Activity 4 - Choosing a University Degree Subject

At University, there are an endless amount of degree subjects to study. There are more traditional subjects

that you have studied in school before, such as Maths, English, Science and Humanities. There are also creative subjects you can study at University, including Art, Textiles and Art and Drama. If you enjoy sports and being active, there are also degrees focusing on Sport, including Sports Science and Sports Coaching.

At University, there are also subjects you might have little to no experience studying and researching, and may not have even considered to be a subject at all! This includes subjects such as, Criminology, Law, Psychology, Economics, Horticulture, Animal Studies and Zoology, Engineering and Teaching. 

However, at University you are limited to studying one or two subject areas only! This can be a hard decision for many people when they are deciding to go to University. Therefore,  in activity four, we will be considering which subject area is right for you!

Pre-task questions to consider:

Before you start activity 4 ... consider the following four questions and write down your answers! 

1. What lessons and activities do you look forward to the most at school?

2. What lessons do your friends, family and teachers say you are best at?

3. What hobbies/activities do you enjoy doing the most outside of school?

4. What do you do at home, or in your community that helps other people?

Task 1: Thinking about our favourite subjects in more detail!

Consider the following questions below to think about which subject could be best for you to study at University. Try to write down a couple of sentences for each question.

Question 1: Are the lessons you enjoy the most at school the same as the lessons your friends and family think you are best at?

Question 2: Are there any activities/hobbies that you do outside of school that you think you would like to study further?

Question 3: What career can you imagine yourself doing in the future?

Task 2: Real or Fake Degrees?

Continue to watch the video clip above. PAUSE THE VIDEO AT 3 MINUTES! The video clip will ask you to consider whether the Degree is a real subject you can study or not at a UK University. Considering the following degrees below and note down your answer. Get a parent involved for more fun!

Press PLAY on the video when you have all of your answers to see if you were right! 

Can you study Circus and Physical Performance? 

Can you study Vegan and Vegetarian Studies?

Can you study Yodelling?

Can you study Stand-Up Comedy?

Can you study Rap and Hip Hop Studies?

Can you study Puppetry? 

Can you study House Plant Care?

Can you study Baking?

Can you study David Bekham?

Can you study Electronic Music and DJ Practice?

Can you study Equestrian (Horse) Psychology?

Can you study Chimney Sweeping?

Task 3: Quiz time!

Click the link below to take part in a quiz which will help you to see what University Degree would be best suited for you! Write down your answer so you don't forget. 

***** Miss Mason did the quiz and got "Crime, Deviance and Society" as her suggested degree subject - this is what she actually studied at University!

Task 4: Is it the right subject for you?..

Once you have completed the quiz you clicked on above, consider the questions below and try to write a sentence for each.

Question 1: Does the subject you got in the quiz match your answers from the pre-task questions?

Question 2: Would you like to find out more about the subject you got in the quiz?

Task 5: Final Thoughts 

Before we move onto task 5, you need to make sure you have decided on what subject you would like to study for your University Degree. This could either be the answer from the quiz, or any other subject you are interested in.

1. Find a large piece of paper you can use for this next task. Try to create a mind map of your chosen degree subject - write down everything you already know about this subject. If you can, ask parents/carers and siblings if they know anything else about your chosen degree subject. You can draw images or use key words. 

2. Once you have wrote down everything you know about your chosen degree subject you would like to study at University, we are going to do some research to further our knowledge of the subject. Click the link below and type in your chosen subject in the "Search" box. Add on any other information you can find to your mind map. Share this new information with parents/siblings if you can.