What use is an arts degree? This is one of the most frequently asked questions of the college applications season as parents try to steer their children towards more obviously career-oriented courses.
"Why can't she do computing and get a good job at the end of four years?" is a common refrain as parents begin to count the cost of a college education. Another frequent remark is that the points for arts are relatively low so it can't be any good.
If you look at last year's points table you will see the cut-off points for arts in one large college were 380* (random selection applied) while commerce in the same college registered 430*. However, 361 commerce offers were made and far more arts offers. Points for the 361st place in the arts list were 470. So, if there had only been 361 arts places, the cut-off would have been 470.
What does that say to you? Is arts then more useful than commerce? In fact, points tell you absolutely nothing about the relative value of particular courses. The cut-off points are a function of supply (the number of first-year places) and demand (the number and quality of the applicants - as measured in points).
The cut-off level is simply the points achieved by the last person offered a place on the course. As the arts statistics show, everyone else on the course has equal or higher points to the last person who was made an offer - in some cases, substantially higher.
The Value Of Arts
Ms Loretta Jennings, careers officer at NUI Maynooth, says parents are often concerned about the subjects their sons and daughters want to study in their arts degree. They want to get the right mix so that a range of jobs is open to the students. But about 40 per cent of employers are looking for graduates of any discipline, she says; they are looking for a trained mind.
Students are far better off doing well in something that they enjoy and coming out as a wellrounded graduate, says Ms Jennings. They can go into areas as diverse as accounting, law, journalism and research, and not necessarily via a conversion course.
A number of students take a modern language because they are good at it and may have spent time abroad but they don't realise that they will be studying the literature at college, she cautions. These students might find that applied languages courses would suit them better, Ms Jennings advises.
Mr Peter Keane, careers officer at the University of Galway, says that arts graduates must be prepared to do a top-up vocational qualification. Of course, some arts subjects are more vocationally-oriented than others. Prof Nollaig Mac Congail, dean of the college's arts faculty, notes that there are 21 disciplines available in the faculty, including a number of non-traditional subjects like information technology, legal science and social sciences through arts.
Mr Seamus McEvoy, UCC's careers officer, suggests that students who do not have a very clear idea of what they want to do can keep their options open by opting for a general science, business or arts programme. "What is important is how academically successful they are, whether they can take responsibility, whether they have any work experience."
He also mentions the value of a top-up qualification. UCC's most recent graduate survey found that people with higher degrees started on higher salaries. If you invest an extra year, you may come out with £3,000 to £4,000 more in your starting salary.
Arts in UCC, UCD, UG and NUI Maynooth is offered as a common-entry option on the CAO form, with students choosing their subjects later. In contrast, students opting for TCD's two-subject moderatorship (TR001) apply for places to study particular subjects. Points for two-subject moderatorships last year ranged from 535* for psychology to 305 for Russian and biblical and theological studies. TCD also offers a range of single-honour subjects.
Often, when students think of arts they focus on the traditional universities. There are a number of other options on offer, so students should study the CAO handbook carefully.
Three colleges better known for their teacher training courses also offer arts options. St Patrick's College, Drumcondra, has a three-year BA (TM103) with first-year options in English, Gaeilge, human development, history, maths, French, geography, bioscience, music and religious studies. Students take three subjects in first year and two in second and third year. Bioscience is a first-year subject only. This degree is linked with DCU.
Mary Immaculate College, Limerick has a four-year liberal arts programme, which includes English, French, Gaeilge, geography, German, history, Irish heritage studies, maths, media and communication studies, music, philosophy and religious studies. Students take four subjects in first year and two for the remainder of the programme. Irish heritage studies is a first-year subject only. This degree is awarded by the University of Limerick and is listed as LM047.
This year, St Angela's College, Sligo, in partnership with UG, has introduced an arts degree in economics and social studies (course code GY102).
DCU, UL, the regional technical colleges, the institutes of technology and the private colleges offer a variety of certificates, diplomas and degrees encompassing the arts. These programmes include applied languages, music, language and cultural studies, heritage studies, social studies, and folk theatre studies.
Fate Of 1996 Graduates
Slightly more than one-third of 1996 arts and social science graduates (the two categories are grouped together) were in fulltime employment when they were surveyed by the Higher Education Authority in April 1997. A further 4.9 per cent were in part-time employment. The single biggest sector of employment for arts and social science graduates in Ireland was insurance, financial, business and commercial computer services.
Unsurprisingly, a substantial proportion (25.5 per cent) of graduates were engaged in further research or academic study, while 7.8 per cent were in teachertraining. Other vocational and training options accounted for 17.5 per cent of graduates.
The proportion of arts and social science graduates seeking employment fell slightly from 5 per cent in 1995 to 4.4 per cent in 1996. This compares with an overall graduate unemployment rate of 3.6 per cent. The emigration rate for arts graduates fell from 14.6 in 1995 to 13.0 per cent in 1996.
As Gaeilge
There are eight full-time third-level courses offered through the CAO which are delivered and run through the medium of Irish. There are also some third-level courses which allow students to study Irish as a subject within a degree programme and others which provide sections of the course through Irish.
The first graduates of DCU's new B.Sc in airgeadas, riomhaireacht agus fiontraiocht (finance, computing and enterprise) will emerge this summer. Good employment prospects are expected by the college.
Galway RTC offers a teastas naisiunta sa staidear gno (national certificate in business studies) and Letterkenny RTC has a teastas naisiunta sna corais eolais oifige (national certificate in office information systems). There is an all-Irish bachelor of education degree on offer in Colaiste Mhuire, Marino, Dublin, which takes in 50 students each year.
University Of Galway
Certain subjects are offered through Irish within the arts, commerce and science degrees. Arts students can take history, geography, economics, maths and French, and, of course, Irish, through Irish. Commerce in UG has three subjects on offer through Irish - industrial relations, personnel management and economics - while science students can take mathematical physics, applied physics, chemistry, maths and biology through Irish.
At postgraduate level, UG also has an arddioplomai gcumarsaid fheidhmeach - teilifis agus raidio (higher diploma in applied communications - television and radio).
Students interested in pursuing a college course as Gaeilge might be interested in a new book, An Dialann Chumarsaide, which has a comprehensive section on all the third-level courses that are available through Irish as well as courses that offer Irish as a subject. The book (cost £6) is available from Cumarsaid Publications, 15 Bothar Belgrave, Rath Maonais, Baile Atha Cliath 6.
Journalism
Jobs in journalism are scarce. However, this does not seem to deter students from applying for the two undergraduate courses available through the CAO. The cut-off points for DCU's journalism degree were 460 last year, while students required a minimum of 450 points to secure a place on DIT's degree course.
Another well-travelled route into journalism is via a postgraduate course in DIT, DCU and UG. These courses are open to graduates of any discipline. A number of Post-Leaving Certificate colleges also offer journalism courses. The NUJ estimates that more than 100 new journalists enter the market each year. Would-be journalists must expect to work on a freelance basis for a number of years.
Mature Students And DCU
DCU will hold an information evening for mature applicants on Wednesday, March 18th. The college produces a leaflet for mature applicants which includes information on application procedures, financial matters and services available to mature students.
Mater Dei
College Choice has received some calls about Mater Dei Institute of Education and fees. The college is within the Department of Education's free fees initiative. It offers degrees in religion, education and English; religion, education and history and religion, education and music.
Additional reporting by Catherine Foley