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.

Personally, I think it works when it is an intended combination of complementary subjects, ideally with modules that are specific to that combination. Way back when I was a student, our department offered Physics with Music, which was designed for those looking towards a career in the technical side of music, music recording, broadcasting etc so they did defined modules in the school of physics and of music, but then also had their own modules in acoustics etc.
But I know someone who went elsewhere and did Physics with French as entirely separate things, and she was able to go on to do a Physics PhD so it wasn't seen as an issue there

I think a Joint honours is a good idea, it can give you more options if you plan to go on to Masters or a PhD.

But, there are some subjects were it's not a good idea. You have to be careful with subjects like Psychology. If you plan to work in this field you need to do further training and need certain accreditation's. Usually, you need to have a certain number of modules to progress and this isn't possible with a joint honours. So your dd should think carefully if she had a special career or postgraduate qualifications in mind.

Many jobs will be cross disciplinary so the right pairing of subjects can be a great idea

Thanks all. I did a vocational subject so it was all very straightforward as far as career planning was concerned. I had wondered if it would be a less stressful course, but it doesn’t sound like it. ( Znot that she’s afraid of hard work).

In terms of personal statements, it can be very hard to write one which covers both subjects well enough, and isn't a turn off to the unis where's she's applying for single honours. It's worth contacting the departments that offer the joint honours, as some are happy to accept a second personal statement, which helps. Also look at Scotland, where flexible and combined honours are very common.

I'm a university counsellor now (in a school) and did do a joint honours. I loved the variety and the fact that by the third year I was mostly in one subject, but with a background in the other. There were compulsory modules in year 2 and 3 though which I hadn't taken the prerequisite modules for the previous year (bad planning by them as they weren't compulsory for joint hons students), so had to work extremely hard to catch up, particularly in some maths and chemistry modules.

I did a dual honours degree. Just make sure that the course is recognised by the relevant professional bodies later, if there is one.
I did psychology as one half of my degree and it was recognised by the BPS as meeting the then graduate basis for registration, for example.

Universities can’t see applications you have made to other Universities but they can see the ones you made to the same university.

If your child is interested in more than one degree from the same academic department, give them a ring as they may be able to consider him for more than one degree at the same time so he only uses one of his choices with that university and reserve the other 4 to use elsewhere.

Thank you - I never realised it was possible to ask the universities direct for those sorts of options. It Is Scotland that she’s looking at.

I did joint honours: maths and a language.

Plus points:

• from a career point of view, both numbers/ logic and a subject where communication/ writing was important is very helpful - both applying for jobs and skills on the job.

• I loved both subjects, and if I got fed up with essays I could do some maths for a bit, and vice versa.

• I think it genuinely led to wider skills and wider knowledge. I’d hate to be so specialised at 18.

Downsides:

• it was harder work. Did half the modules in each, but in a single subject all your work in one module supports even a little of your knowledge in another module. We were disadvantaged really, particularly with the language, but we worked extra hard to compensate.

• I spent a lot of time running between buildings! A campus university is key.

@Swiftnicola - is she at school in Scotland? If so, she will have a SDS school careers adviser and can request an appointment. Most of them are back in school now!

I never realised it was possible to ask the universities direct for those sorts of options.

It is, just give them a ring and say he is applying for X but it is also considering Y, would he be able to change courses if he changes his mind after accepting their offer?

If the standard offer is the same for the courses he is interested on AND they are all offered by the same academic department, they might be ok with the change, but email them to be on the safe side as for some popular courses with limited number of places this may not apply ( ie. changing from Sports Therapy to Physiotherapy)

Another joint honours here. I think I'm the only one with the combination so not saying but one was a technical / science subject the other more social science with a bit of linguistics thrown in.

You do work at the same level but with fewer options. So if you were to take maths with history you might only do pure maths, the same as a maths student but the single subject student might be doing pure maths units and states units.

Some universities are really set up for joint honours, some even insist all undergrads do a subject outside their 'core' so you might have the maths first years taking a unit / module from a choice of languages, drama, art, education.