Choosing a Course

Introduction

There are 8 general faculty areas for you to decide between when choosing a degree subject. Whilst I cannot list all of the components here, I hope that this will give you an idea of what is available.

Business Courses

1. These courses provide essential and looked-for skills in verbal, written and time management skills, IT know-how and the ability to work in a team.
2. Courses include: Business Studies, Business Administration, Hospitality Management, Environmental Management, Marketing, Property Development, International Business, Human Resources Management, Public Relations, Advertising, Sport Management, Tourism, Fashion Buying, Logistics, Transport Management, Finance, Accountancy, Banking, Actuarial Studies and Financial Services.
3. Also worth remembering that a very large proportion of students from other subjects—History, Geography, Law, Languages etc—still go into business, being trained by firms to fit their own style of management operations.

Social Studies and Law

1. It is important to note that Social Sciences are not only appropriate if you are intending to become a social worker, but will help you if you are.
2. Courses include: Social Work, Community Development, Youth Studies, Social Policy, Social Administration, Community Art, Education, Psychology, Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, Developmental Psychology, Sociology, Criminology, Anthropology, Politics and Government, International Relations, Peace and War Studies, Economics, Religious Studies, Ethics and the Law.
3. It is not necessary to hold a degree in Law to become a solicitor or a barrister, providing you have a good class of degree.

Medicine and Health

1. "45 GCSEs all at the same time" — that’s how one medical school admissions tutor described a course in Medicine. Although that might be an exaggeration, the work load involved should never be underestimated, which is often why med schools are looking for a good spread of grade As at GCSE, AS and A Level. In addition to straight Medicine, there are many other areas of study.
2. Courses include: Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Medicine, Optometry, Pharmacy, Pharmacology, Toxicology, Nursing, Midwifery, Speech Therapy, Physiotherapy, Audiology, Nutrition, Radiography, Occupational Therapy, Orthoptics, Podiatry, Prosthetics and Orthotics, Osteopathy, Paramedic Science, Biological Sciences, Anatomy and Genetics.
3. There has also been an increase in recent years in courses dealing with Herbal Medicine, Health and Safety and Health Promotion.

The Sciences

1. This group of courses covers a huge field—many of which you will be familiar with if you are studying Sciences.
2. Courses include: Biochemistry, Biological Sciences, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (all broad sweep courses with can lead to specialisation because they form the foundation of science careers). Students taking Biological Science can usually specialise in their chosen field in the 2nd or 3rd year of the course in such areas as:

Biomedical Science, Microbiology, Physiology, Immunology, Genetics or Botany. Other specialism courses include Medical Engineering, Biotechnology, Bioarchaeology. Sciences also include: Agriculture, Forestry, Animal and Equine Science, Aquaculture, Crop Science, Plant Science, Geology, Earth Sciences, Marine Biology and Zoology.

1. Look out for universities offering Modular Courses, which allow for specialisation. Admissions tutors will be looking for experience of and understanding of your area of interest outside of your A-Level syllabus.

Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science

1. Wanting to know how things work, wanting to make things work, or wanting to invent new ways to make things work would seem to be a fairly good indication of a technically-minded student. If this sounds like you then Engineering courses will be of particular relevance to you. There are a vast array of courses in this area, including: General or Integrated Engineering, Electrical or Electronic Engineering, Software Engineering, Audio Engineering, Computer and Control Engineering, Mechanical, Automobile, Acoustical, Marine, Manufacturing, Agricultural, Civil, Structural, Transport, Mining and Water Engineering.
2. With Mathematics you can look at courses in Mathematics; Pure and Applied, Statistics and Operational Mathematics.
3. With Computing you can look at Computer Science, Information Systems, Information Management, Artificial Intelligence, Cybernetics and Multimedia.

Learning a Language

1. Many language students go on to study a language that they have learned at school, which is fine, but if you have a gift for languages then why not look at learning a new language. You can do this by taking a dual-honours degree.
2. There is a wide spectrum of languages that can be started from scratch at university, including: Chinese, Czech, Italian, Japanese, Modern Greek, Portuguese, Russian, Urdu, Iranian, Tamil, Thai, Welsh and Scandinavian Studies.
3. You can also combine languages with other areas, such as European Studies, Business Studies, Political Studies, Translating and Interpreting, Linguistics, Modern Languages, International Relations and European Union Studies.
4. Make sure that you understand if the course you are applying for is literature based, or will focus on the written and spoken word, as many courses will vary widely in this.

Creative Subjects

1. Creative people tend to be known as ‘gifted’ although achievement in this area certainly doesn’t come without a lot of effort! Some Creative course can lead to specific careers, such as Art and Design, Music and Drama, although Fine Art courses can lead to areas in which it is difficult to get established.
2. Courses available include: Fashion and Textile Design, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Three Dimensional Design. Architecture and Landscape Architecture also fall within this area. History of Art is also a popular choice.
3. Music courses tend to be very broad in their approach, but some are performance based, others include Aural
4. Training, Analysis, Historical Studies, Music Technology, Electronics, and Music and Sound Recording.
5. Drama or Dance students can specialise in Performing Arts, Musical Theatre, Radio and TV Production, Film and Video, PR, Publishing and Creative Writing.

Other Arts and Humanities Subjects

1. Arts degrees cover a wide field and apart from subjects chosen as a preparation to enter the teaching profession they are non-vocational, and generally studied for pleasure and scholarship. One of the most popular of these is English, both Literature and Language.
2. Other courses include: Creative Writing, American Studies, History, History of Art, Classical Studies, Classics, Philosophy, Theology, Religious Studies, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Sport Studies, Coaching, Sport Therapy, Fitness Management, Town and Country Planning, Geography, Transport Planning, Advertising, Journalism and Land Management.
3. Those students interested in a teaching career but who do not want to follow a teacher training course can study for a degree course, for example in English, History, Geography or Languages, and then take an extra year, leading to a Post-graduate Certificate in Education.