College Choice/Brian Mooney:Arts courses are the most popular third-level option, with more than a quarter of all applications listing humanities and human science courses as their first-preference choice.
Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree programmes form the bedrock of the student population of most of our universities, and to a lesser extent the institutes of technology.
The biggest intake in any course is into arts in UCD (DN012), which in 2007 awarded some 1,261 places, with minimum points of 345, followed by Arts degrees at UCG (GY101), with 1,065 students, UCC (CK101), with 929 students and NUI Maynooth (MH101), with 840.
Similar numbers of students in Trinity College - as well as those taking an arts degree at the University of Limerick (plus degrees offered jointly through Mary Immaculate College), and St Patrick's College, Carlow College, the Dublin Business School (fee-paying) - show that this area of study is of the greatest interest to prospective students.
Because the BA offer lots of places, points tend to be lower than smaller subjects such as architecture or law. However, most students have high points with over 50 per cent of UCD Arts students having over 400 points.
• What type of programme: general or specific?
Within the general programmes, students can "taste" subjects before making their final selection. The number of subjects can vary between three and four in first year, dropping to two or sometimes one subject for the remainder of the degree.
The BA is a vast degree covering a multiplicity of subjects. UCD offers 30 distinct subjects. A similar range is offered by all the other universities. Timetable restrictions can affect your range of subject choices as class sizes are rarely a problem.
Within the so-called denominated degrees, students choose their subjects before entering university. Tiny numbers of places are offered on these programmes, sometimes as few as 10, which inevitably results in them having very high entry points, which increases their status in the eyes of students, but do guarantee places in particular subject areas.
• My advice - be cautious!
Exercise extreme caution before selecting a specific denominated programme, as you will be sharing the same classes with those entering through the general omnibus route.
With growing modularisation in the system, students who select omnibus programmes have far greater flexibility than denominated students, who are committed to one or two specific subjects from day one.
This flexibility means that you can risk taking "unknown" subjects such as philosophy or sociology without the fear of closing off options in second or third year.
• Interdisciplinary Programmes
Some colleges offer interdisciplinary degrees such as UCD's new BSc in Archaeology & Geology (DN093).
In the past 20 years, archaeology has become a very strong commercial field in Europe, and the scale of road building in Ireland over the past decade has created a thriving industry here.
The heritage sector is also growing, as is cultural tourism; opening opportunities for cross-over knowledge between natural and cultural conservation and interpretation.
Another very specific new humanities degree is the BA in Acting offered by DCU and taught at the Gaiety School of Acting which combines practical training in acting and production with academic study of various playwrights.
• What can you do with an Arts degree?
Arts subjects don't tend to have a clear career path, but HR managers look to employ well-educated graduates who are self-motivators and who demonstrate creative and analytical skills. In achieving these competencies, students involved in college societies and who learned skills of public debating, acting, event organising, prove to employers their suitability to be similarly self-motivated in acquiring the specific skills necessary to perform new responsibilities.
• Destinations of Graduates
Over 50 per cent of UCD Arts graduates progress into professional postgraduate studies, in areas such as business, law, journalism and creative writing.
Their primary degree is a stepping stone, a time for studying subjects in which they have a deep interest.
Popular combinations such as Politics and Economics lead students into very varied careers. Some may enter the political arena, but they are just as likely to go into business or the public sector - which now offers comparable salaries and career paths with the private sector.
Over 40 per cent proceed directly to employment. The range of careers open to such graduates is enormous, including teaching, politics, civil service, journalism, performing and visual arts, public relations, financial services, recruitment, management consultancy and customer service. The list is endless. Arts and social science graduates have the flexibility to move in any direction they wish.
• What are the points likely to be for arts degrees?
In 2007, the minimum entry points dropped across the board in many colleges to 345, in the case of UCD and 340 for UCC, with other colleges being somewhat higher.
For those prepared to pay fees, entry to an arts degree can be obtained through the Dublin Business School at about 250 points.
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