The "Ask a Durham Student" Thread :)

how hard is it to switch to a combined honours degree on arrival at durham, even if you applied for something different?

Combined honours degree? Do you mean a joint honours (where you study two subjects eg. philosophy and politics) or what Durham call combined honours (its own degree where you can study two or three subjects each year in the arts and social sciences, creating your own programme?)

I'm assuming it's the former? It can depend on a number of factors. Firstly how competitive the course is and whether you meet the A-level and first year requirements.

I changed from single honours philosophy to JH PhilPol after my first year. It was quite simple, I just wrote a personal statement and, after getting the departments support, sent it off to the Dean and it was granted. I did cover enough politics modules in my first year (two) in order for me to cover the required pre-requisite modules needed to proceed to the first year.

So, if you want to change to a JH course at the end of the first year you need to make sure you've covered any required modules for the department you're transferring into. If you do

If you're talking about transferring degrees within the first few weeks then this is usually easier (as you don't need to worry about pre-req modules). You'll need to inform your college and department in those first two or three weeks and, with the support of the department you want to transfer into it should be possible.

All degree programmes have space on their courses to allow students to transfer. But competition can still be intense depending on the department.

If you were actually referring to what Durham call "combined honours degrees" then I think you still can transfer. I've heard from a fellow student that it's the one degree you can't transfer to but my senior tutor assured me you can. Space is very limited (it's one of Durham's most competitive courses so already quite full) and competition is fierce.

If you want a clearer and more succinct answer then you'll probably need to wait until tomorrow. I'm really in a strange rambling mode tonight (being a mod and dealing with trolls takes its toll ) and probably just confusing you. Someone else could explain better anyway.

Sorry. Try and be back tommorrow. Do you have doubts? Are we talking about a specific JH degree here? If so then I could give specifics.

thanks =D

i was talking about combined honours in arts.

like im applying for modern languages, (french and spanish). and was wondering whether i could switch to combined arts....i.e. study french, spanish plus another subject such as international relations or politics within combined arts. i know you can study this combination within combined arts, but the thing is i didint apply for it, rather modern languages.

Oh right. As I was finishing the post I was think, yeah you probably do mean combined honours. It's jsut you get so many people calling joint honours combined honours it gets confusing.

Anyway, I've just checked and it seems as though you can't transfer into combined honours: -

"Each of the programmes has a quota, which specifies the number of students we can admit each year, and we recruit prospective students up to our quotas through UCAS applications. Since we must safeguard the quality of the student experience for those who are committed to multidisciplinary studies from the outset, we cannot admit more students at a later date. As a result, neither current students nor prospective students who have been offered a place on other programmes will be permitted to transfer into Combined Honours. This policy will be reviewed annually."

From the combined honours website. Sorry to have misled you, my senior tutor is obviously speaking rubbish. I was a bit unsure myself as it is so excelptionally competitive and oversubscribed but her put trust in her words.

However, as far as I'm aware on most programmes you do have electives. You will still be able to take up to two modules from outside the language faculty in both your first and your second year. You will usually be required to take four modules from your department. You can still take the other remaining two from languages if you so wish or you could take them from outside the school.

http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/faculty.handbook/degrees/frameworks/t900.pdf

So, if this is correct (and I'm not just talking rubbish again) you'll still be able to take some politics modules in your first and second years, should you have the space, but not the final year.

thats depressing.
great!
is the modern languages dept competitive, in relation to others?

i think i want to apply to st cuth's but id like 2 know how far away is the parson's field site from the science site because im a lazy bum and dont want to have to get up early in the morning?

and also is the food nice at st cuths

This is ridiculously premature but w/e:

I got an offer from Castle for Biology I'm sure all of you are sick of hearing this but the prospect of living in a castle sounds rather attractive, so I was wondering - if one offers to share, how likely is it that one would be given a castle room? Also erm if say someone puts Castle as insurance, do they get put lower on the room allocation hierarchy or not?

Thanks

Accommodation isn't sorted out until after results come in so the answer to the second question is no. Can't help you with the first though.

Though shared rooms are cheaper, no?

Does anyone know what the Law Dept opening times are? (50 North Bailey)

The interweb is not helping.

I've no idea, but I would have thought that it would be open from about 9 - 6 on weekdays like the History department.

I need to be there as soon as it opens on Monday. Any chance this could be 8am? 8.30?

It's possible - it must open before the university timetable starts at 9.

I need to know