Scandinavian Studies

I'm beginning to think my time in this thread is done.

Reply 1382

Original post by Lukestar1991

I recently applied to Study Scandinavian Studies at Edinburgh, Aberdeen, with my first choice being UCL (specialisng in Swedish) and I was wondering if anyone can offer advice on which would be the best choice. Inparticular Im interested in finding out about the Scandinavian department in UCL, and peoples experiences with their applications and also what motivated anyone to apply for the course, such as personal experience and qualifications.

I'd be grateful for any inside information and any advice would be very much appreciated *

Best choice depends entirely on what's important to you, for example if the year abroad is important (can't see why it wouldn't be with a language degree though) the it's worth remembering that Aberdeen don't offer that as a part of the degree like the other two, likewise their programme looks fairly Viking-centric, if that's not where your interests lie then it's worth thinking twice about that. If you want the opportunity to do other Nordic languages, then UCL lets you study Finnish or Icelandic in yrs 2&4 as options, and if the idea of being able to take a wide variety of outside courses as part of your degree appeals, then Edinburgh's system will probably appeal more.

Qualifications wise, besides some proof that you can learn a language (AS/A-level usually suffices) there really isn't anything specific, unless you already know which areas interest you the most and which you want to focus on within your degree.

Reply 1383

Okay, thanks for that. My main interest is advancing my knowledge of Swedish language and overall Scandinavian culture. Though, Im most interested in finding out how things work and what UCLs department is like and whether an applicants qualifications or experience are usually favoured by the department when they make their decisions.
Also, I was wondering whether or not Scandinavian Studies is actually well or over subscribed as a course, compared to other more mainstream degrees. Do applicants usually have alot of previous experience?

Reply 1384

Hylean

Over subscribed, usually, but not badly so. Most students have no experience with Scandinavian languages.

Reply 1385

Original post by Lukestar1991

Okay, thanks for that. My main interest is advancing my knowledge of Swedish language and overall Scandinavian culture. Though, Im most interested in finding out how things work and what UCLs department is like and whether an applicants qualifications or experience are usually favoured by the department when they make their decisions.
Also, I was wondering whether or not Scandinavian Studies is actually well or over subscribed as a course, compared to other more mainstream degrees. Do applicants usually have alot of previous experience?

UCL's department (probably like Edinburgh's but I'm not there so I can't comment really) is fairly small and family-like, classes are 15-20 people maximum and usually closer to 7-10, sometimes as small as 2 or 3. Pretty much everyone in the department knows everyone, which is nice, but also means it'll be noticed if you skip/fall asleep in classes.

Being a part of UCL, naturally grades are important and you will have to meet the grade requirements they set (can't remember what they are at the moment), but the department itself is most interested in people who have a genuine interest in Scandinavia, that is the most important thing. Stuff like trips to Scandinavia, Summer courses etc. are great and useful for showing your interest/enthusiasm, but they are aware that there simply aren't the opportunities that there are for more common languages, so they don't discriminate against those who haven't got as much 'experience', so to speak. And given you start from scratch with the language, it can be a bonus if you already know some, but it's not expected.

I think I might have rambled a bit there, but yeah, interest is the most important thing (they're aware some people might try to use it as an easier way to get the UCL name tag cos of the lower grade requirements, with no real interest) and any way you can show that is good.

Almost everything at UCL is oversubscribed (bar some of the SSEES language courses), Scandy Studies less so than Medicine, Law, English and the more common languages, but people do get rejected, both pre and post interview. I don't think UCL publishes figures, but Edinburgh do, which might give you some idea. Here are 2010-11's stats: 79 applications, 15 offers and 5 accepted.

Some applicants have previous experience, a large number (myself included) have none - it's seen as a bonus but not a requirement.

Reply 1386

I see

thanks alot; dont worry you're not rambling at all, its really interesting to hear someone studying SS talk from their own perspective ***
Thats really useful to know, though its pretty much as i expected, I am quite surprised as Hylean stated that almost all applicants generally have no prior experience or knowledge, I would have thought, especially at UCL that most would be well versed in Scandinavian culture. Those stats were also quite intriguing, it really shows how much competition there is nowadays. I wonder though, what motivated you (Meg_Lili) as having little prior experience with SS, to decide to study it?

Reply 1387

Hylean

Original post by Lukestar1991

Thats really useful to know, though its pretty much as i expected, I am quite surprised as Hylean stated that almost all applicants generally have no prior experience or knowledge, I would have thought, especially at UCL that most would be well versed in Scandinavian culture. Those stats were also quite intriguing, it really shows how much competition there is nowadays. I wonder though, what motivated you (Meg_Lili) as having little prior experience with SS, to decide to study it?

How many schools do you know teach Scandinavian languages or culture? It's a pretty hard topic to get taught on, really. I knew a few sagas and was a fan of Icelandic music before I started my degree and had no knowledge of Icelandic.

Most people come into the degrees with something similar: interest in the music, like Meg; are part Scandinavian but know nothing about that side of them; interest in the literature, like me; general curiosity. The biggest one is the music, really.

Reply 1388

Original post by Lukestar1991

I see

thanks alot; dont worry you're not rambling at all, its really interesting to hear someone studying SS talk from their own perspective ***
Thats really useful to know, though its pretty much as i expected, I am quite surprised as Hylean stated that almost all applicants generally have no prior experience or knowledge, I would have thought, especially at UCL that most would be well versed in Scandinavian culture. Those stats were also quite intriguing, it really shows how much competition there is nowadays. I wonder though, what motivated you (Meg_Lili) as having little prior experience with SS, to decide to study it?

Good question, I'm still not really sure despite being asked on an almost weekly basis :smile:

I think probably going on a couple of holidays there, liked the country, liked the language, and it was something a bit different (none of the subjects I studied at school interested me enough to want to study them at uni level). Here I am 3 years later sitting in Finland reading a book in Danish for an exam in Swedish in a couple of weeks. Funny how life turns out.

The thing with prior experience is, that unlike most other languages, peoples' interest hasn't come about from studying it at GCSE and A-Level, because that option isn't available for our languages, and short of travelling there and taking summer courses or whatever (which is not exactly cheap) gaining experience, outside of reading, is not the easiest thing to do.

Reply 1389

nearlyheadlessian

Original post by Meg_Lili

UCL's department (probably like Edinburgh's but I'm not there so I can't comment really) is fairly small and family-like, classes are 15-20 people maximum and usually closer to 7-10, sometimes as small as 2 or 3. Pretty much everyone in the department knows everyone, which is nice, but also means it'll be noticed if you skip/fall asleep in classes.

UCL's department is a little larger than Edinburgh's in staff terms. Edinburgh has one full time reader, two full time lecturers, one full time teaching fellow, two part time teaching fellows, a part time tutor and three decently active honorary fellows (two are retired staff and the other an historian). Guest lectures etc get given by researchers from other departments in the university who are working on related material. Class size wise it really varies. This year, first year Swedish consists of 35 people. Fourth year Swedish has 7 - two years ago there was only one person in fourth year Swedish. But everyone knows everyone once you progress beyond first year (there's a lot of teaching that allows you to get to know the other Scandinavian students) and absences are definitely noted!

Original post by Meg_Lili

Almost everything at UCL is oversubscribed (bar some of the SSEES language courses), Scandy Studies less so than Medicine, Law, English and the more common languages, but people do get rejected, both pre and post interview. I don't think UCL publishes figures, but Edinburgh do, which might give you some idea. Here are 2010-11's stats: 79 applications, 15 offers and 5 accepted.

Some applicants have previous experience, a large number (myself included) have none - it's seen as a bonus but not a requirement.

Very much the same sort of situation here in Edinburgh - you have a better chance of getting in than if you want to study English, but it's by no means high as you can see from the stats. Experience is definitely not necessary here.

Reply 1390

It seems to me that UCL are nothing but pompous, superficial and unsympathetic. They don't seem to care about any amount of experience or passion, only how 'suitable' you are on a piece of paper, how sad. I feel rather embarressed for the lack of conscience and imagination that they possess.

Reply 1391

So, you got rejected because you didn't meet the grade requirements?

Reply 1392

Well they basically discriminated against me because i am resiting some A2 modules this summer, which regardless of their own recruitment policy, i think is appalling.

Reply 1393

nearlyheadlessian

Original post by Lukestar1991

Well they basically discriminated against me because i am resiting some A2 modules this summer, which regardless of their own recruitment policy, i think is appalling.

Ah, so you're saying you didn't meet their grade requirements? :wink:

Reply 1394

Original post by nearlyheadlessian

Ah, so you're saying you didn't meet their grade requirements? :wink:

What I am saying is they have provided me with an invalid explanation. They stated that 'the academic qualifications that you have achieved do not meet the entry requirements' when i clearly indicated that I have several modules pending, as Im taking resists in the summer. I wont except that excuse when people are taken just on their superficially predicted grades when I already have 3 A levels, where is the logic and fairness in that?

Reply 1395

Original post by Lukestar1991

What I am saying is they have provided me with an invalid explanation. They stated that 'the academic qualifications that you have achieved do not meet the entry requirements' when i clearly indicated that I have several modules pending, as Im taking resists in the summer. I wont except that excuse when people are taken just on their superficially predicted grades when I already have 3 A levels, where is the logic and fairness in that?

Have you got in contact with them and explained that again? Alternatively, do you meet the GCSE requirements UCL have? People forget about them sometimes.

Reply 1396

Original post by Meg_Lili

Have you got in contact with them and explained that again? Alternatively, do you meet the GCSE requirements UCL have? People forget about them sometimes.

I have to wait until next week to actually ring both them and UCAS, who i also suspect might have given me the wrong information on how to show that i have pending grades due to resiting. In terms of GCSEs I cant see how they can be a problem as they are very good grades.

Reply 1397