If they made all higher education free and accessible tomorrow....

[Candiscophonous]

So if higher education became entirely free to students tomorrow, and more accessible (eg more evening lectures, a mixture of online and in person, looser entry requirements etc), What would you study?
(I realise that it’s possible to study most things for free these days by way of massive online courses etc, but the difference here would be you’d get the recognised qualification at the end!)

The idea of studying brings me out in a cold sweat to be honest!
I have no idea what I’d like to do in the future but whatever it is, I don’t have the patience or inclination to be tied to books anymore.

Meteorology.

I’m already postgrad qualified in English/education, and I fancy something completely different

I’ve been very lucky with studying. I did my BA online via a brick uni and SAAS paid half the fees through a part-time grant and my work paid the remainder. I self-funded my online MSc but thanks to alumni discount it ‘only’ cost £6.5k and I got £5.5k of that as a tuition loan, which will be paid back slowly. I didn’t need a maintenance loan because I was working full-time.

I’m now a PhD student with a scholarship so my fees are waived and I get a stipend of £1270pm plus extra cash for teaching undergrad tutorials.

So basically three degrees have left me with £5.5k of debt and they have been flexible enough to fit around my life, which I can’t sniff at!

@amusedbush some luck but a lot of hard work too I imagine!

[quote Candiscophonous]@amusedbush some luck but a lot of hard work too I imagine![/quote]
Oh yes, working 9-5 then studying 5-9 plus weekends led to plenty of stress and tears

It hasn’t been easy but I feel very fortunate!

Ah my plan for when I win the lottery is to become a perpetual student...

Currently halfway through an English literature degree with the OU.

I'd also like to study history, maybe from the Renaissance to Victorian times.

Classical studies to.... And possibly religious studies or philosophy.

Basically, a grand tour of the humanities!

Accountancy. Then taxation and pension accountancy and law.
Forensic science
Medicine towards plastic surgery
I wasn't great at maths or science gcse but this is all hypothetical.

Forensic Anthropology (I actually applied for this when I was going to university and didn't get onto the course) or conservation and book binding!

I'd love to become an architect, very different to my degree which is in health care.

I have a science Bsc and MSc which lead me onto a good career but if I could study again now I would love to do a Spanish and French degree. Not sure my brain is up to it now though...

I used to live in a place where this was actually the case. Lots of people I knew did it; languages seemed to be the most popular options. When my mum retired she took up Slav languages and learnt Czech and Russian.

I don't have any spare brain space at the moment, but if I did, I would really like to learn a non-European language. We are assuming, aren't we, that this new fictitious university would teach exactly the courses you wanted? Japanese would be interesting or maybe African Studies.

Ds is learning Japanese at school now. Lucky thing! I am quite jealous that he gets to study his a levels but also some ‘additional’ subjects that interest him. I’m my school there was only computer club (that was so select I only knew about it when I left!)

I did sociology but never finished it, I'd like to finish that. Or maybe something like psychology.

Maybe Mechanical engineering... that would be a totally different direction though and I don't know if I'd get bored.

@corythatwas wow! Can you say where?
And yes, in the big fantasy you are not tied to one university or one building. You can participate online in any institution (globally!) and have access codes to all their libraries and resources and seminars.simultaneously! No restrictions. So all courses are possible .

It was in Sweden, so the disadvantage was that if you lived rurally, the nearest university might be a loooong way away. But if you were in a university town, higher education was your oyster.

Interesting @corythatwas. Is it still the case?

Yes, still the case. No tuition fees, and you can sign up module by module, as long as you meet the entry requirements rather than do a whole BA.

Psychology. I know I can study online but scratching around for bits of course materials of varying quality isn’t ideal. Plus if you’re attending a “real” course people are more likely to help you with childcare. I’ve tried asking my mum to babysit while I study in the spare bedroom but all that happens is I get criticised for “sitting upstairs and messing about on your computer like a teenager”.

Friend of mine did a degree in her 50s. Effectively it was free. She works min wage job, part time. She’s never going to pay anything back.

I might try this when I retire. 😁

Same as in the past: linguistics - the most fascinating subject there is (esp. semantics, typology, modality)
And if I could clone myself - construction site management and mathematics (but for the latter I'd probably need a new brain first)

Pharmacy. To catch up on the degree I didn't get in for in the 1980s.
I blame it on a)not studying enough , b) sixth form tuition being dire, and c) the boy who used to fart silently during darkroom practicals and clear the entire room.

Goldsmithing, gemmology, lapidary and business studies!

Accounting, then forensic accounting, and finally criminology

So many! but head of the pack would be an MA in creative writing or a degree in genetics.

History, definitely. I did psychology and now teach it at uni. So still love it.