Large Proportion of mature students in Arts

Dickie10

Looking at the results from a recent survey done on university students, i see a large amount of mature students went back to study subjects in arts.

just wondering why this was? i have first hand experience of this as i went back at 25 to do BA Arts, History, Geograpghy and Sociology. i majored in History and Geograpghy and am now in 2nd year PME, almost qualified teacher.

I went back during the bust to see how i would get on, i had never been to college before but have to say i took to it so naturally and found it handy enough, i actually really enjoyed the assignments!

im sure i was a bit of an outlier though as this was kind of my thing, i was a history and geograpghy nerd even though i didnt do history for the leaving i ended up with 67% at end of my degree and a first in geography 72%.

but i couldnt help but wonder at why there were so many mature students espically those in thier 40s and 50s doing arts. surely they would retrain in the tech sector where there are jobs or in languages something, espically when they have prob families and responsibilities unlike me.

having gone though the system, there are very few jobs to be gained with an arts degree so just wondering why so many choose this type of course for opportunities to get back to employment?

mahoganygas

I always regret never studying history in college.
I finished a completely different degree.

Now that I'm older I'd love to go back and do an arts degree (history & politics). Unfortunately I don't have the time or money to fund it.

Maybe those 40/50 year olds are scratching an itch? Doing it for the sake of learning, rather than looking for career prospects.
If I won the lotto that's exactly what i'd do!

Squall Leonhart

Perceived as easier than a technical degree?

Some people decide, nah, cannot face trying to go back to college and studying physics/programming/structural engineering etc.. but decide, feck it, I can handle geography and social science etc.

Dickie10

thats what they think! i have seen so many students fail geography both mature and non mature also struggle in history but for some reason a lot of people dont get geograghy at third level, for me it was the opposite, i wasnt great at secondary school geograghy, i only got a C3, but for some reason i aced exams in college i never dipped under 60% in anything, i think if you read extensivley around a subject you will do really well in college, i knew most of the lecture matierial from pure lesiure reading but like i say i am a self confessed nerd. i love promoting this with my non exam students who have that gra for the subjects, i give out book tokens as prizes for the end of year exams hopefully they get in on doing this reading around subjects

Mr.Saturn

To add to the contributions above and based on purely anecdotal evidence (i.e virtually none), I've encountered a lot of folk that were warned off the 'softer' degrees at earlier stages in life and return when they're on more secure standing later on.

Juxtapose

Thats my sentiments about it too. Having completed an Access course to college, i met a lot of older mature students, who decided they wanted to achieve a degree in a field that they liked and were genuinely interested in, rather than what is popular industry wise.

I can understand the logic in deciding to study IT or tech based subjects for career advancement, but studying at college shouldn't be singularly about career progression, but more about personal development too. I guess it's not a wise more career wise. For me personally, my ideal career isn't about securing a high paying job in an area that i don't like, but can earn good money from. Its to do something i love.
I'll probably be broke doing it, but i'll hopefully still have a smile on my face

Aghoney

I studied electrical engineering a quarter of a century ago, and I am hoping to go back this year to study history. I am doing it because history is my passion and not because I need a new career. If I could talk to my much younger self, I would tell him to study what really interests you, what will enrich your mind, what you will not have time to learn when you have a job and a family.

Maldesu

Everyone has their own reasons. I knew quite a few matures when I did Arts (also as a mature student). I did Arts because I was interested in the subjects, rather than picking something IT based (which made me miserable). Some students just did it as they were retired and wanted to enjoy the topics. Some were changing careers - Accountancy to Sociology (mentioning accounts near them pretty much made them cringe). Another I knew shifted from welding to Sociology and Psychology. He was a favourite with lecturers because he brought a lot of personal experience to the classes as he has an autistic son.

Dickie10 wrote: »

but i couldnt help but wonder at why there were so many mature students espically those in thier 40s and 50s doing arts. surely they would retrain in the tech sector where there are jobs or in languages something, espically when they have prob families and responsibilities unlike me.

I find this a bit cheeky. Just cos someone is older and might have a family to support, doesn't mean they shouldn't try enjoy their education or their job/career. Plenty of them will have worked the crap jobs already. Just because someone had kids doesn't mean their life should become dedicated to money generation until the end of days.

Mac_Lad71

I recently completed the MSAP and have applied to do Arts in UCC. I am 45 and am applying as a second chance student..my previous qualification being a ncea cert in computing from cork RTC in 1991. I do not see university as a job training Centre but rather as a life enriching experience and if I get a place I intend to choose subjects I am interested in. I have been out of education for 25 years, spent nearly all of them working in a job I didn't like just to pay bills, I see this second chance as a big opportunity and do not intend to study for a job like I did first time around.

gline

There is also other reasons why mature students do arts degrees from my experience.

I'm going into 4th year of a physics degree as a mature student, in my 30's. When I started there was maybe 5+ mature students in my course (some had even done access courses to prepare themselves). I am the only mature student left in my year now (and a lot of the younger students are also gone). The rest of the mature students had to change degrees/drop out, due mostly to the difficulty.

Some couldnt adjust to the amount of time required, both contact hours (usually more than arts degrees) and self study (if you arent coming from straight from leaving cert, you will more than likely have to put in a LOT of hours every single day to get up to speed e.g. with the maths). Some couldnt adjust to the amount of technical competency needed, e.g. computer usage, programming etc. Others wanted to get very good grades (A's in all/most exams), so they changed courses, to a course that, that goal is more achievable in.

Some degrees, even if you have a good interest in them are just very difficult, if you arent coming straight from leaving cert, as you need that sharpness that can only be had from years of learning straight into the course. There is a lot of knowledge that is assumed in some courses and if you dont already have it, you will spend most of your time catching up. I've personally been putting in huge amounts of hours every single day for the past 3 years to get through the course. If I had children or other large responsibilities, this definitely wouldn't have been possible.

These are just some of the reasons that I have seen. I also got talking to an older mature student (retired) who was doing an arts degree. She had already done a biology or chemistry based degree when she was younger and worked in that field and was now retired and just wanted to study literature as a hobby type interest with no goal of employment at the end. I know myself when I retire I will hopefully do another degree in an area that just interests me, with no view to being employed in it. Just my 2c.

Manach

Personally I found that after a grounding in a vocational skill, studying arts (history) allowed me to concentrate on more societally interesting topics. This was partially as a means to understand life experiences and interpret the subject in terms of a mature outlook. I'd found the discussions within the tutorials the most interesting aspects as it was more an exchange of differing interpretions than a knowledge transfer that occurred in an earlier degree.