Should joint degrees be avoided?

[RankleTaxi]

I often read comments that suggest joint degrees should be avoided because they involve more work than single. Is this actually true? Obviously they can cut down on choice as you will probably have more core modules. Do fewer people apply, making it easier to get an offer? Does it look like you have a broad skill base or you do not have a deep understanding? DS is looking at potentially combining Maths and Music of which there are a handful of specific courses to apply to. Aware of Liberal Arts etc, but not keen on overall structure.

My DD had two MFL A levels: you still do lots of work. DD said many ab initio students really struggled to catch up. By year 2 they hadn’t but we’re in classes with the post A level students. So it’s hard. 3rd year abroad was vital for them. So doing joint with both MFL at A level is less strsssful but there was still lots to learn. DD said essay writing to degree standard and the complexity of literature was obviously a lot more demanding than A level. She wanted to be challenged though and went to Bristol.

@ACJane Great your DS planning to do MFL - a real shortage of men doing languages.

My DD is going to Oxford- currently on a year out - starts 2023.
Courses vary enormously between unis - Oxford is more literature based than some:

Aim high for MFL and don’t assume it’s all about language acquisition. The best degrees have literature and other demanding modules requiring research and study. Better jobs come from acquiring these skills.

I would be wary of doing one with two completely unrelated subjects from two departments (like Maths and Music).... I'm not sure you ever feel like part of one department.
But maybe doing related subjects eg Geography & Town Planning, English Literature and Film, Spanish with Portuguese - if it coming from the same school / dept, could strengthen your knowledge.

Is it true that it is harder to get an offer for joint honours for MFL as two sets of admissions tutors both have to "want you" for their subject?

A couple of ds university choices are official joint honours, others are more informally/ less official sort of DIY combinations.

@ACJane
No. The opposite. MFL departments need students. Doing joint honours is best. It keeps MFL departments open. Some are very challenged and you don’t want to see the breadth of MFLs diminished. I think three stretches quality in each MFL but 2 is the best.

I did joint honours at a Scottish uni. Bear in mind this was over 20 years ago but I wouldn't say it was twice the work. I don't think my workload was any higher than those doing single honours. I enjoyed the variety and sometimes there were nice overlaps that complemented each other (I did two humanities subjects).

DD considered English/History, but as others have said, when she looked closely at course structures she realised that she'd be restricted in taking the options she was most interested in. I think it was researching courses to apply to, that convinced her that it was really English she wanted to do.

DS could easily consider Maths/Music combos but has now made up his mind for maths. He hasn't researched other uni courses much yet though so conceivably might put one down. Again, part of the decision has been around thinking what the courses involve and what he enjoys doing. Didn't want to have to write about music so much ... sounds like a good argument for not doing undergrad music! (maybe postgrad composition though!) I think there are loads of ways to continue music at university while studying other courses, so this way round potentially keeps more doors open.

I studied overseas and our courses were structured a bit differently; DH and I both did double degrees but took extra time to complete them. A few, mainly first year, subjects were able to count towards both courses. My sister did a year of two completely unrelated courses before committing to one. My second choice university offered BA/BSc as a combined course which was very tempting!

Joint honours are not twice the work but cannot be identical to a single subject. My DD never assumed options would always be available. Two she had quite fancied were not offered: maternity leave and sabbatical to write a book. It’s not always a great idea to choose on narrow options.

DS is doing a joint degree. he says although technically you only do .5 of each course, you have to have the full background knopwledge of the entire syllabus of each course, so it feels like double the workload. In his Part 1 finals at the end of his second year he sat a paper in which one of the obligatory questions was a topic not covered at all if you are joint honours, and it was worth 20% of the marks. he could only do a really sketchy essay and got a bad mark on that paper which really knocked his confidence as he is aiming for a First.

But... he loves it and it opens so many more career doors for him than single honours in either subject. He's planning on going down a very specific career route where knwoing both subjects is highly desirable, so I hope it pays off for him.

I'd say it suits students who enjoy hard work and genuinely love both subjects.

I did a joint honours degree and would definitely say it was more work than a single honours course. I lived with students doing single honours in Law, History and Economics and I had a lot more work to do than any of them.

@goldfinchonthelawn

you have to have the full background knopwledge of the entire syllabus of each course, so it feels like double the workload.

My DS said the same, and that a couple of his compulsory year 2 modules "assumed" that certain subjects had been done in year 1, which if he'd done a single Maths degree, then yes, they were included in a compulsory module, but as he didn't, there were a couple of compulsory 1st year modules that weren't compulsory for him (in fact not even offered for him to do) as he had to do compulsory modules for the other subject! He ended up having to teach himself which was hard to fit in quickly enough before he got too deep into the affected year 2 modules. He said they could have at least warned him and he could have done the self teaching over Summer!