Humanities courses have always played a significant
role in British higher education during the twentieth century. Demand
for places has been, and continues to be, high. Few universities
concentrate solely on technology and even the new universities,
which had originally been envisaged as providers of vocationally
orientated courses in areas such as management, engineering, science
and business studies, have, in many cases, acquired strong humanities
faculties. These draw upon a continually rising demand from school
leavers and the growing body of mature students, many in their 30s
and 40s. In some universities mature entrants comprise over one
third of the entrants into humanities courses and, although requirements
are likely to vary according to demand for places, at the present
time the overall demand for these places is in balance so that applicants
who meet the matriculation qualifications will usually find a place.
Bachelor of Arts courses are of three years duration
(though where the study of a foreign language is involved an additional
year spent abroad may be required). Each academic year, which lasts
from September to early July, consists either of three terms or
two semesters, though whatever the structure there will be breaks
of three or four weeks around Christmas and Easter. In the case
of the semesterised course, examinations take place at the end of
each semester after which students move on to a new range of studies.
All non-mature entrants to a humanities degree will need to have
least passes at Advanced Level of the English General Certificate
of Education or their equivalent in terms of other national qualifications.
Different considerations are often applied to mature students for
whom, for example, work experience may be considered as a relevant
alternative. The choice of location for humanities is extensive,
ranging from the London-based and other large city centre universities,
to those in smaller or more historic towns, and those on a self-contained
campus in semi-rural surroundings. All these have benefits, though
clearly the larger the university and the city in which it is located,
the better the cultural and other amenities.
Humanities BAs normally take three main forms.
The single subject, the joint subject and the interdisciplinary.
Traditionally the single subject degree in the established disciplines
such as English, history, modern foreign languages, classical studies,
philosophy, theology, political science and sociology was the main
staple of humanities courses in the older universities. More recently
the combined or joint degree has gained ground, with many universities
now offering the opportunity to combine any two from the range of
subjects either in equal proportions or as a major/minor program.
The latest development is the interdisciplinary or cross-disciplinary
degree which, for example, focuses on a theme by combining the subjects
and exploiting the methods of approach from a number of disciplines.
Degrees such as the American Studies, Women's Studies, Media Studies,
Cultural Studies and European Studies would all fall into this category.
Despite growing numbers entering humanities education,
the traditionally strong commitment to personal contact between
teachers and students has been retained as the characteristic feature
of the British degree course. Overall tuition hours will range from
eight to twelve hours each week. Of these, half would be formal
lectures, the purpose of which is to survey the relevant literature,
impart information, analyse problems or explain methods of approach.
Lectures are complemented by seminars and tutorials. The former
comprise groups of ten to fifteen students meeting under the direction
of a tutor and focus on specific topics which might arise from the
lecture program. Tutorial groups will be smaller, perhaps involving
one to one relationships and might be fixed at times requested by
the student.
Assessment of performance takes place every year
and a variety of assessment methods are in place. The traditional
formal examination comprises unseen essay questions answered during
a two or three hour examination. However, it is now increasingly
supplemented by work submitted throughout the academic year which
might consist of essays of around 2,000 words, reviews, class presentations
or longer projects of up to 5,000 words. Many of the humanities
based degrees require the submission of a dissertation or thesis
during the final year. This involves independent but supervised
work on a theme agreed with the tutor and is usually about 10,000-12,000
words in length. Most universities will have computer drop-in centres
with trained technicians so that students can develop word processing
and database skills quite easily.
British universities offer immensely attractive
opportunities and a pleasant and friendly environment. The wide
range of stimulating and high quality humanities provision allow
students to build programs which will fulfil their individual requirements
within a flexible academic framework. Furthermore, the experience
of studying for a first degree lays the foundation for those students
wishing to embark upon post graduate study which can range from
a taught MA course to research possibilities at MPhil and PhD level.
