What are people’s thoughts on double degrees -eg Maths with Geography etc

[Swiftnicola]

My dc is trying to pick university courses and there’s quite a lot of these available. She’s keen on two subjects So from that Point of view they look very tempting. Just wondered what the thinking is beyond uni though - are they less liked because The subjects aren’t studied in as much depth, or can it be an advantage. My dd has no idea what career she wants to go into, and the subjects she’s looking at aren’t linked in the slightest.

I’m wondering this too but I think you’d be better moving it to ‘Higher Education’ if your talking about university degrees.

Do you mean a joint honours degree? They do vary - dome will be 50/50 and others will be a minor/major.
The key is the combination - it obviously works better if they are complimentary subjects and from a practical pint of view it helps if the two subjects are based in the same faculty or school. As an academic and a career guidance professional I really wouldn't recommend doing two very different subjects. They don't work very well in my experience.

From an employers point of view it's often useful to know that 70% of graduate employers don't ask for a particular degree subject.

She would probably benefit from speaking to a qualified careers adviser.

I've got one, it was helpful for broadening career choices and seen as higher status for covering more than half of each subject. That was a million years ago though, no idea whether they'd still be seen the same way!

Apologies for the typos but you get my drift!

I did a combined degree. So, a selection of modules all from social science departments. You don't do less depth as such because each module you cover is the same degree of difficulty as someone else who does a degree with a single subject. What you get is less breadth. For example, you may do politics and only do modules on international relations or America. If you plan well the degree will have links between the topics that add value. The links can add an extra layer of understanding that improves your analysis of both subjects.

Thanksc

Thanks all - you’ve confirmed what I’ve been thinking. Does anyone know if it would be looked down on from an admissions point of view if you put say 3 options of just mathematics and 2 options of maths with history for example, compared to students who put 5 maths options down?

I did one and rather regretted it as I realised I loved one subject and not the other. Beyond university - nobody cares!

@Swiftnicola

Thanks all - you’ve confirmed what I’ve been thinking. Does anyone know if it would be looked down on from an admissions point of view if you put say 3 options of just mathematics and 2 options of maths with history for example, compared to students who put 5 maths options down?

If she applied to different universities then they won't see who else or what else she's applied for .... they'll only see applications for courses at the same university. However, it's going to very difficult to write a personal statement that demonstrates a passion for maths and history so that will be an issue. They're very different subjects.

I contemplated doing a joint honours but I’m glad I didn’t as on my course all the core subjects were the harder/less interesting ones. I presume it’s similar on the other course so I would have found myself doing a more intense and less enjoyable course. The core topics were ones everyone had to do.

Do you mean a joint degree or a double degree?
A joint degree is taking 2 subjects, half each. I did that and it has never been a problem. In fact, it have me a second subject to teach. If she wants to go into a career that needs specialism then it's a bad idea.
A double degree is taking two full degrees at the same time and is pretty unusual. You have to find a university that structures classes so that it's possible, and recognizes double degrees.

Lots of my friends have joint honours degrees, possibly because we met at a university whose philosophy centred around the notion of producing graduates who experience 'an interdisciplinary curriculum'. The only ones who don't have joint honours are those who studied International Relations or Physiotherapy. The rest of us studied all sorts of combinations from American Studies and Biology to Geology and Music.

I'm so glad I did a joint honours degree as it opened doors I didn't know were there to be opened; my research career would have been unlikely to have existed had it not been for the second of my subjects and I loved being able to pick units from the two subjects that overlapped in a roundabout sort of way. Studying one interest subject and one National Curriculum subject has meant a number of friends have been able to go into teaching on the back of their NC subject which would have been rather more complicated if they'd only studied Psychology, American Studies or Criminology for example.

If there are two very different subjects your DD is interested in, I'd encourage her to look at a joint honours degree, especially if they're subjects that are unlikely to be pursued via amateur/extra-curricular involvement.

Sorry, yes I meant a joint honours degree. I didn’t realise that Universities didn’t see all the choices put down. .
It’s just so frustrating when they don’t fully know what direction to take.

I too was wondering if doing a joint honours waters it down? For example is an Economics degree ‘stronger’ than economics with politics?

@Swiftnicola

Sorry, yes I meant a joint honours degree. I didn’t realise that Universities didn’t see all the choices put down. . It’s just so frustrating when they don’t fully know what direction to take.

It would probably be worth her speaking to a qualified careers adviser. They will help her focus and consider all her options.

Thanks SueEllen, I’ll look into it -see if there’s any available. I think the school one is a bit superficial, so will look privately.

@Swiftnicola

Thanks SueEllen, I’ll look into it -see if there’s any available. I think the school one is a bit superficial, so will look privately.

In what way is the school one superficial? She should have access to a independent, impartial adviser ( ideally qualified to level 6) who can offer a one to one personal guidance interview - that's a statutory requirement.

I'd be very wary of looking privately - there are lots of ' career coaches' out there who aren't qualified but charge a fortune.
If you do decided to find a private adviser they should hold a minimum level 6 qualification in advice and guidance ( but a postgraduate qualification is even better) and be on the CDI professional register - that way you know you're getting someone who has been trained! It's a skill and requires significant training to do it well!

Hi SueEllen! I'm also a qualified career guidance professional and I also did a joint honours degree. Mine was psychology and another subject and was a good combination, especially for the 70% of graduate employers who aren't looking for a specific degree.
It can be difficult as both degree staff will want students to focus on their subject!

Hi webarra! 👋🏻

I agree... around 70% of graduate employers don't ask for a specific subject so doing something you're good at and enjoy is a good way to approach the decision.

With a joint honours degree I think it helps massively if the subjects are closely linked and preferably based in the same faculty!! I speak from experience on that one!!

Oops sorry ... didn't mean to just repeat your statistic!
It one of my favourites tho 😂

I am assuming she is in year 13. Her college deadline could be as early as the end of October rather than the January UCAS submission deadline.

It is the personal statement that is more difficult to cover a love and passion for the two subjects. Ds found it hard enough to whittle his down to 4000 characters and 47 lines on one subject. She will be dividing the main body of her PS in half. Is school supportive and constructive with writing personal statements? It is not impossible just requires a bit more thinking about structure. She can google joint honours personal statements to see how other people have phrased stuff and split their interests.

Is she applying for the joint honours at all the unis or just some?

What are the subjects? Maybe someone can help steer you and your DD.

I did dual honours. Both subjects have been directly applicable to my career and I benefit from the breadth of knowledge. I loved both subjects.

Some people think it's harder to do dual honours because of the extra work required to achieve the required standard in each subject.

Others think it's easier because you don't have to do the depthof study of a single honours.

Most important things are quality of department and quality of university. Plus a subject you want to study.

I did joint honours and it was a lot of work. Just as an example, for one of my subjects I did three finals papers (plus all the ones fir the other subject) while single hons ppl in that subject did four papers! So more like 75/75 than 50/50.

Dd applied for two different courses, it was tricky to write her PS as a result, but it was fine and she got five offers still.

Exeter offers a Flexible Combined Honours pathway.
www.exeter.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/flexible/exeter/#subject-areas

Perhaps, though, she could try 'thinking outside the box's a bit and consider degrees which in themselves combine the areas in which she is interested? e.g. Environmental Science type courses, if she enjoys Geography and Biology etc. Diffi cult to suggest anything without knowing exactly what the subjects involved are, though.

If Maths and History are the actual subjects in question, that one is definitely available at Exeter.

The Whatuni site has a tool which shows popular choices of degree for those with the same subject / grade combination, which may give some ideas. e.g. the most popular choice for DS2's combination of Maths / Art / Eng.Lit was Architecture, (although that wasn't much of a surprise and was actually what he started out intending to do, before fixing on History of Art).