CollegeChoice: Arts is becoming an increasingly popular third-level choice, writes Emmet Oliver, Education Correspondent
Last year, that most traditional of all college disciplines, the arts course, proved incredibly popular with students. Faced with meltdown in the IT industry and belt-tightening across the economy, students selected arts courses because they had one advantage over all other areas: flexibility.
Unlike engineering, medicine and architecture graduates, arts graduates can turn their hands to virtually anything.
They may need to supplement their basic degree with a post-graduate qualification, but at least they are able to move into a whole range of areas.
That is why arts, along with business, continues to attract more CAO applications each year than anything else. If you take an arts degree, you can put off that awful day when you have to make a definite career choice.
An arts graduate might start a college career with teaching in mind, but, after three or four years, may end up wanting to move into marketing or management consultancy.
Taking an arts course gives a student a chance to mature while reading and studying some of the most important books and texts ever written.
Range of jobs
The range of jobs open to arts graduates is enormous: teaching; civil service; journalism; public relations; advertising, recruitment; management consultancy; psychology; customer service; entertainment; insurance; sales; marketing; law; social work; politics; telesales; e-commerce and tourism are just some of the possibilities. This list is by no means exhaustive. The variety is what students find appealing. An arts graduate rarely feels boxed-in, whereas a student on the long treadmill to a medical career, for instance, can feel a little deflated from time to time.
Job prospects
Another misconception about arts graduates is that while the courses they pursue are stimulating and lively, the job prospects afterwards are dire.
But a study of the figures shows that this image is wide of the mark. For example, UCD, the largest provider of humanities courses in the State, recently pointed out how well arts graduates did after leaving the college.
Their figures for 2001 (which unfortunately are the most recently published) illustrate the point clearly.
There was a 1.7 per cent level of unemployment among arts graduates, compared to 2.8 per cent among law graduates, 2.6 per cent among science graduates, 4 per cent among engineering graduates and, surprisingly, 2.4 per cent among veterinary medicine graduates.
This trend of higher graduate unemployment among engineers and scientists than arts graduates has become the norm in many colleges in recent years. While arts graduates are not always able to match the earning power of engineers or computer scientists, they tend to get into employment more readily.
The flexibility of their degree also means that they can move in and out of sectors as the economy evolves, whereas if there is a slump in engineering all graduates are hit and all have little chance of escape, unless they go abroad.
Two other factors prompt students to take arts courses. One is that they are enjoyable. Doing English, history, psychology or a foreign language for three to four years will stay with you forever - and, no matter what engineers, accountants or scientists say, these subjects are never dull.
Colleges
While the big providers of arts degrees are the universities, they do not all operate along the same lines. For example, Trinity College offers its four-year arts degree on a denominated basis, so there is a BA in Music (TR 002), history (TR 003), philosophy (TR 005) and psychology (TR 006). But Trinity also offers a two-subject arts degree (TR 001), and this is where things get a little trickier. Look at page 39 of the handbook and you will see an intimidating grid. This shows you what subjects you are allowed to combine at Trinity.
However, all kinds of combinations are not possible. For example, you cannot do English literature with economics, history with drama studies, or German with psychology. Those keen to attend Trinity must realise this: you cannot always get what you want.
The same goes for UCD, where certain arts combinations are also not permitted because of time-tabling problems.
In relation to the two-subject Trinity course (TR 001), you must be able to match or exceed the points requirements of the higher of the two subjects.
For example, if you wanted to do German and history, and history required more points, you must have the points to match the history requirement, or else you will not get the place.
Points for arts courses have been hovering between 350 and 400 for the last few years, although the sheer increase in applicants last year produced a bit of a squeeze. In several colleges, the somewhat cruel, "random selection" system operates, so you can never really be certain of an arts place unless you perform very well in the Leaving.
In terms of individual subjects, psychology has become enormously popular in recent years, with colleges forced to fail a large number of students in the first year. Economics and history, because of their broad bases, are also very popular. Languages, because of their usefulness in business and the travel trade, are also popular each year with students.
Tomorrow: engineering courses