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Reply 580
Hi! I will probably be a BASc student at the beginning of September (I met all my conditions and uploaded the documents but did not receive any answer D: ) and I wanted to know something about the reputation that the course has. I know that generally the Liberal Arts course are not considered good and with poor job prospects. However, the BASc is not an average Liberal Arts course and has many features that make it probably the best interdisciplinary degree in the UK at least.
But that is my idea, could someone reassure me about this? Is the BASc degree worthy? Does this degree give you good job prospects like the other courses UCL has?

Thanks
University College London, University of London
University College London
London
Original post by indigoheart
i bought a ton of books and none of it ever came in any use at all!
if you're going to read something i recommend where good ideas come from by steven johnson if its still on the list, its really interesting and gets you into an arts and sciences mindset; blink by malcolm gladwell is also a decent read
the introduction to "the two cultures" by snow is available on google and is prep for approaches to knowledge
any ted talks are also always interesting and get you into the right frame of mind


I'll have a look at those, thank you! I thought about reading most of the books on my major list and then one from the other pathways?
Thank you! :smile:
Original post by indigoheart
I can try! I'm the year below though, last year six week internships were compulsory for second years, something people knew from when they signed up for the course. Basc paid for a careers service person to work with Basc student for the year, she had twice weekly drop in sessions to help with applications etc and also she sent round a weekly list of internships to apply for. She also organised a number of internships that were only open for students on Basc.
Basc said repeatedly that they frowned upon unpaid internships and all they advertised were paid, or with a registered charity in which case Basc paid national minimum wage, and this year london living wage on the charities behalf.
I'm really surprised that anyone worked for free when there were so many paid internships advertised and organised, and if anyone was facing an unpaid internship my understanding was that they could find a charity and work there so Basc would pay them. The girl quoted obviously chose to work for an NGO that was not a charity or she would have received a bursary.
I know minimum wage isn't much but it was for six weeks so not even close to the whole summer break.
The compulsory internship scheme has since been cancelled but the support to get an internship remains.


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Hi, thanks for your reply.
I applied for deferred entry, so I will be enrolling into basc next year! I am kind of worried about the modules offered by SSEES in the societies pathway, particularly the economics modules. Based on the feedback I've seen on TSR, the economics modules seems to be generally inferior to the ones offered by Economics L100 in terms of reputation and teaching standards. and it seems to have a eastern european focus to it, which i doubt i would enjoy..
Any information on the modules offered by ssees would be great!
thanks
Reply 583
Original post by mockingb!rd
Hi, thanks for your reply.
I applied for deferred entry, so I will be enrolling into basc next year! I am kind of worried about the modules offered by SSEES in the societies pathway, particularly the economics modules. Based on the feedback I've seen on TSR, the economics modules seems to be generally inferior to the ones offered by Economics L100 in terms of reputation and teaching standards. and it seems to have a eastern european focus to it, which i doubt i would enjoy..
Any information on the modules offered by ssees would be great!
thanks


The simplest comparison between SSEES department and Economics department, is that the former is more qualitative and the latter more quantitative (there's a reason it is in the Science & Engineering pathway). Economics modules with the Economics department also generally tend to be harder and broader than SEES which is more more Europe-focused as you said.

I think you should be asking yourself if you want a more mathy and harder Economics module, or one that is more wordy and a bit easier. Just a word of caution, just because the UCL Economics department has a better reputation, doesn't mean you'll enjoy the classes more. Your best bet is to talk to the 2nd and 3rd year students when you arrive and get their perspective. Hope that helps :smile:
How did you structure your personal statement though? If your major and minor were so different, did you split your ps into half half so you can talk about both? but wouldn't that be too narrowed as the ps would also be in the interest of your other university choices?
I am thinking of applying this course, for Physics and Sociology modules. This course looks so much fun.

Thank you!
Reply 585
Original post by EnniferZhang
How did you structure your personal statement though? If your major and minor were so different, did you split your ps into half half so you can talk about both? but wouldn't that be too narrowed as the ps would also be in the interest of your other university choices?
I am thinking of applying this course, for Physics and Sociology modules. This course looks so much fun.

Thank you!


I suggest you focus on the interdisciplinary aspect, why do you want to combine your studies versus studying a single subject? What connections do you draw between Physics and Sociology that means you enjoy studying them at the same time? Then talk about what extracurricular activities you do and what you can bring to the department, this is where you can talk about your transferable skills such as group work, public-speaking, etc. A rough structure I used was, 1. Why do you want it, 2. Why you're good for it, 3. What skills do you have to offer.

Also I would suggest that you don't obsess too much over Major/Minor, you may be very confident that you want to study Physics/Sociology now. But, many of us change our interests after the first year. Just focus on what makes you interdisciplinary and why you enjoy both science and the arts :smile:
Oh my God, you are amazing, thank you so much for giving so many details! They are really helpful. I am much more reassured now :biggrin:
Hi,

I'm applying to BASC major in Health and Environment and Minor in Cultures.
I was wondering if anyone undertakes a Masters/pHD, in one of their majors/minors as I would really like to get into research/academia after completing the course.
Also which modules are you able to do in the Year abroad?
Thanks
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 588
Original post by PaintedThumb
Hi,

I'm applying to BASC major in Health and Environment and Minor in Cultures.
I was wondering if anyone undertakes a Masters/pHD, in one of their majors/minors as I would really like to get into research/academia after completing the course.
Also which modules are you able to do in the Year abroad?
Thanks


Yes many of the graduating students are undertaking Masters, including one studying psychology at Oxford and another studying at Imperial College. Masters don't often demand you to have done a specific degree before you apply, and the modules you took during your major or minor should be more than enough. In fact, they tend to be looking for individuals from a wide variety of fields, therefore an interdisciplinary BASc background can be a strong selling point.

As for year abroad modules, that depends on which institution you go to. However, BASc will expect you to study similar modules from 1st and 2nd year (though you can experiment with a few here and there).
I would like to apply to both Arts and Sciences and Economics at UCL. Economics at UCL is my first choice and I was wondering if applying to Arts and Sciences as well would make it less likely for me to get a place for Economics.
Reply 590
Original post by Joker362
I would like to apply to both Arts and Sciences and Economics at UCL. Economics at UCL is my first choice and I was wondering if applying to Arts and Sciences as well would make it less likely for me to get a place for Economics.


I don't believe it would prejudice your application as sometimes UCL departments recommend candidates who weren't successful in their departmental admissions to other UCL departments. So I don't see a conflict, especially since you could theoretically be studying economics in both Arts and Sciences and the Economics department, therefore it's not like your applying for dramatically different degrees. Best email the departments directly to confirm though (don't worry they won't count it against you if you ask them).
Hey I got the questionnaire on Thursday and am kind of unsure of what to write for the questions; like 'what is surprising about you but will help you on this course' 'what is one challenge of interdisciplinarity'.

Does anyone have any advice in general about the questionnaire, should I include relevant things I have done to support statements.

Thanks in advance
Are there any current BASc students who'd be willing to answer a few questions I have about the course? If so, could you please send me a PM?

Thanks a mil :smile:
Reply 593
Original post by StripedPenguin
Are there any current BASc students who'd be willing to answer a few questions I have about the course? If so, could you please send me a PM?

Thanks a mil :smile:


I'd be happy to answer them, but prefer to do it on this forum so that everyone can see my replies. Otherwise PM me your questions if they are of a sensitive nature.
Original post by Torvus
I'd be happy to answer them, but prefer to do it on this forum so that everyone can see my replies. Otherwise PM me your questions if they are of a sensitive nature.


Sure. Thanks for helping :smile:
Out of interest, what pathway have you chosen?
One of my biggest concerns is the workload seeing as you have three subjects in the major, one minor and the core elements as well as the language.
Additionally, since there are a lot of subjects being covered, how detailed is the material in the course?

Thanks
Reply 595
Original post by StripedPenguin
Sure. Thanks for helping :smile:
Out of interest, what pathway have you chosen?
One of my biggest concerns is the workload seeing as you have three subjects in the major, one minor and the core elements as well as the language.
Additionally, since there are a lot of subjects being covered, how detailed is the material in the course?

Thanks


I chose the Science and Engineering pathway. When talking about workload you will be doing just as much work as you would be doing if you were taking the subjects in a specific degree. So if you took engineering modules that involved a lot of contact hours (long classes, group work and meetings), then balance that out with modules such as politics or history that require reading, but don't have too many contact hours. Also many students struggled because they didn't balance their module choices between two terms, so as long as you try and keep roughly 50:50 ratio for each term you should be fine. Honestly workload will depend on what modules you choose to take, and the benefit of BASc is that if you feel like you are taking too much, just change your module (there's a million more to choose from).

Since each module is run by the main UCL department (except for BASc core modules) they will be as detailed for you as anyone else taking them from UCL. For example, an introductory Physics course will be the same for me as it will be for first year Physics students at UCL. We'll be in the same class with the same assessments. Hope that helps :smile:
Reply 596
Original post by Torvus
I chose the Science and Engineering pathway. When talking about workload you will be doing just as much work as you would be doing if you were taking the subjects in a specific degree. So if you took engineering modules that involved a lot of contact hours (long classes, group work and meetings), then balance that out with modules such as politics or history that require reading, but don't have too many contact hours. Also many students struggled because they didn't balance their module choices between two terms, so as long as you try and keep roughly 50:50 ratio for each term you should be fine. Honestly workload will depend on what modules you choose to take, and the benefit of BASc is that if you feel like you are taking too much, just change your module (there's a million more to choose from).

Since each module is run by the main UCL department (except for BASc core modules) they will be as detailed for you as anyone else taking them from UCL. For example, an introductory Physics course will be the same for me as it will be for first year Physics students at UCL. We'll be in the same class with the same assessments. Hope that helps :smile:


I'm applying to UCL's new Social Sciences degree, which I guess is somewhat similar to the Arts and Sciences degree. I was wondering what the employment prospects are like for the Arts and Sciences degree?
Reply 597
Original post by h3110
I'm applying to UCL's new Social Sciences degree, which I guess is somewhat similar to the Arts and Sciences degree. I was wondering what the employment prospects are like for the Arts and Sciences degree?


The first cohort of students that have graduated have had no problem finding jobs, in fact you'll find that the interdisciplinary nature of the degree and tons of research, group projects and quantitative and qualitatively work you do prove very useful when job hunting and selling yourself (I know this from loads of job fairs, graduate applications and interviews). Plus the workplace as it is now is very interdisciplinary, they are not looking for people who can only do business, law, sciences, IT, but people who can work in all of these fields. So yeah I think BASc gives you great employment prospects.
Hello, could anyone that is currently studying Arts and Sciences at UCL tell me about their experience there ? Do you like it/what do you find the most interesting/what courses are you taking ?
I have applied and I am eligible for cultures or societies. They have also sent me a questionnaire that I need to send back soon. If I do get in, I would definitly choose the "societies" pathway and major in International Relations, Comparative politics and Introduction to Political Sociology. Anyone doing any of these courses could tell me a little bit more about them (if they like them,etc)?
I have been reading their website but I am finding the 'core' part of the program a little bit conflusing. In other terms, I don't really understand what I would be studying in "Quantitative Methods: Exploring Complexity" for example, could anyone help me ?
Thanks !
how many of those who apply get an invitation for the open day?