Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

Please help me choose a degree^^

Hey Community!

I just finished my EVS (European Voluntary Service) and would like to
to study. Personally, I thought about it a lot, but I still would like to have input from the outside. That's why it would be nice if you could suggest things that suit me. (I am German btw) Hope this is the right forum, but I really couldnt find anything where it fits perfectly

One thing first: I am aware that some things might sound a bit idealistic and not easy to achieve. But if nobody tries, everything is already lost. What would be the alternative, a life only for personal profit? I hope you also don't take some stuff as a bit arrogant, because I'm not. I rather think that I am simply aware of my strengths.

Most of all, it is very important to me to be in some way involved in, or support movements / organizations / companies that are working on serious problems. Anti-circumcision activists, women's rights activists in states where women really have very few rights, fighters against corruption, just some examples. In short: everything that concerns human rights and social issues, but also other contemporary problems that have meaning.

IMO for the most part, in the West, we no longer have this kind of fundamental problems. Whatever and however I do it, my ultimate goal is that the world develops on this level everywhere and I can help to change.

This goes hand in hand with my burning interest in the major global or societal (future) topics such as: the future of work (robotization, AI), revolutions and social movements, in particular globalization in many facets, poverty, conflicts, Socialization-related reasons for certain behaviors from racism, fanaticism to addictions, sustainability and much more. Simply the whole range of interesting socio-political topics, casually said to understand "how the world / society works". I want to get a good understanding of these developments with my degree, as they make up the environment in which we live and organizations operate.

But then not only research about it and look at it from the outside (although of course I have to understand them) but also actively participate in the form of E.g. social entrepreneurship, activism, philanthropy, art. After analyzing the problems also be able to tackle them. I want to be able to act and not just watch as an observer and critics what goes wrong. Also working on the "How".

For me, this entrepreneurial spirit is important. Preparing to proactively respond to these current issues and challenges. I also believe that many of these problems can be tackled entrepreneurially, as NGOs are often lacking in capital to make a difference. Therefore I can imagine very well to participate in companies that want to tackle such, or other current issues.
But also manage to restructure the way in which "normal" companies do business from within: more sustainable and responsible. Advise companies or work directly in decision-making bodies. So I also have to acquire some knowledge of economical processes.

I would like to have lively discussions in class. I can well imagine discussing all kinds of texts and thinkers, but I would also like to do the step into practice by things mentioned above. Therefore, I would rather not feel well in a study that aims at research activities? It is important for me to think in an interdisciplinary and critically interrogated way, with as little as possible dull repetition and memorization.

It is also very important for me to learn in an international context, and not just limited to nation states, because I find that nowadays only very few things can be seen so isolated and that I am generally interested in international affairs. For example, diplomacy is super exciting.

Another of my main interests is education. I'm interested in both Education on the intellectual level, as well as the formation of a mature, empathetic personality. Both where there is still a lot of international demand and many of these problems mentioned above can be tackled / prevented that way.

I think that for my plan I also need workshops about general softskills like E.g. presentation skills, fundraising and public relations, communication, as well as other entrepreneurial and managerial skills. That's why it would be ideal if part of my studies are related to that, and not just theory (the notorious ivory tower).

In addition, I find the work directly to the people interesting, have a bit of practical experience (children and youth work). However, I mainly want to work to make sure that people do not need such help at all (but wouldn't it be key to have hands-on experience in that direction as well then?) I can empathize with people well, listen, many trust me quickly on a very personal level, have good knowledge of people and can therefore deal with very diverse people. Also, I have relatively much life experience for my age and therefore often am in my environment the "problem solver / consultant" in many ways.

I hope the amount of text is still reasonable (have really tried to cut) and you can see a profile spite of the many factors listed. It would be enough if you could tell me what would not suit me (whole fields of study such as science or individual subjects like PoWi) It would also be helpful to find a university that focuses on such things as I have generally described or at least subjects where the students are at least similarly tuned and want to act.

For those who still have nerves, here is a table with more information:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jhCaCh04CciJrA4t-b3AebtAftDUGbRGKe6T3pytn40/edit?usp=drivesdk

thank you in advance! :smile:

best regards

Reply 1

S1elyak1

Have you considered something such as sociology and social policy or politics or international development? Look on UCAS or university websites to see which courses and modules interest you. Also consider things such as would you like a campus university, would you prefer to live in a big city, the cost of living etc

Reply 2

tedboii

Not much for me as a person (I dont need fancy things) but to use it for good things it is quite useful. Why?

Reply 3

tedboii

Yes I did

Those are the degrees that I am searching to combine, because just sociology or just politics is just a fraction of the whole thing. I would prefer I mid to big city (300k to 3 million) not too expensive and it would be a great extra to have some kind of campus life like the american model

Original post by S1elyak1

Reply 4

S1elyak1

Original post by tedboii

Yes I did

If you want campus life York, Lancaster, Warwick or Durham are the main ones outside of Oxbridge... and all of the cities they are located in aren't too big either. I go to a campus uni but it's probably not what you are looking for, it's not got a campus feel like Lancaster has (I can't comment on the others I just know they are campus based). I know at my uni we have compulsory modules for first years where you have to choose a module outside of your area, so if you did politics you could choose a module from sociology or even something completely unrelated.

A lot of universities offer a combined sociology and something degree, you've just got to narrow down what you want to combine it with and then choose which courses/universities you like the most.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 5

username4865912

Study something you genuinely enjoy.

Reply 6

studying101

Have you come across the Arts and Sciences programme at UCL? If you are interested in interdisciplinarity and and a broader perspective on society, then I would definitely recommend you check it out. There is also the London Interdisciplinary School which is a new university accepting its first cohort in 2020.