would need SL biology and another SL science

Posted from TSR Mobile

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 336

ninio_o

Original post by indigoheart

You need to have either maths or a science at higher level regardless of whether it is your major or minor

Well, I actually asked the same question to Carl Gombrich, the Programme Director of BASc and he said that I don't need Biology at HL. Soooo what makes you think that I need a science at HL? (No way in &&%%€ that I'm taking math HL haha)

Reply 337