Warwick law or Oxford History

2

I have offers for both however my parents say history is a useless degree and that they will not fund anything if I choose Oxford. I tried explaining that studying law doesn’t make you a lawyer in any capacity, and whilst Warwick is a great law school, many recruiters recruit disproportionately from places like Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, UCL. Also if I really wanted to do law I could just do a conversion course. I’m also leaning towards a career in diplomacy and politics which I think Oxford history is good for. Are my prospects that bad if I choose Oxford history, is it actually a useless degree?

Reply 1

LJMUStudentReps

Official Rep

19

Original post

by Lawlight

I have offers for both however my parents say history is a useless degree and that they will not fund anything if I choose Oxford. I tried explaining that studying law doesn’t make you a lawyer in any capacity, and whilst Warwick is a great law school, many recruiters recruit disproportionately from places like Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, UCL. Also if I really wanted to do law I could just do a conversion course. I’m also leaning towards a career in diplomacy and politics which I think Oxford history is good for. Are my prospects that bad if I choose Oxford history, is it actually a useless degree?

Hi @Lawlight,
I hope you are well. I'd say regardless if the degree is 'useful' or not you should do what you want to do! You are going to university not your parents so study what you'd like. It would be so much easier to study something you like rather than something you aren't too bothered about. Additionally, any university degree is good. It shows that you can learn at a higher level and especially a degree from Oxford so, im sure a pathway will open up for you in something you want to do.
Good luck and I hope you enjoy university!
Jack, LJMU Rep.

Reply 2

artful_lounger

Clearing and Applications Advisor, Universities Forum Helper

22

Original post

by Lawlight

I have offers for both however my parents say history is a useless degree and that they will not fund anything if I choose Oxford. I tried explaining that studying law doesn’t make you a lawyer in any capacity, and whilst Warwick is a great law school, many recruiters recruit disproportionately from places like Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, UCL. Also if I really wanted to do law I could just do a conversion course. I’m also leaning towards a career in diplomacy and politics which I think Oxford history is good for. Are my prospects that bad if I choose Oxford history, is it actually a useless degree?

Statistically approximately 50% of solicitors (and I believe similar for barristers) did a non-law degree to begin with. If you or your parents think your prospects after doing a humanities degree at Oxford would be "bad" I fear you nor they will ever be happy with anything you might achieve.

Do you actually want to study history? Or are you just leaning towards that option because of the Oxford "brand name"? If you would prefer to do a history degree - even if it wasn't at Oxford - then pick history. If you are just picking it for the Oxford "name" then realistically - Warwick ticks the same boxes for the same kinds of recruiters. It's a target university for investment banks and management consulting firms just as much as Oxford is.

Equally if you're only going to uni because you see the degree as part of a transaction whereby you put in studying hours and tuition fees and you get out a piece of paper that will get you a high paying job - you may be disappointed. This is no longer what degrees achieve for students in the UK (and realistically it hasn't been the case for at least a decade now). If you are only interested in the potential employment benefit of a degree then realistically you are most likely better off doing an apprenticeship (degree or otherwise) and directly going into work and beginning to develop your professional experience (which is what actually will make a difference for jobs past your first one or two roles).

Reply 3

LawyableUK

1

Congratulations on your fantastic offers. History at Oxford can open doors to any law firm in the world, especially if you do well in your course. I would pick Oxford History over Warwick Law any day!

Reply 4

UniofLawstudent3

Official Rep

7

Original post

by Lawlight

I have offers for both however my parents say history is a useless degree and that they will not fund anything if I choose Oxford. I tried explaining that studying law doesn’t make you a lawyer in any capacity, and whilst Warwick is a great law school, many recruiters recruit disproportionately from places like Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, UCL. Also if I really wanted to do law I could just do a conversion course. I’m also leaning towards a career in diplomacy and politics which I think Oxford history is good for. Are my prospects that bad if I choose Oxford history, is it actually a useless degree?

Hello!

Congratulations on both of your offers! I can absolutely assure you that studying History at Oxford is not useless. I did that course myself, then got a training contract with a firm that has funded my law conversion course and SQE exams, and I'll be starting work as a trainee solicitor in September. Friends on my course have gone into a wide range of fields, including politics, law, consulting and finance. The degree is what you make of it - there are so many opportunities at university to expand your skills by engaging in extra-curricular activities, as well as a ton of in-person and online careers events you can attend. At Oxbridge there are more careers events than at other universities. If you focus on achieving high grades and taking advantage of these opportunities, you will be in as good a position as you can be. History encourages critical thinking, communication and analytical skills. The Oxford course encourages you not just to come up with reasoned ideas, but also to verbally articulate them and respond when they are challenged. These are fantastic skills which you can apply to any career, but especially diplomacy, politics and law.

The Warwick course will have its own advantages, many of them similar. But I would always recommend going for the course you are more interested in, as you will both enjoy yourself more and probably do a bit better! As you mentioned, doing a law degree does not really put you at any advantage in pursuing a legal career over a non-law student.

I hope this is helpful!

Layla
SQE LLM student

Reply 5

xyz1234567

11

Plenty of people who study history at Oxford end up becoming lawyers.

Only about a third of people who study law degrees (across the country) end up getting a training contract.

So studying law does not guarantee you a safe job any more than history guarantees you no job. What matters is what you make of the degree you have chosen and the other skills you build while doing it. Enjoying the degree will help a lot with that.

Oxford commissioned a big study into employability of Humanities graduates. You can find the full report here. Your parents may find that evidence reassuring: https://www.humanities.ox.ac.uk/article/new-research-shows-how-studying-the-humanities-benefits-young-peoples-future-careers-and-wid

Reply 6

UoW Haiming

Official Rep

8

Original post

by Lawlight

I have offers for both however my parents say history is a useless degree and that they will not fund anything if I choose Oxford. I tried explaining that studying law doesn’t make you a lawyer in any capacity, and whilst Warwick is a great law school, many recruiters recruit disproportionately from places like Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, UCL. Also if I really wanted to do law I could just do a conversion course. I’m also leaning towards a career in diplomacy and politics which I think Oxford history is good for. Are my prospects that bad if I choose Oxford history, is it actually a useless degree?

Law probably does have better career prospects overall than history, but that doesn’t mean history is useless. A lot of people in politics or diplomacy didn’t study law either.

If you’re still not fully sure about your future direction, Warwick Law is honestly a really solid choice. The law school is well respected, and the course is quite practical and business focused. Things like commercial law and company law are quite strong there, and some modules are linked with WBS as well.

So if you think you might go into business or finance law later, it could give you an advantage. Warwick is also quite strong for jobs in general, and the alumni network and career support are really good.

Warwick law or Oxford History

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