essay based degrees

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Essay based Subjects: What they are and Some Examples

• by Joseph Kenas
• February 11, 2024

Essay writing is a very important part of your academic studies. In your academic journey, you will find essay-based subjects that will require you to write an essay on a particular topic.

Always remember that an essay is just an argument or discussion about a topic. Therefore, you have to write an essay that includes paragraphs each having a theme or purpose.

No matter the subject you are writing about, essays can be simple to write as long as you follow the right structure. 

What is an Essay Based Subject?

In high school, college, or university, the number of essays you write will depend on the subject you have chosen. Subjects that need the student to write a lot of essays for the exams are referred to as essay-based subjects .

History, languages, economics, and literature are some of the subjects that require a student to write frequent essays.

Yet still, most of the humanity and social science subjects also need a lot of research and writing of essay papers. 

Most essay-based subjects require the student to have analytical skills that enable good research for writing papers.

Students who choose these types of subjects need to practice critical thinking at all times. 

A good example is English literature and History. If a student does not have these skills, writing a good essay will become a problem. 

For other essay-based subjects such as physics, students need to be familiar with scientific principles before they can write good essays.

Creativity in thinking and a demonstration of self-discipline are important if you want to achieve good grades in these subjects. Nurture your study skills as a student to excel in subject-based essays

There are also practical subjects such as Music and Art which also have essay writing in some areas. Without imaginative and inventive skills, these subjects will not be easy to pass. 

Is Psychology an Essay-Based Subject?

Psychology is an essay-based subject in many ways. If you are pursuing a degree in psychology, you have to know how to write compelling essays which will be part of your final grades.

The writing of essays in psychology gives students a good opportunity to explore different aspects of this subject. As a psychology student, essay writing allows you to investigate deeply a topic you have chosen.

As long as the topic is within the subject of psychology, professors do give students the privilege to write about what they prefer. In the end, you will be able to sharpen your research, analytical, evaluation and communication skills. 

Since psychology revolves around the study of behavior, essay writing can help to enhance a student’s understanding of behaviors.

Research for essay writing from a psychology perspective will allow the student to learn terms and methods in this subject.

Psychology is a subject that needs a proper understanding of the methodologies involved. Without adequate knowledge and understanding of this subject, writing a good essay will be difficult. 

The choice of essay topic on this subject can be on an area covered in the course. However, students can also choose a good topic of their interest that does not relate to the subject content.

As long as you select a field in psychology that you have an interest in, you can write a good essay. 

30 Essay Based Subjects

• Anthropology 
• Archaeology
• Environmental science 
• Ancient history
• English language
• English literature
• Classical civilization
• Government and politics
• Health and social care
• Media studies
• History of art
• Criminology
• Religious studies
• Design and technology
• Product design
• Political science
• Global politics

How to Study and Pass Essay Based Subjects

It is not easy to prepare for exams involving essay-based subjects. If you want to pass with a good grade, you have to make the most out of your revision. Practice essay writing tips to keep you focused.

Below are effective tips on how to study and pass essay based subjects:

1.Be a Friend of the Teacher                                                                                      

Teachers play a very important role in helping you pass exams. This is what will propel you to the next level of education or give you a good job.

However, they have to prepare hundreds of students for the exams. As such, they may not be able to tell you everything unless you ask.

If you are a friend of the teacher, it will be easy to ask questions and get good tips on how to prepare for your exams.  You’ll also not be the students who have excuses to submit their assignments late.

Most teachers are willing to extend a helping hand to students so that they have an easy time preparing for exams. Therefore, when you need help in your study and revision, take advantage of the teacher’s help.

2. Plan your Revision

With proper planning, revising for essay-based subjects can be effective. You should start your revision in time so that you do not have to cram everything on the last day of the exam.

If you start revising early, you can have small amounts of time dedicated to each subject or topic.

Small revision parts each day for a longer period are more effective than trying to cram everything the night before your exams. 

 Also, you can plan to revise one subject at a time or alternate revisions between various subjects of study.

What you need is a suitable revision pattern that works well for you. All in all, always make revision a habit. Create specific set times of the day to revise and ensure you stick by it. 

3. Relaxing Activities

Even though studying for essay-based exams needs a lot of preparation, interspersing with relaxing activities is also advisable.

This helps to stop the overloading of the brain especially when you feel exhausted. You can take a walk, listen to your favorite music or take part in sports. 

Just take part in whatever activity you like but ensure the breaks do not become distractions. 

4. Avoiding Distractions

Effective studying for exams cannot go well if there are distractions. Social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Instagram are the greatest enemies. Develop routines to help you use your free time productively.

Notifications from friends will always pop up and distract you from studying. One way of avoiding this is by installing a locking app so that you can disable your social media for a specific period. 

Another alternative is to block your web browser or the internet router. You can block access and create a restriction for a specific period.

With help from friends and family members, have a blocking schedule. Far from that, find a quiet place where you can do your revisions effectively.

If there is no quiet place at home, the nearby library is the best place where you can study comfortably. 

5. Create a Glossary

When the exam period approaches, it is good to come up with a list of all the important words and phrases that you need to know.

For each of the modules, ensure you list important phrases that you need to remember. Have a brief definition of each of the terms which are important for the exams.

You can then go back to your glossary and test your ability to remember these terms. 

6. Practice Essay Writing Regularly

Regularly writing essays will give you a clue about how to go about your exams. It makes you master the time you will need to plan, write and proofread your essay.

With the use of past papers, you can know the type of questions that are frequently asked in your area of study. This will boost your flexibility and confidence because you will be familiar with all the course materials. 

Joseph is a freelance journalist and a part-time writer with a particular interest in the gig economy. He writes about schooling, college life, and changing trends in education. When not writing, Joseph is hiking or playing chess.

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Top 64 Writing & Essay Scholarships in May 2024

Will Geiger is the co-founder of Scholarships360 and has a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. He is a former Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Kenyon College where he personally reviewed 10,000 admissions applications and essays. Will also managed the Kenyon College merit scholarship program and served on the financial aid appeals committee. He has also worked as an Associate Director of College Counseling at a high school in New Haven, Connecticut. Will earned his master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania and received his undergraduate degree in history from Wake Forest University.

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Writing is an extremely important part of success in high school, college, and life in general. For some students, writing is also an intricate part of who they are and how they express themselves. If you are someone who loves English class and is genuinely excited about a new creative writing assignment, then you should keep reading! Writing scholarships, creative writing scholarships, and essay scholarships are great ways to put your talent to use.

Whether you are planning on attending community college, a four-year program, or graduate school, we’ve got opportunities for you. Keep on reading to learn about the top scholarships for writers and creative writers including eligibility, award amounts, and deadlines!

Why choose Scholarships360

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The Scholarships360 Research Team reviews all scholarships individually and strives to exclude any scholarship where any of the below applies:

• The scholarship requires a fee to apply
• The scholarship provider’s privacy policy allows for the misuse of student data
• The scholarship requires paid membership in an organization (with certain exceptions for reputable trade organizations and others)
• Student are required to sign up for a site or service to apply*
• The scholarship seems primarily used for lead generation** or idea harvesting purposes***
• The scholarship website has many grammatical errors and/or advertisements
• The scholarship or scholarship providing organization seem untrustworthy
• There is no evidence the scholarship was previously awarded
• The scholarship has not been awarded in the past 12 months
• There is no available contact information

If you believe a scholarship has been published in error, please reach out to [email protected] and we’ll take a look!

* There are certain exceptions to this, for example if the sponsoring organization is a major corporation or nonprofit with its own scholarship application system. ** Lead generation scholarships will require students to sign up for an app or website and require minimal (if any) application requirements. ***Idea harvesting scholarships will require students to submit blog posts or other materials that companies may use for marketing purposes.

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Top 10 essay scholarships in 2024

Our editors hand-picked the following 10 essay scholarships with an eye for large awards, prestigious organizations, and scholarships that are open to a wide variety of students. Apply with confidence to the following essay scholarships:

• Jack Kent Cooke College Scholarship – For high school seniors with financial need, worth up to $55,000 per year
• Questbridge College Match – For high school seniors with financial need, offers a full ride to college
• The Gates Scholarship – For low-income minority high school seniors, offers a full ride to college
• Tylenol Future Care Scholarship – For students enrolling in medical, nursing, or pharmacy school, worth $5,000-$10,000
• Regeneron Science Talent Search – For high school seniors interested in pursuing an individual STEM research project. Worth anywhere between $2,000 and $250,000
• Blacks at Microsoft Scholarship – For high school seniors pursuing a bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, computer information systems, or a business field. Worth up to $20,000
• Horatio Alger Undergraduate Scholarships – For high school students with high financial need, worth up to $49,000
• Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship – For high school seniors with high financial need who plan to study computer science in college. Worth $10,000 per year
• Ron Brown Scholarship – For Black high school seniors who plan to study global entrepreneurship and/or community engagement. Worth $10,000 per year
• Dream.US Opportunity Scholarship – For undocumented high school seniors and college freshmen with high financial need living in a state where public colleges do not offer in-state tuition to undocumented students. Worth $20,000 per year

Creative writing scholarships

Are you a writer who loves fiction, poetry, and screenplays? If so, you can put those talents to use by applying for creative writing scholarships.

Creative writing scholarships are a subset of writing scholarships that support students who enjoy writing poetry, fictional stories, plays, and generally using their imagination to guide their writing.

Here are the top creative writing college scholarships that you can apply for:

HelpTeaching.com Scholarship

• Eligibility: High school and college students who submit a educational short story or informational article (400-800 words) for young students
• Amount : $1,000
• Deadline: June 1st of every year

Cancer Unwrapped Teen Writing Contest

• Eligibility: Teens aged 9-12 who write about their own cancer journey or a family member in a maximum of 1,500 words.
• Deadline: Late March

YouthPLAYS New Voices One-Act Competition for Young Playwrights

• Eligibility: Students 19 years old or younger who submit an original one-act play between 10-40 minutes in length (10-page minimum). Multiple winners may receive up to $250 and publication by YouthPLAYS.
• Amount: $250 and publication by YouthPLAYS
• Deadline: Early May

National High School Poetry Contest

•   Eligibility:  U.S. high school students who submit a poem 20 lines or less that is unpublished, the sole work of the entrant, and not entered in any other concurrent contest.
• Amount: Up to $500.
• Deadline:  Rolling

The Narrative Prize

• Eligibility: Students who submit a short story, novel excerpt, poem, one-act play, graphic story, or work of literary nonfiction.
• Amount: $4,000
• Deadline:  Mid-June

Also see:  Top writing summer programs for high school students

College-specific creative writing scholarships

Some colleges and universities may also offer specific scholarships and financial aid to students with a talent in creative writing! Check with the colleges on your list for these college-specific creative writing opportunities!

Note that some of these scholarships may have requirements for winning students that stipulate that they take a certain number of creative writing classes when enrolled in the college.

Kenyon Writing Award

High school seniors can apply for this scholarship program at Kenyon College which offers up to $15,000 per year of merit based aid. It is based off of your portfolio and does not take into account financial need, high school GPA , or other factors. Submissions typically have to be in by January of your senior year.

Related:  How to answer scholarship essay questions about your career goals

Barbara Caras Memorial Scholarship for Film Students

The scholarship is open to students in Sarasota or Manatee County, Florida who have completed at least one full year at an accredited Florida College and are majoring in Film, Computer Animation, Creative Writing, Motion Design, or Illustration. Five recipients will earn a $2,000 award. The application deadline is July 31st of the current year.

Lycoming College Creative Writing Scholarship

The scholarship is open to students majoring in Creative Writing at Lycoming College, Williamsport, PA and must submit five poems and/or a short story not to exceed ten pages. Six recipients will be selected and can earn up to $3,000. The scholarship deadline for the Fall 2023 Class is March 1, 2023.  

Arkansas Tech University Gwaltney Scholarship

The scholarship is open to ATU students who submit individual works of fiction to the Department of English. Recipients earn a one-time cash award every year. The deadline to submit your entry is 2 weeks before the end of the spring semester.

Lake Forest College Carnegie English Essay Contest

The contest is open to first-year students of Lake Forest College who plan to study English either through the literature or creative writing track and submit an essay, between 500 and 1,000 words answering a designated prompt. Four winners will be awarded $2,500 annually. Submission deadline is March 1, 2023.

Austin Peay State University Creative Writing Scholarships

The scholarships are open to undergraduate and incoming APSU students who email a 10-20 page manuscript of fiction, poetry, or creative non-fiction, to Lakota Withrow at [email protected] . Awards are for $600 or $1,200. The deadline to apply is March 18th.

Scholarship essay resources

When it comes to writing and essay scholarships, your writing skills will be put to the test. You’ll have to adapt your writing to specific styles in order to effectively and succinctly communicate your ambitions and potential. We have a host of resources to help you perform well in this arena and stand out from the crowd.

• How to start your scholarship essay (with examples)
• How to write a “why do you deserve this scholarship?” essay
• What’s the best scholarship essay format?
• How to write a 250 word essay
• How to write a 500 word essay
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Frequently asked questions about writing scholarships

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Choosing Between a Thesis or Non-thesis Master's Degree

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•       Resources       Choosing Between a Thesis or Non-thesis Master's Degree

As of 2015, approximately 25.4 million Americans held advanced degrees , with more citizens joining these ranks each year. As studies continue to show the career advancement and salary benefits of completing a master's degree, more and more students elect to pursue advanced educations. When considering their options, many question whether to enroll in a master's requiring a thesis or not. The following guide examines some of the reasons degree seekers may want to write a thesis while also highlighting why they might not. Students on the fence about this important decision can find expert advice, actionable tips, and relevant guidance to help them make an informed choice in the guide that follows.

Understanding the Master's Thesis

What is the difference between a thesis & non-thesis master's program, the decision not to do a thesis.

As students research various master's programs in their chosen discipline, it's common to find that many degrees require a thesis – especially if they want to enter a research-heavy field. While this word gets thrown around a lot in academia, some learners may want more information regarding what it entails in order to make an informed decision.

What is a Master's Thesis?

The master's thesis is an original piece of scholarship allowing the student to dig into a topic and produce an expanded document that demonstrates how their knowledge has grown throughout the degree program. These documents require significant independent research of primary and secondary sources and, depending on the subject, may require interviews and/or surveys to support the overarching argument.

Individual schools and departments dictate the length of these documents, but they typically range between 60 and 100 pages – or approximately 20,000 to 40,000 words. While tackling a document of such heft may seem overwhelming at first, learners need not fret. Each master's candidate receives a faculty advisor early in their tenure to provide support, feedback, and guidance throughout the process. Because the final thesis is expected to be of a publishable quality, learners seeking the highest marks typically send their supervisor excerpts of the document as they write to ensure they are on the right track.

When picking a thesis topic, no magical formula exists. Students should consider their interests and read extensively on that topic to get a better sense of existing scholarship. They should also speak to other academics working in that sphere to familiarize themselves with ongoing projects. Only after they feel reasonably well-read should they begin looking for uncovered angles or interesting ways of using emerging methodologies to bring new light to the topic.

When considering formatting, degree seekers should check with their specific schools and departments, as they may have unique requirements. To get a general understanding of what to expect, learners can review Simon Fraser University's guidelines on thesis formatting. After completing the thesis, some programs require an oral defense before a committee while others read the document and provide a grade. Check with your prospective schools to get a better sense of procedure.

Format & Components of a Master's Thesis

While this guide attempts to provide helpful and actionable information about the process of deciding whether to follow a thesis or non-thesis track in a master's program, readers should remember that specific components and requirements of a thesis vary according to discipline, university, and department. That being said, some commonalities exist across all these – especially when it comes to what students must include in their final drafts.

As the first section a reader encounters after moving through the table of contents and other anterior text, the introductory allows the writer to firmly establish what they want to accomplish. Sometimes also called the "research question" section, the introductory must clearly state the goals of the paper and the overarching hypothesis guiding the argument. This should be written in a professional yet accessible tone that allows individuals without specializations in the field to understand the text.

This section allows learners to demonstrate their deep knowledge of the field by providing context to existing texts within their chosen discipline Learners review the main bodies of work, highlighting any issues they find within each. Constructive criticism often centers around shortcomings, blind spots, or outdated hypotheses.

Students use this section to explain how they went about their work. While scientists may point to a specific method used to reach conclusions, historians may reference the use of an emerging framework for understanding history to bring new light to a topic. The point of this section is to demonstrate the thought processes that led to your findings.

This section allows for learners to show what they learned during the research process in a non-biased way. Students should simply state what information they gathered by utilizing a specific framework or methodology and arrange those findings, without interpretation, in an easy-to-read fashion.

After providing readers with all the necessary information, the discussion section exists for candidates to interpret the raw data and demonstrate how their research led to a new understanding or contributed a unique perspective to the field. This section should directly connect to the introduction by reinforcing the hypothesis and showing how you answered the questions posed.

Even though the previous sections give prospective degree seekers a better sense of what to expect if they decide to write a thesis during their master's program, they don't necessarily help learners decide whether to pursue a thesis or non-thesis track. The following section highlights some of the reasons students frequently choose to complete a thesis or bypass the process altogether by providing a pros and cons list.

Why a Thesis Program

• Especially when entering a research-heavy discipline, completing a thesis shows prospective schools and employers that you possess the skills needed for researching and writing long-form reports.
• Students hoping to pursue a Ph.D. stand in better stead with admissions panels if they wrote a thesis during a master's program.
• Individuals hoping to enter a field that values syntax and grammar often better their writing skills by completing a thesis.
• Students who write a thesis can submit the final product to various academic journals, increasing their chances of getting published.
• Theses expand students' understanding of what they're capable of, deepen their ability to carry out an argument, and develop their skills in making connections between ideas.

Why a Non-thesis Program

• Because they don't require a significant written product, non-thesis master's tend to take less time to complete.
• Often mirrors a bachelor's program in terms of structure, allowing learners to complete classes and take exams without a great deal of research or writing.
• Students who excel in project-based assignments can continue building skills in this arena rather than focusing on skills they don't plan to use (e.g. research)
• Provides learners the opportunity to work more closely and more frequently with faculty on real-world projects since they don't spend hundreds of hours researching/writing.
• Allows learners to take more classes and gain hands-on skills to fill the time they would have spent researching and writing a thesis.

How to Choose a Master's Program: FAQs

Within some academic disciplines and professional fields, research and writing plays a key role in work done on a daily basis. Because of this, master's programs in these fields require learners to complete theses to compete against peers and be seen as competent in their work. Other disciplines, conversely, rely on other tools to accomplish work and progress ideas – making theses less important.

Yes. Master's programs focused more on application than research typically don't require a thesis – although they may still give students the option. Examples of common non-thesis master's programs include nursing, business, and education.

Even though non-thesis students won't be writing a 100-page paper, that doesn't mean they avoid completing a significant project. In place of a thesis, most applied master's programs require students to take part in at least one internship or complete a culminating project. These projects typically ask learners to take what they learned throughout coursework and create an expansive final project – examples include case studies, creative works, or portfolios.

While students who followed a non-thesis path routinely receive acceptance to Ph.D. programs, those with theses often find the process easier. Even if a learner pursues a Ph.D. in a discipline that isn't research-heavy, admissions panels still want to get a sense of your academic interests and ability to engage in independent, nuanced thought. Students with theses can provide solid proof of these skills, while those without may struggle to demonstrate preparedness as thoroughly.

The answer to this question depends on many factors, but typically it is okay not to do a thesis if you plan to enter a field that doesn't depend heavily on research or writing, or if you don't plan to complete a Ph.D.

Students wanting to work in academic, research, or writing should always opt for the thesis track. They should also follow this path if they have any doctoral degree aspirations.

Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to complete a thesis rests with the individual student. Figuring out how to proceed on this front requires lots of careful consideration, and learners should ensure they consider various aspects before coming to a final decision. The following section helps students consider how they should and should not come to a conclusion.

Dos and Don'ts of Choosing a Thesis or Non-thesis Program

• Consider the longevity of your decision: will you feel the same in 5-10 years or are you making a decision based on current desires?
• Talk to others who with experience in this area. Ask them questions about their decision-making process and if they regret their choice.
• Research potential thesis topics before starting a program. Going in with a game plan can help you feel more confident and settled about the process than if you're scrambling for a topic while in school.
• Reach out to prospective schools to speak with faculty and/or current students following both tracks. This will provide knowledge specific to the school while also expanding your network if you choose to attend there.
• Research Ph.D. entrance requirements to ascertain if the majority expect learners to possess a thesis when applying. This will give you a sense of whether you may experience issues later on if you do not complete one.
• Decide not to complete a thesis simply because you have never taken on such a task and feel overwhelmed or fearful that you will fail.
• Complete a thesis simply because you think it will look good on your resume. Theses require intense devotion over an extended amount of time; learners who complete them without conviction often find the process miserable.
• Forget to research alternatives to writing a thesis. Just because you don't complete a research paper doesn't mean a non-thesis track lacks rigor or challenging coursework.
• Forget to read examples of theses by previous students. If you feel overwhelmed by the task, reading work other people have done can often make the task at hand feel less scary.
• Let yourself off easy by taking the non-thesis path. If you find you have extra time in the program, talk to your advisor about taking more classes, develop meaningful projects for yourself, or see about presenting at an academic conference.

From the Expert

Sudiksha Joshi, Ph.D. is a learning advocate. Her mission is to empower our youth to think bigger, bolder thoughts and forge a career path that will change the world. She taps into her natural curiosity and ability to identify strengths to help students and those in transition find their path from feeling lost in the traditional ways of achieving success to charting their own path. Her work has been featured in Forbes, Huffington Post, Thrive Global, Medium and LinkedIn.

Why might a student decide to follow a thesis track? Why might they follow a non-thesis track?

A student might decide to take a thesis track if she/he wants to pursue a Ph.D. Also, if the students want to focus on careers where research and writing have a strong focus, the students opt for the thesis option. Research assistantships at the graduate level are also more often available to students who opt for the thesis option.

A student who might feel that writing is not one of their strengths might choose to go the non-thesis track. Likewise, a student who has other work commitments may find a non-thesis option more convenient.

Do you have any tips for deciding on a program?

I chose a thesis option because being able to conduct independent research was a big reason to go to graduate school. Also, showing the ability that I could do research was what afforded me research assistantships which meant that my tuition was paid for and I got a stipend that paid for expenses while I was in graduate school. This also allowed me the opportunity to work closely with the faculty mentor that provided me with the support and the accountability I wanted.

I would not recommend taking a non-thesis option if all the degree requires is for you to take courses. You have little to show in terms of your learning other than your grades unless you are already working on something on the side that does that for you and all you need is a certificate.

Opt for a non-thesis option if you can still work closely with a professor or on a project and if you'd rather be involved in multiple projects rather than focus on a single project. If you already have a good (informed) reason for choosing one over the other, go for it.

What's the most important thing to consider when choosing a program?

The most important thing to consider when choosing a program is getting excited about the projects that at least one of the faculty members are involved in. Do some research and see why you are excited about a particular work that at least one of the faculty members have been involved in.

Who should students talk to when considering options?

Students should talk to other students and also reach out directly to the graduate coordinator and even individual faculty members. This means that students should have done prior homework and have some good questions ready. Asking good questions will get you at least halfway through to make the right decision.

Creative Arts and Humanities BA

London, Stratford (UCL East) Creative Arts and Humanities BA (2024)

UCL's BA Creative Arts and Humanities is a bold and dynamic interdisciplinary undergraduate degree, uniquely bringing together the theory, practice and wider application of creative writing, film and moving image and performance. The course is the first of its kind in the UK.

UK tuition fees (2024/25)

Overseas tuition fees (2024/25), programme starts, application deadline, ucas course code.

• Entry requirements

Contextual offer information

Contextual offers are typically one to two grades lower than the standard offer. Grade and subject requirements for contextual offers for this programme will be published in Summer 2024.

Contextual offer

Contextual offers are typically one to two grade boundaries (equivalent to A levels) lower than the standard offer. IB Diploma grade and subject requirements for contextual offers for this programme will be published in Summer 2024.

UK applicants qualifications

For entry requirements with other UK qualifications accepted by UCL, choose your qualification from the list below:

Equivalent qualification

Pass in Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 33 credits at Distinction and 12 credits at Merit, all from Level 3 units. Please note, where subject specific requirements are stipulated at A level we may review your Access to HE syllabus to ensure you meet the subject specific requirements prior to a final decision being communicated.

Not acceptable for entrance to this programme.

D3,D3,D3 in three Cambridge Pre-U Principal Subjects, to include an essay-based Humanities or Social Sciences subject.

A,A,A at Advanced Highers (or A,A at Advanced Higher and A,A,A at Higher), to include an essay-based Humanities or Social Sciences subject.

Successful completion of the WBQ Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate plus 2 GCE A levels at grades AAA, to include an essay-based Humanities or Social Sciences subject.

International applications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website .

Access and widening participation

Undergraduate preparatory certificates.

The Undergraduate Preparatory Certificates (UPC) prepare international students for a UCL undergraduate degree who don’t have the qualifications to enter directly. These intensive one-year foundation courses are taught on our central London campus.

Typical UPC students will be high achievers in a 12-year school system which does not meet the standard required for direct entry to UCL.

For more information see: ucl.ac.uk/upc .

• English language requirements

The English language level for this programme is: Level 3

Information about the evidence required, acceptable qualifications and test providers can be found on our English language requirements page.

A variety of English language programmes are offered at the UCL Centre for Languages & International Education .

Course overview

UCL's BA Creative Arts and Humanities is an interdisciplinary degree that will enable you to develop both your creative and critical skills, focusing on the role of narrative across three forms of creative practice:

• Writing: narratives for paper, screen and the digital sphere in fiction and non-fiction genres.
• Moving image: making narratives for screen, both fictional and documentary, from static images, storyboards, texts and scripts, to filming, final edit and display.
• Performance: working with voice, body and movement to communicate ideas and emotions through performance for stage, film and digital media.

Working with academics as well as creative professionals, you will develop your knowledge and critical understanding of these modes of creative practice in historical, contemporary and future-facing contexts. You will also develop your own creative skills and explore what creativity means in different contexts and how it can be harnessed for meaningful impact in society.

The degree will encourage you to ground your creative expression in practical engagement, with audiences, with communities and with different organisations or employers. You will learn the skills of collaboration, learning how to create with and for others, and develop a range of skills that can be applied across a range of roles and sectors.

Based at our new campus in Stratford, UCL East , you will be part of a community of students studying interdisciplinary degrees in both arts and sciences subjects that are focused on creating, designing and making, with a strong emphasis on active engagement with the world to effect change.

What this course will give you

The BA Creative Arts and Humanities programme will give you advanced skills in narrative and other forms of communication across three different modes of creative practice: writing, performance and moving image. You will ex plore how these modes work with and influence one another, develop ing advanced critical and analytical skills . You will gain the technical and creative skills to develop your own powerful narratives . Alongside this  you will collaborate with each other and with partner organisations to apply these creative skills to real world problems.  

You will be able to specialise depending on your area of interest to develop high-level skills in writing, performance or moving image, to allow you to become a practitioner yourself or take your creative and critical skills into a wide range of sectors.

You will benefit from world-class research across the arts and humanities at UCL, as well as from creative practitioners working in different fields. You will also be part of a vibrant community of researchers, creators and makers at our new UCL East campus and have access to the rich variety of London's creative and cultural organisations.

Teaching and learning

In each year of your degree you will take a number of individual modules, normally valued at 15 or 30 credits, adding up to a total of 120 credits for the year. Modules are assessed in the academic year in which they are taken. The balance of compulsory and optional modules varies from programme to programme and year to year. A 30-credit module is considered equivalent to 15 credits in the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).

Upon successful completion of 360 credits, you will be awarded a BA (Hons) in Creative Arts and Humanities.

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability is subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

The programme’s structure enables you to engage with three modes of creative practice (creative writing, performance and moving image), both critically and practically, alongside professional practice modules that develop your ability to apply your creative skills to local and global challenges.

You will explore the fundamentals of 'creativity' and creative experiment, and develop your understanding of key concepts such as the role of narrative within creative practice. You will be required to take compulsory modules in all three creative disciplines.

You will complete your module selection with one optional module subject to approval. This can include a language module taught at the UCL Centre for Languages and International Education (CLIE) or the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES).

You will be required to take compulsory modules: The Collaborative Economy and UCL East’s Collaborative Design for Society, along with at least one 'pair' of optional critical/practice modules, for example both writing modules or both performance modules, and at least one other practice based module. You will choose two further optional modules subject to approval.

Your choice of modules in your second year will determine the options available to you in your final year. For example, you will need to have taken performance modules in your second year to take final year performance modules. 

All students will take the module The Creative Professional, preparing you for today's rapidly changing world of work and the impacts of technology on working contexts and processes, along with a compulsory module in at least one creative discipline. Your learning will culminate in a final-year project to complete a substantial piece of independent creative work in one or more disciplines of creative practice. You will also collaborate with other students on a final degree show to exhibit your work. You will complete your module selection with two optional modules subject to approval.

In each year of study, you will also be able to select from UCL East electives open to students from different disciplines to explore themes of interest.

Compulsory modules

Optional modules, your learning.

This programme offers a distinctive humanities-based curriculum which will require you to engage with both theoretical/critical and creative/production elements of creative production, channelled through a focus on three forms of creative practice; writing, performance and moving image.

The teaching and learning methodologies used throughout the degree will vary depending on the creative discipline but will include lectures, seminars, practical workshops, peer-to-peer reading, collaborative enterprise activities and body, movement and voice training.

As a full-time student, you would be expected to spend approximately 40 hours a week studying. This is made up of a combination of contact hours and self-directed study.

The programme includes a wide variety of forms of assessment reflecting the different nature of outputs developed across creative disciplines. You will be able to demonstrate your learning through both group and individual assessment of group work outputs and processes, where you can develop and build skills relevant to employment, such as team-working, collaboration, organisational and personal time management.

You will be supported to understand assessment in these different areas and how they relate to real-world outputs. You will also be enabled to understand the processes of assessment and what it means to be successful at different levels of your degree programme through different approaches, like peer and collaborative assessment.

Example assessment types include critical essays, performance, short films, presentations and reflective learning diaries or picture essays.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble . Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing team .

The foundation of your career

As a graduate of the BA Creative Arts and Humanities programme, you will develop the following skills and attributes to prepare you for a wide range of life and career choices:

• A critical understanding of the complex, diverse and often tangled stories of the contemporary world, including who gets to tell these stories and why.
• The ability to develop narratives clearly and innovatively in a range of creative forms, combined with an ability to combine, translate and switch between forms of creative practice.
• The ability to transfer narrative and creative problem-solving skills into the workplace, understanding how they can of value in economic, cultural and social contexts.
• Critical understanding of the creative industries as a major global sector, including current issues and future trends, and issues around diversity and inclusion.
• Experience of creative production across a range of creative formats, including writing, performing, podcast and audio production, and film.
• Skills in working collaboratively with, and for, others to produce creative outputs.
• Creative problem-solving skills, and the ability to respond creatively and flexibly to briefs.

You will also be well placed to go onto postgraduate study, whether more specialised programmes in particular forms of creative practice (such as master's degrees in Creative Writing or Drama), more vocational programmes (Master's in Arts and Cultural Management, Master's in Journalism, for example), as well as more traditional master's programmes in the humanities.

Employability

Likely employment destinations for graduates will include the many possibilities contained in the creative economy, including all forms of media, social media enterprise, cultural heritage, journalism and digital content creation.

We believe that graduates of the programme will be valued anywhere that narrative insights are essential to communicating core purposes and where the ability to harness creativity is held in high esteem.

• Fees and funding

Fees for this course

The fees indicated are for undergraduate entry in the 2024/25 academic year. The UK fees shown are for the first year of the programme at UCL only. Fees for future years may be subject to an inflationary increase. The Overseas fees shown are the fees that will be charged to 2024/25 entrants for each year of study on the programme, unless otherwise indicated below.

Full details of UCL's tuition fees, tuition fee policy and potential increases to fees can be found on the UCL Students website .

Additional costs

Media equipment will be provided for students to use as part of compulsory modules.

There may be additional costs to purchase entry to art galleries, museums or similar as part of field trips for some modules (such as Making Moving Images I and II).

Students may wish to purchase entry to other museums/galleries around London as part of their wider experience but this will not be a requirement of the programme.

There may be additional travel and expenses, such as refreshments or meals, associated with an internship or the undertaking of project work at an employer’s premises.

Students may incur travel costs if they wish to attend UCL events on the Bloomsbury campus or if they have permission to undertake a module or other learning on the Bloomsbury campus.

A guide including rough estimates for these and other living expenses is included on the UCL Fees and funding pages . If you are concerned by potential additional costs for books, equipment, etc., please get in touch with the relevant departmental contact (details given on this page).

• Funding your studies

Various funding options are available, including student loans, scholarships and bursaries. UK students whose household income falls below a certain level may also be eligible for a non-repayable bursary or for certain scholarships. Please see the Fees and funding pages for more details.

Scholarships

The Scholarships and Funding website lists scholarships and funding schemes available to UCL students. These may be open to all students, or restricted to specific nationalities, regions or academic department.

Your application

Your application will be assessed on the basis of past and projected academic performance, your personal statement and your academic reference. Your application should provide evidence that the majority of the following qualities are applicable to you: - Prepared for critical enquiry into the arts and humanities. - Prepared for engagement with practical creative skills, such as in writing, performance and moving image. - Prepared to think critically and creatively to seek new connections between humanities knowledge and humanities practice. - Interested in engaging in wider societal, cultural and global issues from a humanities perspective. - Interested in careers involving cultural entrepreneurship and intercultural exchange. We are interested in your experience of critical thinking in arts and humanities and in areas of arts practice covered in the degree (creative writing, performance, moving image). While these may well be covered in your formal academic performance at school or college, we are also interested if you have developed skills outside of formal learning; for example, in developing practical skills in writing for school magazines or blogs, or participating in film, drama, dance or theatre clubs.

• How to apply

Application for admission should be made through UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service). Applicants currently at school or college will be provided with advice on the process; however, applicants who have left school or who are based outside the United Kingdom may obtain information directly from UCAS.

For further information on UCL's selection process see: How we assess your application .

Got questions? Get in touch

Arts and Sciences BASc

[email protected]

UCL is regulated by the Office for Students .

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How to tackle essay-based exams

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Regardless of whether they exhilarate you or exhaust you, essay-based exams are the backbone of testing in some faculties.

I used to think that just flipping through my notes was enough to study for essay-based exams—I would just write about what I remembered from the class, right?

Not so much. This type of exam does give you some flexibility in what you choose to write about, but it also requires careful studying beforehand and adjustments to how you approach essay-writing during the exam—not to mention a healthy dose of stamina to get you through.

Essay-based exams are challenging, and, as an undergrad, I often came out of them feeling like somebody had rearranged my brain with an electric mixer. However, having to prepare for and write one usually helped me understand the big picture of the course better.

You don’t have to learn to love them, but figuring out how to approach these kinds of exams can make them more manageable.

Strategically prepare with case studies and theory

Studying for an essay-based exam isn’t quite like studying for a multiple choice test . While both have their challenges, writing essays when you have a limited amount of time requires you to do a lot of active preparation beforehand. 

1. Use the review sheets to study efficiently

Most courses I’ve taken with essay-based exams have also provided a review sheet with topics and information about the exam beforehand.

This means that you often don’t have to review the entire course in depth to do well. If the professor gives you a list of say, 15 topics, and you know that there’s going to be 5 essay questions on the test, and you only need to write 3 essays in total, you can do a bit of math to figure out how many topics you’ll need to study to be prepared. 

Each essay question will probably require knowledge of more than just one topic in the course, but strategically focusing your studying can make you better prepared for the questions you’ll actually answer on the exam. 

2. Focus on flexible case studies

In courses like political science and history, I liked to spend a good portion of my prep time reviewing case studies that can be adapted for a number of essay topics. Prepare at least 3 or 4 case studies for each essay, with some backup. 

You can use these in different combinations depending on the essay question—you won’t have time to go extremely in-depth in the essay, but make sure you know the main points and how the case study relates to the theory of the course.  

3. Find links between examples and theory

Don’t neglect studying the theory—what have your course readings been arguing? Do you agree or disagree with them? It’s okay to have opinions that differ from the readings, but make sure you can back your arguments up with evidence. 

Consider what the overall themes of the course have been—how do all the topics link together? How can you link case studies together with course themes and theory?

Additionally, check out these tips if you're preparing for an English exam specifically!

Maintain a good pace while writing the exam

Once your preparation is done and you’re writing the exam itself, make sure you keep track of the time. If you have 2 hours to write 3 short essays, don’t spend 90 minutes perfecting your first essay only to realize you have half an hour to write both the second and third. 

Give yourself a few minutes at the beginning to read through the questions and plan your essays. Space out the essays so you have some time at the end as well—this gives you a bit of breathing room if you end up spending longer on a section or want to do some minor edits at the end. 

Commit to your thesis 

Whenever I wrote essays for assignments, I inevitably ended up readjusting my entire paper after I got further in my research and figured out what I actually wanted to focus on. While that freedom is nice when the due date is a week or two away, you won’t have the flexibility to change your thesis after a bit of writing in an exam scenario.

If you get halfway through your essay and feel you should've picked a different argument, you likely won’t have time to go back and restart. Whatever you end up writing, commit to it and be confident in your arguments—you’ve studied hard, so sell what you know!

Adjust your writing

The TA or professor marking your exam isn’t expecting a hyper-polished, publishable result here—they want to see that you can craft a solid argument and that you have a perspective on the course material. 

Of course, syntax, grammar, and  punctuation are still important, but keep your writing simple and to the point. Getting the information across is more important than showcasing your most eloquent writing. Focus on writing clear, straightforward sentences that reflect your understanding of the course, and save straining for colourful synonyms for your papers.

Lastly, don’t sweat the introduction and conclusion. All you need are a few sentences—the marks are in the discussion.

Writing essay-based exams takes practice, but with the right preparation you’ll find they’re a great way to cap off your understanding of the course!

Header photo credit: Paul Joseph / UBC Brand & Marketing

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Academic writing: a practical guide

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Showing your understanding of a topic and the critical arguments that relate to it.

What are essays?

Most degree programmes include essays. They are the most common form of written assignment and so for most students, being good at essays is essential to gaining good marks, which lead to good grades, which lead to the degree classification desired. Essays are both a particular method of writing and a collection of sub-skills that students need to master during degree studies.

Find out more:

Essays: a Conceptual and Practical Guide [interactive tutorial]  |  Essays: a Conceptual and Practical Guide [Google Doc]

General essay writing

You have an essay to write... what next .

• Read the assessment brief carefully to find out what the essay is about, what you are required to do specifically. What instructions are you given (discuss, explain, explore)? What choices do you need to make?
• Work through the practical guide to essays above. This will help you to think about what an essay is and what is required of you.
• Look at the  assignment writing process . How will you produce your essay?
• Make a plan for when, where, and how you will research, think, draft, and write your essay.
• Execute your plan .
• Finish early. Leave a couple of spare days at the end to  edit and proofread . 
• Hand it in and move on to the next challenge!

Features of essay writing

Essays vary lots between disciplines and specific tasks, but they share several features that are important to bear in mind. 

• They are an argument towards a conclusion.  The conclusion can be for or against a position, or just a narrative conclusion. All your writing and argumentation should lead to this conclusion. 
• They have a reader.  It is essential that you show the logic of your argument and the information it is based on to your reader. 
• They are based on evidence . You must show this using both your referencing and also through interacting with the ideas and thinking found within the sources you use. 
• They have a structure.  You need to ensure your structure is logical and that it matches the expectations of your department. You should also ensure that the structure enables the reader to follow your argument easily. 
• They have a word limit.  1000 words means 'be concise and make decisions about exactly what is important to include' whereas 3500 words means 'write in more depth, and show the reader a more complex and broad range of critical understanding'. 
• They are part of a discipline/subject area, each of which has conventions . For example, Chemistry requires third person impersonal writing, whereas Women's Studies requires the voice (meaning experiential viewpoint) of the author in the writing. 

Types of essay

Each essay task is different and consequently the information below is not designed to be a substitute for checking the information for your specific essay task. It is essential that you check the assessment brief, module handbook and programme handbook, as well as attend any lectures, seminars and webinars devoted to the essay you are working on.  

Essays in each subject area belong to a faculty (science, social sciences, arts and Humanities). Essays within the same faculty tend to share some features of style, structure, language choice, and scholarly practices. Please click through to the section relevant to your faculty area and if you want to be curious, the other ones too! 

Arts & Humanities essays

Arts and Humanities is a faculty that includes a huge range of subject areas, from Music to Philosophy. Study in the arts and humanities typically focuses on products of the human mind, like music, artistic endeavour, philosophical ideas, and literary productions. This means that essays in the arts and humanities are typically exploring ideas, or interpreting the products of thinking (such as music, art, literature). 

There are a range of essay writing styles in arts and humanities, and each subject area has its own conventions and expectations, which are explained and built into modules within each degree programme. Typically, each essay explores an idea, using critical engagement with source material, to produce an argument.

There is typically more reliance on the interpretation of ideas and evidence by the student than in the sciences and social sciences. For the student, the challenge is to understand and control the ideas in each essay, producing a coherent and logical argument that fulfils the essay brief. As with all essays, careful structure, word choices, and language use are essential to succeeding.

Department-specific advice for essays in Arts and Humanities 

Some departments provide web-based advice:

• English and Related Literature essay writing advice pages
• Philosophy essay writing advice pages
• Music Department 'House Style' guidance for essay writing
• Language and Linguistic Science style guide

If your department does not appear above, do ask your supervisor or other academic staff what specific guidance is available. 

Key Features of Arts and Humanities essays

• They are based on evidence . It is important that ideas used in essays are derived from credible and usable sources to root your essay in the scholarly materials of the subject that you are writing about. 
• There is usually a thesis statement.  This appears towards the end of your introductory paragraph, concisely outlining the purpose and the main argument of the essay. It is short (once sentence), concise, and precise. Though the essay may have multiple sub-arguments, all must tie into the thesis statement. This means it is important to know, state and stick to the primary focus set out in your thesis statement. 
• They require you to interpret evidence. It is unlikely that you will find a source that directly answers the essay question set. You will typically be required to interpret primary and secondary evidence. Primary evidence includes the manuscript of a novel, or a letter describing an historical event. Secondary evidence includes academic books and peer reviewed articles. 
• They require you to apply ideas. Many essays will ask you to apply an abstract idea to a scenario, or interpretation of something. For example, you could be asked to apply a Marxist ideology upon Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights or Post-Colonialist theories upon Shakespeare's The Tempest.
• Essays vary greatly in terms of length, required depth of thinking and purpose.  You must carefully read the assessment brief and any supporting materials provided to you. It is also important to complete formative tasks that prepare you for an essay, as these will help you to become use to the requirements of the summative essay. 
• They must show criticality. When interpreting evidence, or applying ideas in your essay you must be aware that there is more than one possible understanding. Through exploring multiple sources and showing the limits and interconnectedness of ideas you show criticality. More information on criticality can be found on the Criticality page of this guide . 

Example extract of an arts and humanities essay

Essay Title: Liturgical expression and national identity during the reign of Æthelred the Unready

This essay is from English studies and shows typical features of an arts and humanities essay. It is examining two ideas, namely 'national identity' and 'liturgical expression' and applying them both to a period of history. The essay does this by analysing linguistic choices, using interpretation from the literature base to create an argument that addresses the essay title. 

It also has the feature of the student using sources of evidence to offer an interpretation that may disagree with some published sources. This use of evidence to create an argument that is novel to the student and requires interpretation of ideas is typical of arts and humanities writing. '"engla God", these liturgical verses themselves both signify and enact a ritualised unity with God.' is an example from the essay extract that shows the careful language choices used to create a concise and precise argument that clearly conveys complex thought to the reader from the author. 

One way of thinking about a good arts and humanities essay is that it is like you are producing a garment from threads. The overall piece has a shape that people can recognise and understand, and each word, like each stitch, builds the whole piece slowly, whilst some key threads, like core ideas in your argument, run through the whole to hold it all together. It is the threading together of the strands of argument that determines the quality of the final essay, just as the threading of strands in a garment determine the quality of the final piece. 

Good arts and humanities essay writing is...

• Based on evidence sources,
• built on the interpretation and application of ideas, evidence and theories,
• a clearly expressed, logical argument that addresses the essay question,
• carefully constructed to guide the reader in a logical path from the introduction to the conclusion,
• filled with carefully chosen language to precisely and accurately convey ideas and interpretations to the reader,
• built on rigorous, careful and close analysis of ideas,
• constructed using careful evaluation of the significance of each idea and concept used,
• readable, meaning it is clear and logical, using clearly understandable English,
• rewarded with high marks.

Common mistakes in arts and humanities essay writing

• Not answering the question posed. It is very easy to answer the question you wished had been asked, or drift away from the question during your writing. Keep checking back to the question to ensure you are still focussed and make a clear plan before writing.  
• Moving beyond the evidence. You are required to interpret ideas and evidence that exist, this requires some application and novelty, but should not be making up new ideas/knowledge to make your argument work; your writing must be rooted in evidence. 
• Using complex and long words where simpler word choices would convey meaning more clearly. Think of the reader. 
• Leaving the reader to draw their own conclusion s, or requiring the reader to make assumptions. They must be able to see your thinking clearly on the page. 
• Using lots of direct quotes . There are times when using quotes is important to detail lines from a novel for example, but you need to use them carefully and judiciously, so that most of your writing is based on your use of sources, for which you gain credit. 

Social Science essays

Social Sciences, as the name suggests, can be thought of as an attempt to use a 'scientific method' to investigate social phenomena. There is a recognition that applying the strict rules of the level of proof required in science subjects is not appropriate when studying complex social phenomena. But, there is an expectation of as much rigour as is possible to achieve in each investigation.

Consequently, there is a huge variation in the types of essays that can be found within the social sciences. An essay based on the carbon dating of human remains within Archaeology is clearly very different from an essay based on the application of an ethical framework in Human Resources Management. The former is likely to be much more like a science essay, whilst the latter may edge towards a Philosophy essay, which is part of arts and humanities. 

Key features of social science essays

• They are evidence-based.  It is crucial to use the evidence in a way that shows you understand how significant the evidence used is. 
• They require interpretation of evidence . By its nature, evidence in social sciences may be less definite than in sciences, and so interpretation is required.  When you interpret evidence, this too must be based on evidence, rather than personal opinion or personal observation. 
• They often require the application of abstract theories to real-world scenarios . The theories are 'clean and clear' and the real world is 'messy and unclear'; the skill of the student is to make plausible judgements. For example, 
• The level of detail and breadth of knowledge that must be displayed varies greatly, depending on the length of the essay. 1000 word essays need concise wording and for the student to limit the breadth of knowledge displayed in order to achieve the depth needed for a high mark. Conversely, 5000 word essays require both breadth and depth of knowledge.
• They should show criticality. This means you need to show uncertainty in the theories and ideas used, and how ideas and theories interact with others. You should present counter-facts and counter-arguments and use the information in the literature base to reach supported conclusions and judgements. 

Example extract of a social science essay

Essay Title: Who Gets What in Education and is that Fair?

Education in the western world has historically favoured men in the regard that women were essentially denied access to it for no other reason than their gender (Trueman,2016) and even though it would seem there is certainly “equality on paper” (Penny, 2010,p1.) when looking at statistics for achievement and gender, the reality is that the struggles facing anyone who does not identify as male require a little more effort to recognise. An excellent example of this can be found in the 2014 OECD report. In the UK women significantly outnumbered men in their application for university places- 376,860 women to 282,170 men (ICEF,2014)- but when observed closer men are applying for places at higher ranking universities and often studying in fields that will eventually allow them to earn better salaries. The same report praised women for the ability to combine their studies with family life and having higher aspirations than boys and therefore likely as being more determined to obtain degrees (ICEF, 2014), yet in reality women have very little choice about coping with the stressful burdens placed on them. The concepts of double burden and triple shift where women are expected to deal with housework and earning an income, or housework, raising children and earning an income (Einhorn, 1993) could in this case relate to the pressure for women to work hard at school to allow them to be able to provide for their families in future. Even women who do not necessarily have their own families or children to care for must face the double burden and triple shift phenomenon in the workplace, as women who work in the higher education sector almost always have the duty of a more pastoral and caring role of their students than male counterparts (Morley,1994).

Education is a social science subject. Some studies within it follow a scientific method of quantitative data collection, whilst others are more qualitative, and others still are more theoretical. In the case of this extract it is about gendered effects in university applications. This is an inevitably complex area to write about, intersecting as it does with social class, economic status, social norms, cultural history, political policy... To name but a few. 

The essay is clearly based on evidence, which in places in numerical and in places is derived from previously written papers, such as 'triple shift where women are expected to deal with housework and earning an income, or housework, raising children and earning an income (Einhorn, 1993)', where the concept of triple shift is derived from the named paper. It is this interleaving of numerical and concrete facts with theoretical ideas that have been created and/or observed that is a typical feature in social sciences. In this case, the author has clearly shown the reader where the information is from and has 'controlled' the ideas to form a narrative that is plausible and evidence-based. 

When compared to science writing, it can appear to be more wordy and this is largely due to the greater degree of interpretation that is required to use and synthesise complex ideas and concepts that have meanings that are more fluid and necessarily less precise than many scientific concepts. 

Good social science essay writing is...

• filled with clearly articulated thinking from the mind of the author,
• well structured to guide the reader through the argument or narrative being created,
• focussed on answering the question or addressing the task presented,
• filled with carefully chosen evaluative language to tell the reader what is more and less significant,
• readable - sounds simple, but is difficult to achieve whilst remaining precise,

Common mistakes in social science essay writing 

• Speculating beyond the limits of the evidence presented . It is important to limit your interpretation to that which is supported by existing evidence. This can be frustrating, but is essential.
• Using complex words where simpler ones will do. It is tempting to try to appear 'clever' by using 'big words', but in most cases, the simplest form of writing something is clearer. Your aim is to clearly communicate with the reader. 
• Giving your personal opinion - this is rarely asked for or required. 
• Not answering the question or fulfilling the task . This is possibly the most common error and largely comes from letting one's own ideas infect the essay writing process. 
• Not being critical. You need to show the limits of the ideas used, how they interact, counter-arguments and include evaluation and analysis of the ideas involved. If you find yourself being descriptive, ask why. 
• Using lots of direct quotes, particularly in first year writing . Quotes should be rare and used carefully because they are basically photocopying. Use your words to show you have understood the concepts involved. 

Science essays

Science essays are precise, logical and strictly evidence-based pieces of writing. They employ cautious language to accurately convey the level of certainty within the scientific understanding that is being discussed and are strictly objective. This means that the author has to make the effort to really understand the meaning and significance of the science being discussed.

In a science essay, your aim is to summarise and critically evaluate existing knowledge in the field. If you're doing your own research and data collection, that will be written up in a report  instead.

The skill of the student is to thread together the ideas and facts they have read in a logical order that addresses the task set. When judgements are made they must be justified against the strength and significance of the theories, findings, and ideas being used. Generally, the student should not be undertaking their own interpretation of the results and facts, but instead be using those of others to create a justifiable narrative. 

Example extract of a science essay

Essay title:  To what extent has Ungerleider and Mishkin’s notion of separate ‘what’ and ‘where’ pathways been vindicated by neuropsychological research?

Van Polanen & Davare (2015) showed that the dorsal stream and ventral streams are not strictly independent, but do interact with each other. Interactions between dorsal and ventral streams are important for controlling complex object-oriented hand movements, especially skilled grasp. Anatomical studies have reported the existence of direct connections between dorsal and ventral stream areas. These physiological interconnections appear to gradually more active as the precision demands of the grasp become higher. 

However, cognition is a dynamic process, and a flexible interactive system is required to coordinate and modulate activity across cortical networks to enable the adaptation of processing to meet variable task demands. The clear division of the dorsal and ventral processing streams is artificial, resulting from experimental situations, which do not reflect processing within the natural environment (Weiller et al., 2011). Most successful execution of visual behaviours require the complex collaboration and seamless integration of processing between the two systems.

Cloutman (2013) had stated that dorsal and ventral streams can be functionally connected in three regards: (1) the independent processing account – where they remain separate but terminate on the same brain area, (2) the feedback account – where feedback loops from locations downstream on one pathway is constantly providing input to the other and (3) the continuous cross-talk account – where information is transferred to and from the system constantly when processing. 

Indeed, the authors found that there were numerous anatomical cross-connections between the two pathways, most notably between inferior parietal and inferior temporal areas. For example, ventral regions TE and TEO have been found to have extensive connectivity with dorsal stream areas, demonstrating direct projections with areas including V3A, MT, MST, FST and LIP (Baizer et al., 1991; Disler et al., 1993).

The first obvious comment is that it is not going to win a prize for literary entertainment! The writing is what one might call 'dry'. This is because it is good scientific writing. It is clearly evidence-based, and is explaining complex interrelationships in a way that is clear, leaves little for the reader to assume and that uses carefully graded language to show the significance of each fact. 

The language choices are carefully aligned with the strength of the evidence that is used. For example, 'have been found to have extensive interconnectivity' is graded to convey that many connections have been detailed in the evidence presented. Similarly, 'Most successful execution of visual behaviours require the complex collaboration' is graded carefully to convey meaning to the reader, derived from the evidence used. The sample displays many examples of controlled word choices that leave the reader in no doubt regarding the meaning they are to take from reading the piece. This concise, controlled, evidence-based and carefully considered writing is typical of that found in the science essays. 

Good science essay writing is...

• evidence-based,
• cohesive due to language choices,
• well-structured to help the reader follow the ideas,
• carefully planned,
• filled with carefully chosen evaluative and analytical language,
• rewarded with high grades.

Common mistakes in science essay writing

• The most common mistake is a lack of accuracy in the language used to convey meaning. This can be due to inadequate reading or a lack of understanding of the subject matter, or alternatively, due to not giving sufficient care to word choice. 'Increased greatly' is different to 'increased', which is different again to 'increased significantly'; it is very important that you understand what you are writing about in enough detail that you can accurately convey an understanding of it accurately to the reader. 
• Trying to put 'you' into the essay. It is highly unlikely that you will be required to refer to your own viewpoints, opinions or lived experience within scientific essay writing. Science is impersonal, it deals in fact, and so you are a third person, impersonal author who is interpreting and curating facts and knowledge into an essay that makes sense to the reader. 
• Going beyond the facts. It is rare that you will be asked to speculate in a science essay. When you are, you will be asked to extrapolate from known understanding in the relevant literature. Stick to the facts and to their meaning and significance. 
• Not placing understanding in context . Each scientific idea sits within a bigger discipline and interacts with other ideas. When you write about ideas, you need to acknowledge this, unless you are specifically told to only focus on one idea. An example would be genomics of viral pathogens, which is currently a much discussed area of activity. This sits within public health, virology, and genomics disciplines, to name a few. Depending on how it is to be written about, you may need to acknowledge one or more of these larger areas. 

Using evidence in essays

Sources of evidence are at the heart of essay writing. You need sources that are both usable and credible, in the specific context of your essay.

A good starting point is often the materials used in the module your essay is attached to. You can then work outwards into the wider field of study as you develop your thinking, and seek to show critical analysis, critical evaluation and critical thought in your essay. 

Discover more about using evidence in your assignments:

Structuring an essay

Clear structure is a key element of an effective essay. This requires careful thought and you to make choices about the order the reader needs the information to be in. 

These resources contain advice and guides to help you structure your work:

You can use these templates to help develop the structure of your essay.

Go to File > Make a copy... to create your own version of the template that you can edit.

Structuring essay introductions

Play this tutorial in full screen

• Explain the different functions that can be fulfilled by an introduction.
• Provide examples of introductions from the Faculties of Social Sciences, Sciences, and Arts and Humanities.
• Evaluating your own introductions.
• Matching elements of an introduction to a description of their purpose.
• Highlighting where evidence is used to support elements of the introduction.
• Highlighting how introductions can make clear links to the essay question.

In this section, you will learn about the functions and key components of an essay introduction.

An introduction can fulfill the functions below. These often move from a broad overview of the topic in context to a narrow focus on the scope of the discussion, key terms and organisational structure.

Click on each function to reveal more.

• It can establish the overall topic and explain the relevance and significance of the essay question to that topic
• What is the topic?
• Why is the essay question worth exploring? Why is the essay worth reading?
• How is it relevant to wider / important / current debates in the field?
• It can briefly explain the background and context and define the scope of the discussion
• Is it helpful to mention some background, historical or broader factors to give the reader some context?
• Is the discussion set in a particular context (geographical; political; economic; social; historical; legal)?
• Does the essay question set a particular scope or are you going to narrow the scope of the discussion?
• It can highlight key concepts or ideas
• Are the key concepts or ideas contentious or open to interpretation?
• Will the key concepts need to be defined and explained?
• It can signpost the broad organisational structure of the essay
• Indicate what you will cover and a brief overview of the structure of your essay
• points made should be supported by evidence
• clear links should be made to the question

Note: Introductions may not cover all of these elements, and they may not be covered in this order.

Useful Link: See the University of Manchester’s Academic Phrasebank for useful key phrases to introduce work.

In this activity, you will review and evaluate introductions you have written, identifying areas for improvement.

Find some examples of introductions you have written for essays.

• Which of the features do they use?
• Are any elements missing?
• How might you improve them?

For the following tasks, you will be using an example introduction from one of the following three faculties. Select a faculty to use an introduction from a corresponding subject.

In this activity, you will look at examples of introductions, identifying key features and their purpose.

Here is an example question:

Sociology: Examine some of the factors that influence procrastination in individuals, exploring and evaluating their impact. Identify an area(s) for future research, justifying your choice.

And here is a sample introduction written for this question:

Procrastination is a complex concept which manifests itself in different types of behaviour yet is experienced by individuals universally. A useful definition of procrastination is ‘the voluntary delay of important, necessary, and intended action despite knowing there will be negative consequences for this delay’ (Ferrari and Tice, 2000, Sirois and Pychyl, 2013 cited in Sirois and Giguère, 2018). The influences on procrastination are multi-faceted, which makes their study incredibly challenging. Researchers are now producing a body of work dedicated to procrastination; including meta-analyses such as those by Varvaricheva (2010) and Smith (2015). Influences on procrastination can be considered in two categories, factors with external, environmental, sources and factors with internal sources due to individual differences. However, these external and environmental categories are not completely independent of one another and this essay will seek to explore the complexities of this interdependence. This essay will discuss how different factors influence individual procrastination, by first examining how gender, age and personality affect the procrastination trait under internal factors, before discussing the external factors; how task aversiveness, deadlines and the internet affect procrastination behavioural outcomes. This will be followed by a brief exploration of how the two interact. Finally there a number of gaps in the literature, which suggest avenues for future research.

Click on the Next arrow to match each section of this introduction with a description of its purpose.

Procrastination is a complex concept which manifests itself in different types of behaviour yet is experienced by individuals universally.

Signposts the broad organisational structure of the essay

Narrows the topic and explains its relevance or significance to current debates

Defines the scope of the discussion

Establishes the topic and explains its broad significance

Defines key concepts

That's not the right answer

Have another go.

Yes, that's the right answer!

A useful definition of procrastination is ‘the voluntary delay of important, necessary, and intended action despite knowing there will be negative consequences for this delay’ (Ferrari and Tice, 2000, Sirois and Pychyl, 2013 cited in Sirois and Giguère, 2018).

The influences on procrastination are multi-faceted, which makes their study incredibly challenging. Researchers are now producing a body of work dedicated to procrastination; including meta-analyses such as those by Varvaricheva (2010) and Smith (2015).

Influences on procrastination can be considered in two categories, factors with external, environmental, sources and factors with internal sources due to individual differences. However, these external and environmental categories are not completely independent of one another and this essay will seek to explore the complexities of this interdependence.

This essay will discuss how different factors influence individual procrastination, by first examining how gender, age and personality affect the procrastination trait under internal factors, before discussing the external factors; how task aversiveness, deadlines and the internet affect procrastination behavioural outcomes. This will be followed by a brief exploration of how the two interact. Finally there a number of gaps in the literature, which suggest avenues for future research.

In this activity, you will identify how introductions make links to the question.

Here is the question again:

Click to highlight the places where the introduction below links closely to the question.

Have another go. You can remove the highlighting on sections by clicking on them again.

Those are the parts of the introduction that link closely to the question.

In this activity, you will consider how introductions make use of supporting evidence.

• Define key concepts
• Establish the topic and explain its relevance or significance

Click to highlight the places where the introduction below supports points with evidence .

Those are the parts of the introduction that use evidence to support points.

Congratulations! You've made it through the introduction!

Click on the icon at the bottom to restart the tutorial.

Nursing: Drawing on your own experiences and understanding gained from the module readings, discuss and evaluate the values, attributes and behaviours of a good nurse.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) (2015) Code states that a nurse must always put the care of patients first, be open and honest, and be empathic towards patients and their families. Student nurses are expected to demonstrate an understanding of the need for these key skills even at the interview stage and then gain the experiences to develop certain fundamental attributes, values and behaviours in order to advance through the stages of nursing. This assignment will highlight a variety of values, attributes and behaviours a good nurse should have, focusing on courage in particular. Views of courage from political, professional, and social perspectives will be considered, alongside a comparison between the attribute courage and a student nurse’s abilities. This will be demonstrated using observations from practice, appropriate theorists such as Sellman (2011), Lachman (2010) and philosophers including Aristotle and Ross (2011).

The Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) (2015) Code states that a nurse must always put the care of patients first, be open and honest, and be empathic towards patients and their families.

Explains the context to the discussion, with reference to the workplace

Defines the scope of the discussion by narrowing it

Defines relevant key concepts or ideas

Student nurses are expected to demonstrate an understanding of the need for these key skills even at the interview stage and then gain the experiences to develop certain fundamental attributes, values and behaviours in order to advance through the stages of nursing.

This assignment will highlight a variety of values, attributes and behaviours a good nurse should have, focusing on courage in particular.

Views of courage from political, professional, and social perspectives will be considered, alongside a comparison between the attribute courage and a student nurse’s abilities. This will be demonstrated using observations from practice, appropriate theorists such as Sellman (2011), Lachman (2010) and philosophers including Aristotle and Ross (2011).

• Define relevant key concepts or ideas
• Signpost the broad organisational structure of the essay, making a clear link to the question

Archaeology: Explain some of the ways in which Star Carr has been re-interpreted since the initial discovery in the 1940s. Briefly evaluate how the results of recent excavations further dramatically affect our understanding of this site.

Star Carr has become the ‘best known’ Mesolithic site in Britain (Conneller, 2007, 3), in part because of its high levels of artefact preservation due to waterlogging, as the site was once on the Eastern edge of the ancient Lake Flixton, close to a small peninsula (Taylor, 2007). First excavated by Grahame Clark in 1949-51, there was a further invasive investigation in 1985 and 1989, again in 2006-8, and 2010. An impressive haul of artefacts have been excavated over the years, including bone and antler tools, barbed points, flint tools and microliths, and enigmatic red deer frontlets (Milner et al., 2016). Since Clark’s first published report in 1954 there have been numerous re-examinations of the subject, including by Clark himself in 1974. Resulting interpretations of the site have been much debated; it has been classified as ‘in situ settlement, a refuse dump, and the result of culturally prescribed acts of deposition’ (Taylor et al., 2017). This discussion will explore the ways in which the site has been variously re-interpreted during this time period, and consider how more recent study of the site has prompted new perspectives.

Star Carr has become the ‘best known’ Mesolithic site in Britain (Conneller, 2007, 3), in part because of its high levels of artefact preservation due to waterlogging, as the site was once on the Eastern edge of the ancient Lake Flixton, close to a small peninsula (Taylor, 2007).

Explains the background to the discussion and its significance

Establishes the topic

Explains the scope of the topic and highlights key interpretations

First excavated by Grahame Clark in 1949-51, there was a further invasive investigation in 1985 and 1989, again in 2006-8, and 2010. An impressive haul of artefacts have been excavated over the years, including bone and antler tools, barbed points, flint tools and microliths, and enigmatic red deer frontlets (Milner et al., 2016).

Since Clark’s first published report in 1954 there have been numerous re-examinations of the subject, including by Clark himself in 1974. Resulting interpretations of the site have been much debated; it has been classified as ‘in situ settlement, a refuse dump, and the result of culturally prescribed acts of deposition’ (Taylor et al., 2017).

This discussion will explore the ways in which the site has been variously re-interpreted during this time period, and consider how more recent study of the site has prompted new perspectives.

• Establish the topic, explains the background and significance
• Explains the significance of the topic
• Highlights key interpretations

Structuring essay conclusions

In this section you will consider the different functions a conclusion can fulfil, look at examples of conclusions, and identify key features and their purpose.

A conclusion can fulfil the functions below. These often move from a narrow focus on the outcomes of the discussion to a broad view of the topic's relevance to the wider context.

Summary of the main points in relation to the question

• This might involve restating the scope of the discussion and clarifying if there any limitations of your discussion or of the evidence provided
• This may include synthesising the key arguments and weighing up the evidence

Arrive at a judgement or conclusion

• Having weighed up the evidence, come to a judgement about the strength of the arguments

Restate the relevance or significance of the topic to the wider context

• Make it clear why your conclusions - which are based on your discussion through the essay - are important or significant in relation to wider/current debates in the field

Make recommendations or indicate the direction for further study, if applicable

• Recommendations may be for further research or for practice/policy
• What further research/investigation would be necessary to overcome the limitations above?
• What are the implications of your findings for policy/practice?

Note: Conclusions may not cover all of these elements, and they may not be covered in this order.

• Clear links should be made to the question
• Do not make new points in the conclusion

Useful Link: See the University of Manchester’s Academic Phrasebank for useful key phrases to conclude work.

In this activity, you will look at an example conclusion, identifying key features and their purpose.

In this task, you will be using an example conclusion from one of the following three faculties. Select a faculty to use a conclusion from a corresponding subject.

And here is a sample conclusion written for the question:

In conclusion procrastination is a complex psychological phenomenon that is influenced by a number of factors, both internal and external. However it has a hugely multifaceted nature and the factors that influence it are not truly independent of one another. Character traits and the environmental impact on behaviour are interrelated; for example similar procrastination outcomes may arise from a highly conscientious individual in a distracting environment and an individual low in conscientiousness in a non-distracting setting. This means that future studies need to be very considered in their approach to separating, or controlling for, these factors. These further studies are important and urgently needed as the impact of procrastination on society is far-reaching. For instance: individuals delay contributing to a pension, meaning that old age may bring poverty for many; couples put off entering into formal contracts with each other, potentially increasing disputes over child custody and inheritance; and indeed women delay starting a family and increasing age leads to decreased fertility, thus leading to higher societal costs of providing assisted fertilisation. Furthermore one could expand the scope to include the effects on children of being born to older parents (such as risks of inherited genetic defects). These are themselves wide fields of study and are mentioned merely to illustrate the importance of further research. Until the nature of influences on procrastination is fully understood, our development of approaches to reduce procrastination is likely to be hindered.

Click on the Next arrow to match each section of the conclusion with a description of its purpose.

In conclusion procrastination is a complex psychological phenomenon that is influenced by a number of factors, both internal and external.

Synthesises the key arguments and weighs up the evidence

Indicates limitations

Restates the scope of the discussion

Indicates the direction and significance for further study

Summary of the main point in relation to the question

However it has a hugely multifaceted nature and the factors that influence it are not truly independent of one another.

Character traits and the environmental impact on behaviour are interrelated; for example similar procrastination outcomes may arise from a highly conscientious individual in a distracting environment and an individual low in conscientiousness in a non-distracting setting.

This means that future studies need to be very considered in their approach to separating, or controlling for, these factors. These further studies are important and urgently needed as the impact of procrastination on society is far-reaching. For instance: individuals delay contributing to a pension, meaning that old age may bring poverty for many; couples put off entering into formal contracts with each other, potentially increasing disputes over child custody and inheritance; and indeed women delay starting a family and increasing age leads to decreased fertility, thus leading to higher societal costs of providing assisted fertilisation. Furthermore one could expand the scope to include the effects on children of being born to older parents (such as risks of inherited genetic defects). These are themselves wide fields of study and are mentioned merely to illustrate the importance of further research.

Until the nature of influences on procrastination is fully understood, our development of approaches to reduce procrastination is likely to be hindered.

Opportunities for nurses to display courage occur every day, although it is at the nurse’s discretion whether they act courageously or not. As discussed in this assignment, courage is likewise an important attribute for a good nurse to possess and could be the difference between good and bad practice. It is significantly important that nurses speak up about bad practice to minimize potential harm to patients. However nurses do not need to raise concerns in order to be courageous, as nurses must act courageously every day. Professional bodies such as the RCN and NMC recognise that courage is important by highlighting this attribute in the RCN principles. The guidelines for raising concerns unite the attribute courage with the RCN’s principles of nursing practice by improving nurses’ awareness of how to raise concerns. Lachman’s (2010) CODE is an accessible model that modern nurses could use as a strategy to help them when raising concerns. Although students find it difficult to challenge more senior nursing professionals, they could also benefit from learning the acronym to help them as they progress through their career. For nursing students, courage could be seen as a learning development of the ability to confront their fear of personal emotional consequences from participating in what they believe to be the right action. On the whole a range of values, attributes and behaviours are needed in order to be a good nurse, including being caring, honest, compassionate, reliable and professional. These qualities are all important, but courage is an attribute that is widely overlooked for nurses to possess but vitally fundamental.

Opportunities for nurses to display courage occur every day, although it is at the nurse’s discretion whether they act courageously or not. As discussed in this assignment, courage is likewise an important attribute for a good nurse to possess and could be the difference between good and bad practice. It is significantly important that nurses speak up about bad practice to minimize potential harm to patients. However nurses do not need to raise concerns in order to be courageous, as nurses must act courageously every day.

Arrives at an overall judgement or conclusion

Make recommendations for practice

Professional bodies such as the RCN and NMC recognise that courage is important by highlighting this attribute in the RCN principles. The guidelines for raising concerns unite the attribute courage with the RCN’s principles of nursing practice by improving nurses’ awareness of how to raise concerns. Lachman’s (2010) CODE is an accessible model that modern nurses could use as a strategy to help them when raising concerns.

Although students find it difficult to challenge more senior nursing professionals, they could also benefit from learning the acronym to help them as they progress through their career. For nursing students, courage could be seen as a learning development of the ability to confront their fear of personal emotional consequences from participating in what they believe to be the right action.

On the whole a range of values, attributes and behaviours are needed in order to be a good nurse, including being caring, honest, compassionate, reliable and professional. These qualities are all important, but courage is an attribute that is widely overlooked for nurses to possess but vitally fundamental.

Star Carr is one of the most fascinating and informative Mesolithic sites in the world. What was once considered to be the occasional winter settlement of a group of hunter-gatherer families, now appears to be a site of year-round settlement occupied over centuries. Since its initial discovery and excavation in the late 1940s and early 1950s, a great deal of further data has been collected, altering interpretations made by the primary excavators who pioneered analysis of the site. What once was considered a typical textbook Mesolithic hunting encampment is now theorized to be a site of ritual importance. The site has produced unique findings such as a multitude of barbed points, twenty one antlered headdresses and the earliest known example of a permanent living structure in Britain. These factors will combine to immortalise the site, even when its potential for further research is thoroughly decayed, which tragically could be very soon (Taylor et al. 2010).

Star Carr is one of the most fascinating and informative Mesolithic sites in the world.

Synthesise the main points

Limitations and implications for future research

Restate the significance of the topic to the wider context

What was once considered to be the occasional winter settlement of a group of hunter-gatherer families, now appears to be a site of year-round settlement occupied over centuries. Since its initial discovery and excavation in the late 1940s and early 1950s, a great deal of further data has been collected, altering interpretations made by the primary excavators who pioneered analysis of the site. What once was considered a typical textbook Mesolithic hunting encampment is now theorized to be a site of ritual importance. The site has produced unique findings such as a multitude of barbed points, twenty one antlered headdresses and the earliest known example of a permanent living structure in Britain.

These factors will combine to immortalise the site, even when its potential for further research is thoroughly decayed, which tragically could be very soon (Taylor et al. 2010).

Congratulations! You've made it through the conclusion!

Click on the icon below to restart the tutorial.

Other support for essay writing

Online resources.

The general writing pages of this site offer guidance that can be applied to all types of writing, including essays. Also check your department guidance and VLE sites for tailored resources.

Other useful resources for essay writing:

Appointments and workshops 

There is lots of support and advice for essay writing. This is likely to be in your department, and particularly from your academic supervisor and module tutors, but there is also central support, which you can access using the links below. 

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• Last Updated: Apr 3, 2024 4:02 PM
• URL: https://subjectguides.york.ac.uk/academic-writing

CUNY School of Professional Studies

119 W 31st Street, New York, NY 10001

#11  in  Best Online Bachelor's Programs (tie)

Overall Score 91 /100

CUNY School of Professional Studies Bachelor's Program Overview

CUNY School of Professional Studies, a public institution, has been offering online bachelor's degree programs since 2006-2007. All of the online classes are recorded and archived so students can access lecture material at their convenience. When applying for the online programs at CUNY School of Professional Studies, it's important to note that the deadline is rolling.

About the Online Bachelor's Degree Program

Content in this section is provided by the school.

The accredited degree-completer programs maximize students’ transfer credits; credit for prior learning can add further credits. The programs follow the standard academic calendar, with shorter sessions in the summer and winter. CUNY's affordable tuition makes these programs among the most affordable in the nation. Costs are also reduced by replacing textbooks with open educational resources; whole programs have earned the designation ZTC (for Zero Textbook Costs).

2024 Bachelor's Program Quick Stats

Cuny school of professional studies rankings.

• # 11 in  Best Online Bachelor's Programs  (tie)
• # 3 in  Best Online Bachelor's Programs for Veterans
• # 8 in  Best Online Bachelor's in Psychology Programs  (tie)
• # 50 in  Best Online Bachelor's in Business Programs  (tie)

Best Online Programs Ranking Indicators

See how this program stacks up against 338 others, based on factors used in the U.S. News methodology.

Engagement rank

Engagement score

Faculty Credentials and Training rank

Faculty Credentials and Training score

Services and Technologies rank

Services and Technologies score

Expert Opinion score (out of 5)

Other rankings at this school: Grad Schools

CUNY School of Professional Studies Bachelor's Program Data

Most popular majors by degrees conferred at CUNY School of Professional Studies

• Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse
• Hospital and Health Care Facilities Administration/Management
• Business/Commerce, General
• Information Science/Studies
• Psychology, General

Applying to CUNY School of Professional Studies

Applications.

Application deadline (U.S. residents)

Application deadline (international students)

Priority application deadline

Notification of admissions

Data appear as submitted by school

On a rolling basis beginning Feb. 1

Application website

Program website

Admissions website

Director of admissions

Lucas Sifuentes

Admissions phone

Admissions email

Admissions requirements same as campus-based students' requirements

Sometimes denies admittance to qualified applicants

Requirements

Accept transfer students

Transfer students may earn advanced standing credit

Dual enrollment at separate college allowed

Can earn degree entirely outside U.S.

Application essay required

High school completion requirements

Diploma or GED required

Minimum high school GPA required

Academic admissions factors

Rigor of secondary school record

Not Considered

Recommendation(s)

Standardized test scores

Application essay

Non-academic admissions factors

Extracurricular activities

Talent/ability

Character/personal qualities

First-generation college student

Alumni/alumnae relations

Geographical residence

State residency

Religious affiliation/commitment

Race/ethnicity

Volunteer work

Work experience

Applicant's interest level

Entering Class Stats

Female applicants

Male applicants

Applicants accepted

Female applicants accepted

Male applicants accepted

Applicants enrolled

Female applicants enrolled

Male applicants enrolled

Acceptance rate

CUNY School of Professional Studies Academics

Distinguishing characteristics.

School type

First year of program

Full-time faculty with terminal degree

Part-time faculty with terminal degree

Full-time faculty whose highest degree is a bachelor's

Part-time faculty whose highest degree is a bachelor's

Full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty

School finances online instructor training

Required hours of initial training

Formal peer review of instructors

Continuing online instruction education required

Faculty gender distribution

Faculty ethnic diversity

Minority Faculty

Black or African American

Hispanic/Latino

Two or more races

Average class size

Maximum class size

Class sizes

2-9 students

10-19 students

20-29 students

30-39 students

40-49 students

50-99 students

100+ students

Online bachelor's degree programs

Social Sciences

• Social Sciences, General
• Research Methodology and Quantitative Methods
• Sociology, General
• Social Sciences, Other

Health Professions and Related Programs

• Health Information/Medical Records Administration/Administrator

Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs

• Speech Communication and Rhetoric

Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities

• Humanities/Humanistic Studies

Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services

Integration With Campus

Classes include campus-based students

Collaboration among online and campus-based students

No face-to-face students

Credits earned online equal earned on campus

Faculty who teach online also teach on campus

Same curricula for online and campus-based students

Possible in-person attendance requirements

Orientations

Group projects/simulations

Archived classes

Classes can be received live

Live online/on-campus classes after 5 p.m.

Online chatrooms

Web conferencing (webinars)

Zoom or other visual software

New-student orientation

Review and sign ethics statement

Percentage of classes with lectures

Number of times per week students must login to a typical course

Courses requiring students to work collaboratively with other students

Required in the majority of courses

Class participation graded

Same exams are administered only once

Exams have random question order

Number of settings in which in-person exams are administered

No proctored exams

Anti-plagiarism screening required for essay assignments

Measures to instill academic integrity

CUNY SPS has a formal academic integrity policy, and students sign an honor code agreeing to abide by the policy. In addition, students complete an academic integrity module in New Student Orientation, and academic integrity is also reinforced in first semester courses. All faculty have access to plagiarism-checking programs (SafeAssign and Turnitin), and all essay-based homework, papers, and exams are run through these programs. CUNY SPS is an institutional member of the International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI); our faculty and staff have access to ICAI resources and webinars as well as to internal professional development opportunities focused on academic integrity and the rise of new AI tools.

Standardized copyright policy for course materials

End-of-course evaluations

Course evaluation response rate

List of Student Assessments Administered

Skyfactor Benchworks

Skyfactor Benchworks result publicly available

Priorities Survey for Online Learners (Noel Levitz)

Priorities Survey for Online Learners results publicly available

Other assessment

Description of other assessment

Graduation survey to assess employment status, career plans, and satisfaction. Alumni surveys are administered at two through ten years from graduation date. Nursing and Health Information Management surveys to assess disciplinary outcomes.

Other assessment results publicly available

Graduation & Retention

Credits needed to graduate

Credits that must be earned through school

Total program graduates (2022-2023)

New student retention rate (2022)

New student retention rate (2021)

New student retention rate (2020)

New student retention rate (2019)

Limited time to complete degree

Within 3 years

Within 4 years

Within 5 years

Within 6 years

Within 8 years

Student Body at CUNY School of Professional Studies

Female enrollment

Male enrollment

Student gender distribution

Enrolled students with military experience

Enrolled students who are active service members

Enrolled students who are veterans

Average credits held by (2022-2023) graduates when starting program

Entering class progress toward degree

New entrants who are first-time, first-year students

New entrants who are employed

Composition

Students 22 and younger

Students ages 23-39

Students 40 or older

Average student age

Region from which most U.S. students come

Middle Atlantic

Degree-seeking student diversity

Nonresident aliens

American Indian or Alaska Native

Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

Race and/or ethnicity unknown

International

Countries most represented by students

• United Kingdom

Number of countries represented by international students

Technology & Support at CUNY School of Professional Studies

Recommended internet speed

Live streaming video

Live streaming audio

Recorded video

Recorded audio

Software-based readers

Application for display on tablet computer

Description of tablet application

Blackboard App

Application for display on smartphone

Description of application for smartphone

Bulletin boards

Simulations

Online labs

Learning management system

Online course development

Adaptive learning

Discussion board

Learning analytics platform

Types of Learning Management Systems Used

Blackboard Collaborate

Blackboard Mobile

Blackboard Instructor

Academic advising

Career placement assistance

Financial aid office/services

Access to live librarian

Local area network

Technical support

Live tutoring

Writing workshops

Admissions counseling

Course registration

Resume help services

Degree audit

Transcript services

Support From Faculty

Weekly office hours (available remotely)

Expectation that instructors will respond to questions within specific timeframe

Instructor response expected within (hours)

24-7 live tech support

ADA compliance

Central office reviews each course

Tech support availability

Weekend days (7:00 a.m. - 5:59 p.m.)

Weekend nights (6:00 p.m. - 9:59 p.m.)

Weekend overnights (10:00 p.m. - 6:59 a.m.)

Weekdays (7:00 a.m. - 5:59 p.m.)

Weeknights (6:00 p.m. - 9:59 p.m.)

Weekday overnights (10:00 p.m. - 6:59 a.m.)

Tuition & Financial Aid at CUNY School of Professional Studies

In-state tuition for all military veterans

Financial Aid

Financial aid available

Both institutional and federal aid are available

Institution is GI Bill certified

New students who use GI Bill benefits

Institution participates in Yellow Ribbon Program

Yellow Ribbon Funding

Not Applicable

Proportion of 2022-2023 graduates with debt

School tracks alumni

Postgraduate outcomes

Mostly working adults, often with families, our OBD students focus less on entering the workforce than enhancing their careers. Our goal is to help students advance through promotions or new positions; or pursue new career paths or graduate programs.

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Best Writing Scholarships in 2024

Showing 159 scholarships that match your search.

Immerse Education

The Immerse Education Essay Competition provides the opportunity for students aged 13-18 to submit essay responses to a pre-set question relating to their chosen subject. 10 winners will receive a 100% scholarship, with runner-up prizes also awarded. 100% Scholarship Award For Cambridge, Oxford, Sydney & London Summer School Essay Competition.

Categories: Critical Essay

Organization: Immerse Education.

Deadline: January 04, 2025.

Additional awards: Runner-ups: 50% of scholarship.

Categories: Critical Essay.

Apply now →

Creative Writing Award

The winner will be offered the opportunity to occupy during her or his first academic year the residence room where J. D. Salinger lived; and Leadership standing in the Ursinus writing community. The winner will be expected to join the previous award winners in reading subsequent creative portfolios, and will help the Office of Admission in selecting the next winner. Award winners are also expected to be prominent members of Ursinus’ Literary Society, The Lantern, and the creative writing community.

Categories: Critical Essay, Journalism, Nonfiction, Novel Writing, Personal Essay, Playwriting, Poetry, Portfolio, Research, Screenwriting, and Short Fiction

Organization: Ursinus College.

Deadline: January 15, 2025.

Categories: Critical Essay, Journalism, Nonfiction, Novel Writing, Personal Essay, Playwriting, Poetry, Portfolio, Research, Screenwriting, and Short Fiction.

The Sub Pop Loser Scholarship

Sub Pop Records is extremely proud to offer a grand total of $15,000 in college scholarship money to three eligible high school seniors. To apply you must submit a one-page essay using any combination of our questions as a guide (or write something completely your own, be inspired and creative!). Applicants must be residents of Washington or Oregon in pursuit of higher education.

Categories: Personal Essay

Organization: Sub Pop Records.

Deadline: March 23, 2025.

Additional awards: Second place scholarship of $5,000, third place scholarship of $3,000.

Categories: Personal Essay.

Islamic Scholarship Fund Program

Students who are Muslim or active members of the Muslim community may apply for the Islamic Scholarship Fund. The ISF awards multiple scholarships each year ranging from $3,000-$10,000, though the amounts and number of recipients will vary. Students must submit applications including essay questions, work samples, and letters of recommendation, and must also be majoring in an ISF-supported field related to media or politics.

Organization: Islamic Scholarship Fund.

Deadline: March 21, 2025.

Additional awards: Multiple awards of varying amounts will be given.

BBB Torch Talk Scholarship

BBB Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to educating consumers on a variety of marketplace issues; this scholarship is in pursuit of that goal. Applicants must attend high school in Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington or Western Wyoming, and will submit a 500-word essay for BBB’s online magazine Torch Talk on one of the given topics.

Organization: Better Business Bureau.

Deadline: March 16, 2025.

Flag House Scholarship Award

Do you know of an unsung history-maker in your community? Is there an organization in your community working to keep the legacy of a historically significant, but often overlooked, individual alive and relevant? Identify a person living or from the past whose professional work, activism, or personal story has made a significant impact on you or your community. Describe why their story is unique and explain how they have changed history. Response should be limited to 350 words.

Categories: Research and Critical Essay

Organization: The Star-Spangled Banner Flag House.

Deadline: March 26, 2025.

Categories: Research and Critical Essay.

Unpublished Writer's Award

The winner of this award receives $1,000, an invitation to accept the award at our annual awards ceremony, promotion on our website, and a feature of their work in our Magajournal and quarterly newsletter. Applicant must email an original, unpublished fiction work (short story or novel excerpt) not to exceed 2,000 typed words on double-spaced pages

Categories: Short Fiction and Novel Writing

Organization: Go On Girl! Book Club.

Deadline: March 31, 2025.

Additional awards: Invitation to awards ceremony, promotion through website and publications.

Categories: Short Fiction and Novel Writing.

Christine B. Dexter Scholarship

The Christine B. Dexter Scholarship was established in honor of Christine B. Dexter after her passing from stomach cancer in 2008. This scholarship awards undergrad students a $2,000 scholarship towards their fall tuition. All recipients demonstrate a history of community service and resilience through their cancer journey.

Organization: Christine B. Foundation.

Marguerite Young Endowment Fund

The Marguerite Young Endowment Fund was established at The Pittsburgh Foundation to provide scholarships for students who plan to study theology. Candidates must be attending a Protestant seminary as a master of Divinity candidate, preparing for full-time ministry and/or be a seminary intern at a Protestant Church. Application must includes proof of this, as well as a personal essay.

Organization: The Pittsburgh Foundation.

Incight Scholarship

The INCIGHT scholarship is open to students in Washington, Oregon, and California who have a documented disability. Applicants must complete two detailed essay responses (video essays also welcome) in order to be eligible. The number of awards and total amount awarded will be determined during the selection process, and winners will be notified in June.

Organization: INCIGHT.

Deadline: April 01, 2025.

The AAF-Greater Evansville Scholarship

The AAF-Greater Evansville awards scholarships to deserving high school and/or college students yearly in April. To be eligible, students must plan to pursue a career in advertising, marketing, public relations or graphic design. Application varies yearly but includes various education details and personal statements.

Categories: Journalism

Organization: American Advertising Federation of Greater Evansville.

Categories: Journalism.

Aspiring Literary Scholar Award

The winner of this award receives $1,000, an invitation to accept the award at our annual awards ceremony, promotion on our website, and a feature of their work in our Magajournal and quarterly newsletter. Candidate must submit an essay not to exceed 800 words on the topic "The Power of The Written Word."

Dr. Jerry Pournelle Scholarship

The Dr. Jerry Pournelle Scholarship may be awarded to a candidate of any gender majoring in engineering, math, biological or physical sciences, or “science fiction as literature” as an eligible field of study. Applicants must submit a 500-1,000 word essay on one of several scientific topics.

Categories: Research, Personal Essay, and Critical Essay

Organization: The Heinlein Society.

Categories: Research, Personal Essay, and Critical Essay.

Dr. Yoji Kondo Scholarship

The Dr. Yoji Kondo Scholarship may be awarded to a candidate of any gender majoring in engineering, math, biological or physical sciences, or “science fiction as literature” as an eligible field of study. Applicants must submit a 500-1,000 word essay on one of several scientific topics.

Jack & Julie Narcolepsy Scholarship

Project Sleep’s Jack & Julie Narcolepsy Scholarship is a national scholarship program to support students with narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia. Students must complete an application form that includes a response to the esssay question: "If you could go back in time and speak to yourself on the day you were diagnosed, what would you say? Write a letter to yourself on that day."

Organization: Project Sleep.

What are writing scholarships?

Writing scholarships are financial awards given to students based primarily on written work, though other factors are usually taken into consideration as well. Most writing scholarships involve a prompt or series of prompts to which applicants must respond. Some writing scholarships — especially those that award large amounts of money — require applicants to submit past writing samples, or even a full portfolio.

The good news is that, with so many writing scholarships to choose from, you don’t have to apply for any that are “out of your league.” Indeed, though most students have heard of writing scholarships, you may not realize just how many different varieties there are! Here are five of the most common types of writing scholarships, all of which you can find in this directory.

1. Personal essay scholarships

Personal essay scholarships involve writing on a topic related to your own experience. You’ll often see personal essay prompts like, “How have your experiences influenced your choice of major?” and “What are your career aspirations and how do you plan to achieve them?” Other prompts may ask you to write about a role model, a life-changing event, an aspect of your identity, etc. Suggested length is usually about 500-1,000 words, but varies depending on the level of detail requested and how many essay questions are provided.

Just about every scholarship these days has a personal essay component of some kind. This is because personal essay responses both demonstrate writing skills and give the judges a clear sense of each applicant’s goals. No one wants to throw away money on an aimless student — so if you’re applying for a personal essay scholarship, make sure to convey both your writing abilities and your ambitions in your work!

2. Critical essay scholarships

Critical essay scholarships are more in line with what students might consider  “academic” essays. The prompts typically ask applicants to analyze works of literature. However, unlike open-ended English class essays, most critical essay scholarships provide a very specific prompt (e.g. “Examine The Great Gatsby in the context of its World War II-era revival”).

Critical essay scholarships can also involve non-literary subject matter. Some may ask applicants to evaluate a historical event or figure; others may ask them to defend their stance on a political or legal issue. Though the line between critical and personal essays can sometimes blur, for the purposes of this directory, we define critical essays as those that use evidence from an external source to prove a point.

3. Short fiction scholarships

Short fiction scholarships include scholarships for short stories, one-act plays, poetry, and any other form of fiction that isn’t a novel or full-length script. Short fiction scholarships tend to be easier to find than long-form fiction scholarships, since most judging panels don’t have time to read more than a few thousand words per entry. Therefore, if you write fiction and you’re hoping to nab yourself a scholarship, this category is the way to go! (That said, if you’re a hardline novelist, some places will accept a sample chapter or two as short fiction entries.)

4. Journalism scholarships

Journalism scholarships are for students interested in pursuing a career in news, magazine, and/or online journalism. These scholarship applications almost always ask for writing samples to show the candidate’s interest. Depending on the organization, they may prefer topical news reports, informative articles, thinkpieces, or a mix. Some journalism scholarships provide a prompt and ask applicants to write a new article, but the focus is usually on samples. Speaking of which…

5. Portfolio scholarships 

Portfolio scholarships are the most rigorous kind of writing scholarship, requiring a substantial body of work from each applicant — usually 5-10 pieces of writing, if not more. The upside is that awards for portfolio scholarships tend to be pretty sizable, and may even cover your entire tuition!

If you decide to apply to a portfolio scholarship, make sure you have several strong pieces of work in your oeuvre, and consider writing a few new pieces as well. What you shouldn’t do is rush through a dozen new pieces to throw together as a portfolio. If you don’t have samples at the ready from previous assignments or projects, you’ll be better off applying to a less intensive writing scholarship.

Why apply to writing scholarships?

Applying to writing scholarships is a huge undertaking, especially if you’re pursuing multiple scholarships at once. It can sometimes feel like the effort isn’t worth it, or that you have little chance of actually winning any awards. But in truth, submitting to writing scholarships is one of the best investments you can make in your education, your creative writing skills, and your professional life.

Scholarships for larger amounts do attract more applicants, but that doesn’t mean they’re impossible to land — only that you have to work a little harder to stand out. And you can definitely sway the odds in your favor by applying to lots of small scholarships ($500 or less) for which you’ll have fewer competitors. Remember that every little bit helps! For example, if you plan on taking out student loans, even a $500 scholarship could save you much more in interest down the line.

Another compelling reason to apply to writing scholarships is that oftentimes, you’ve already done the work, or the work required is minimal. For scholarships that require writing samples, you’ll simply submit what you’ve already written in the past — and even for scholarships with specific prompts, you rarely have to write more than a couple of pages. If you were seriously committed, you could apply to a scholarship every day, spending a single concentrated evening on each application.

Jumping off that thought, as English majors love to say: the more writing scholarships you apply for, the better a writer you’ll become. Writing tons of scholarship essays will make you a much more creative and efficient writer. Not only will this help with your personal writing projects, but it will also be invaluable to your education and even your career! Writing is a crucial skill for every major — you’ll always have to write papers and emails to professors, after all — and even if you don’t plan to pursue a writing-based job, you'll still need writing skills to polish your résumé.

Finally, remember that there’s a writing scholarship out there for everyone, no matter what your interests or intended field. This directory includes plenty of creative writing scholarships, yes; but there are also personal essay scholarships for future doctors, lawyers, salespeople, and so much more. You have nothing to lose by giving it a shot, so why not start searching for your dream writing scholarship today? (And if you’re unsure about your writing skills, you might benefit from some of the resources below.)

Resources to strengthen your writing skills

• 20 Writing Tips to Help You Become A Better Writer Today
• How to Stop Procrastinating and Build A Solid Writing Routine
• What is Creative Nonfiction? Memoirs, Literary Journalism, and More!
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• How to Write a Fantastic Short Story In 7 Steps
• How to Self-Edit Your Manuscript Like a Pro
• 700+ Creative Writing Prompts to Inspire You
• 100+ Creative Writing Exercises for Authors

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Why your first year at university really matters

The first year of university is an excellent training ground to hone essay and reading skills, writes student blogger joe newell.

How you treat your first year is a point of contention among university students.

For the majority of courses, your first-year grade does not count towards your final degree classification. Naturally, then, students start to wonder whether a year focused on socialising and getting stuck in with societies – fitting in the occasional stint at the library – will be much more beneficial than going all out with studying.

As long as you pass with 40 per cent, you can put the effort in next year when it counts, right?

True, settling into university is a crucial aspect of first year, and socialising will play a big part in that. But if your degree is essay-based, as many are, a complacent approach to your first-year studies really is not in your interests. And here is why.

Let me illustrate the point with my own experience. If you plotted my work ethic throughout the year on a graph, it would look something like the Himalayas.

Once, I found myself in the early hours of the morning with a deadline rapidly approaching. Having left the essay until the last minute, I was relying on some pretty meagre research as I wrestled with my keyboard to meet the word count. As expected, the mark for that essay was not great. The feedback also told me what I already knew: I was let down by limited research and a poorly thought-out structure.

Video: Five essential studying tips for students

By contrast, another time I put a lot of effort into one essay that counted for much of that module’s final grade. I read widely and carefully formulated an argument.

The mark I was given was not as high as I would have liked, but I received some invaluable feedback: I had changed the focus of this essay, but my tutor pointed out that this was not entirely clear and advised me on how best to justify changing the question’s parameters. This feedback was specific!

I had tried my best, so in the end I learned about an error in my technique that I would otherwise have been unaware of. I keep advice like this in mind every time I come to write a new essay.

Coasting to a pass will not get you the feedback that really improves essay technique. Like I said, you’ll find that comments point out blatant shortcomings that both you and the marker know are the result of low effort. Trying your best is the only way to hone your essay-writing skills.

All this becomes crucial when you remember that essay-based degrees examine students with essays every single year. That means the skill is cumulative – by third year, you’ll be sporting a portfolio of mistakes made and lessons learned that will (hopefully) land you your best possible grade.

First year is a chance to test the waters; you are free to make those mistakes and play around with your style while unencumbered by the pressure to get the best grades.

Alternatively, you could work just enough to be allowed back into university in second year.

In terms of official marks, you would be on the same footing as every other student, but you might find your essay-writing to be a year behind. In the immortal words of one of my tutors: “It’s as if you pay a massive entry fee to run a marathon, with world-class coaches and everything, and then fail to start training.”

All this being said, there is a lot happening in first year, so try not to feel weighed down by your academic assignments. Just take this as a warning: don’t skip through the year thinking you have a safety net; the work you put in really matters and be prepared to fight procrastination .

Read more: You’ve started your degree, now please make sure you do the reading!

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• How to Choose the Right A-levels: a Guide for GCSE Students

However, the decisions you make now will set you on a course that can be difficult to change, so it’s important to make the right subject choices at this early stage. The aim of this guide is to help you see things more clearly and get a good impression of the possible options, whether you have your heart set on a particular career path or not. We’ll consider the best A-levels to take for a variety of popular university subjects, and then give some more general advice if you’re not sure what it is you want to study.

How many A-levels should I take?

The minimum requirement even for the best universities is that you take three A-levels (excluding General Studies); these will be the basis of your offer. Some students choose to take on additional AS or full A-level subjects, giving them a total of four or five A-levels with which to apply to university. With the possible exception of the occasional Oxbridge college, you won’t be at a disadvantage for only taking three; indeed, it’s better to take three and get brilliant results in all three than it is to take on more than you can handle and get worse results because of it. Only take on what you think you can realistically manage, and talk to your teachers about the workload you can expect from the subjects you think you might want to study.

As a minimum, students will usually choose four AS-level subjects, one of which will be dropped at A2. General Studies is a compulsory fifth AS or even A2 subject at many schools, but will not usually count towards university admissions. It doesn’t require much extra study, however. One general piece of advice is: don’t take courses that are too similar. For instance, Biology is very similar to Human Biology. While it’s good to be fairly focused, it’s better to demonstrate a wider breadth of knowledge and skills by picking complementary but different fields, such as Biology and Chemistry. It’s also worth remembering that exam boards differ. For instance, OCR is reputed to be harder for Maths than AQA or Edexcel. While you probably won’t have any choice in which exam board you use unless you’re self-studying the subject in question, it’s worth looking up which exam board your school uses so you can be sure the kind of assessment you’ll receive will suit you.

The best A-levels for specific degree subjects

Let’s start by looking in detail at recommended A-level subjects for those who know what subject they want to take a degree in. We’ve covered the most common degree courses below. Universities typically differentiate between subjects that are essential for studying a particular course and subjects that are merely useful. Therefore in the subject lists that follow, those in bold are generally deemed essential for studying the subject, while those in italics are often seen as useful but not necessarily required. The rest are subjects that complement the course with transferrable skills or useful background knowledge, and are suggestions based on ideas offered by a selection of university admissions pages.

A-levels in Latin and Classical Greek are highly desirable if you want to study classics. We’ve marked them as essential below, as they are a requirement for many Classics courses. However, not all schools offer these subjects at A-level, and many universities also offer ab initio courses for those who haven’t studied the classical languages before. If you choose this option, you’ll may be required to attend a summer school or get your Latin and Greek up to a minimum standard in some other way during the summer preceding the start of your university course. – Latin – Classical Greek – Foreign Language, e.g. French or Italian – Classical Civilisations – Classics courses usually contain some element of studying the history and archaeology of the time, so a grounding in the basics will prove helpful if this option is open to you. – History – History of Art

Politics degree courses don’t usually carry any specific entrance requirements, and a mix of humanities and sciences will provide a solid foundation and good general knowledge. – History – Government and Politics – Geography – Sociology – Psychology – Economics – English Literature – Foreign Language – Law – Mathematics

Many music degrees have performance, theory, history and composition components. A-level Music, along with a high standard on at least one musical instrument (with practical and theory exam grades to prove it), will be essential or highly desirable. In addition to your main instrument, Grade 5 piano is often considered desirable. If your school doesn’t offer A-level music, some universities will accept ABRSM Grade 8 Music Theory instead (note that A-level Music Technology is unlikely to be considered a suitable alternative to A-level Music). Other than music, it’s up to you what else you study; essay-based subjects are useful, and it’s often said that musicians make good mathematicians (and vice versa)! – Music – English Literature – History – Mathematics

While there are usually no set requirements for studying Philosophy at university, a mix of arts and science subjects will prove useful – an arts-based subject will give you essay-writing skills, while science subjects help develop your logic and reason. If your school offers Philosophy it would be worth taking it; though it won’t be an advantage in applying (since not many schools offer it, it would put you at an unfair advantage), it will at least give you a feel for the subject and whether it’s something you’d like to pursue. – Philosophy – English Literature – English Language and Literature – History – Mathematics – Physics

Most universities have no specific entrance requirements for Geography – not even A-level Geography! – instead favouring a mix of humanities and sciences subjects. Geography is quite a wide-ranging subject and can focus on aspects to do with people (populations, demographics and so on) or on Earth processes. Note that even though Geography A-level isn’t usually a requirement, in practice most applicants will have it, and if nothing else, studying it at A-level will at least help you make sure it’s what you want to study at university. – Geography – Geology – Economics – Sociology – Environmental Science – Biology – Chemistry – Mathematics – Physics – Foreign Language

Engineering

The study of engineering at university typically requires A-levels in Mathematics and at least one other science, usually Physics. Further Mathematics is not usually given as an entrance requirement, but it is definitely highly desirable to at least AS level, as you’re likely to struggle without if you take engineering to degree level. Technology subjects are also seen as desirable by many universities. – Mathematics – Physics – Further Mathematics – Chemistry – Biology – Environmental Science – Geology – Geography – Computer Science – Design and Technology – Economics – Statistics

Oxford Royale offers summer courses in engineering for those that are looking to learn about the profession, develop skills and improve their chances to a successful application in the future.

Economists deal with a lot of numbers, so you’ll need Mathematics and ideally Further Mathematics to be able to study Economics at university. Economics at A-level is useful preparation, but don’t worry if your school doesn’t offer it; Business Studies is also seen as a good relevant A-level. – Mathematics – Further Mathematics – Economics – Business Studies – Government and Politics – Statistics

Oxford Royale offers summer courses in business for those that are looking to learn about the profession, develop skills and improve their chances to a successful application in the future.

With Chemistry and Mathematics generally seen as essential for the study of Chemistry at undergraduate level, it’s advisable to have at least one other science and Further Mathematics. We’ve included the most traditional and respected ones here; some universities will also accept subjects such as Computing, Design and Technology and Psychology as additional science subjects. – Chemistry – Mathematics – Physics – Biology – Human Biology – Further Mathematics

Further Mathematics, while not usually part of offers, is in reality something that most students will struggle without when it comes to studying physics as an undergraduate. It’s advisable to have at least two science subjects. As above, we’ve included the most well-respected subjects here. – Physics – Mathematics – Further Mathematics – Chemistry – Biology – Human Biology

As with the other sciences, at least two science subjects at A-level are recommended for studying a Biology degree. If you want to focus on Human Biology in your degree but your school doesn’t offer Human Biology A-level, you shouldn’t be at any disadvantage. Again, only the most well-respected subjects are included here. – Biology/Human Biology – Mathematics – Chemistry – Physics – Further Mathematics

Chemistry is normally considered essential for medicine, with at least one other science subject (normally Biology or Physics). In practice, the vast majority of applicants will have three or more science subjects, which will put them at an advantage over someone with only two sciences. – Chemistry – Biology/Human Biology – Physics – Mathematics – Psychology (note that this is unlikely to be considered for your second science subject; it might make a good AS subject or fourth A-level)

Oxford Royale offers summer courses in medicine for those that are looking to learn about the profession, develop skills and improve their chances to a successful application in the future.

Mathematics

Mathematics is essential. Further Mathematics is also essential at some universities, though most will offer catch-up classes if your school doesn’t offer it. If you can take Further Mathematics, you certainly should; a third science subject will strengthen your skills in related areas. This is the one exception to the rule that you should not take courses that are too similar. – Maths – Further Maths – Physics – Chemistry – Biology/Human Biology – Statistics – Computing

While no specific subjects are required, you’ll usually need a science A-level to study Psychology at university, ideally Biology and/or Mathematics. Social sciences and humanities subjects can provide useful background as well, and if Psychology is offered at your school then it’s worth taking it so that you know whether it’s something you’ll find interesting enough to take to degree level. – Psychology – Biology/Human Biology – Mathematics – Chemistry – Sociology

Computer Science

You don’t normally need to know any programming in order to take a Computer Science degree, but Mathematics is essential and Further Mathematics desirable. Taking at least one other science subject would also be useful. Many students think that ICT would be advantageous; in fact, it’s probably better avoided. – Mathematics – Further Mathematics – Physics – Chemistry – Computer Science – Electronics – Geology

Architecture

Architecture doesn’t necessarily require specific A-levels; what it does require is that you present a portfolio of your work, which is mostly easily achieved by taking an A-level that requires you produce that sort of coursework, such as Art or Art and Design. A minority of Architecture courses also require Maths. Some Architecture courses are more Art-orientated and others are more Maths or Physics-orientated, so bear this in mind when choosing your A-levels if you prefer a particular course or a particular university. – Mathematics – Art – Design and Technology – Further Mathematics – Physics – Chemistry – History of Art – Geology

Oxford Royale offers summer courses in architecture for those that are looking to learn about the profession, develop skills and improve their chances to a successful application in the future.

Keeping your options open

Many people have absolutely no idea what they want to do at university or for their career. That’s not a problem at all – it just means you need to keep your options open when it comes to your A-level choices. So what’s the best thing to do if you really have no idea? Choose subjects you enjoy – you’ll do better in your studies if you have an interest in the subject! Choose subjects in which you are predicted to get good GCSE grades – chances are you’ll do well in these subjects at A-level, too, earning you better grades and therefore more university options. Choose a range of subjects – both humanities and science subjects. This will give you the greatest choice when it comes to applying for university. It’s also worth thinking about the transferrable skills demonstrated by different subject choices. For example: – Essay-based subjects such as English Literature or History demonstrate analytical skills and critical thinking. – Science subjects such as Physics or Mathematics demonstrate logic and familiarity with scientific principles. – Practical subjects such as Art or Music demonstrate self-discipline and creative thinking. If you pick a range of subjects across these fields, you’ll have more than enough to show your capabilities in different areas.

Subjects best avoided for top universities

Taking more traditional A-level subjects such as English, History or the sciences will generally open up more doors for you than some of the newer subjects. The entrance requirements don’t always say it, but there are some subjects that aren’t looked on with much respect by many universities, particularly top ones. This is because some subjects don’t necessarily develop or demonstrate the academic and scholarly skills needed to succeed at undergraduate level. If you’re thinking of applying for a respected university, non-traditional subjects such as those below are best avoided unless they’re a fourth or fifth AS or A-level sitting alongside three solid traditional choices: General studies – this is compulsory at a lot of schools and colleges. Just bear in mind that it’s very unlikely to count towards your minimum three A-levels required for university admissions. Critical Thinking Media Studies – unless you’re applying for a degree in media or film studies, of course! Dance Home Economics

‘Facilitating’ subjects

Another source you might want to take into account when choosing your A-levels is the Russell Group’s list of so-called ‘facilitating subjects’ – particularly if you’re thinking of applying to a Russell Group university. The subjects are: – Mathematics and Further Mathematics – English Literature – Physics – Biology – Chemistry – Geography – History – Languages (Classical and Modern) These are the subjects that are most often required by top universities. It’s worth being clear it’s not an exhaustive list of ‘hard’ subjects, but instead it’s the case that picking options from this list will keep your options open. For example, taking Business Studies, Economics and Law will leave you well set for an Economics degree at most universities, but taking Mathematics, Geography and a language will be equally good preparation for an Economics degree while leaving a slew of other possibilities open to you, as well as being more respected by top universities. If you’re aiming for Oxford or Cambridge , choosing subjects from this list is even more important; Clare College in Cambridge says that “most of our successful applicants over the last couple of years have offered facilitating subjects for most or all of their A-levels.” So what do you do if most or all of your first choices of subject aren’t on this list? First of all, it depends on which degree you’re aiming for. If you’ve got your heart set on something like Music, Drama or Art, those subjects are more likely to form part of your A-level choices, even at top universities. Additionally, universities lower down the league tables will place less importance on your subject choices so long as they remain relevant to your course choice. But if you’re aiming for an academic subject at a Russell Group university – or a non-Russell Group university with a similar position in the league tables – you’ll need to take at least two subjects from the list above to give yourself a good chance of getting in.

Making the final choice

To help make your final decision, talk to your teachers and read the syllabus for each of the courses you’re potentially interested in. You could even pop to the library and take a look at some of the texts and course books you’d be expected to study. This will help you get a feel for what each subject is like, and should aid your decision-making process. Finally, good luck – you have an exciting time ahead of you and we hope this guide has helped you!

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A-Level Choices: How to Decide

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If you’re interested in a career in law , you’ve probably been told to consider doing the ‘right’ A-level subjects, to give you the best chance of avoiding disappointment later. But do they even exist?!

While law schools don’t have specific subject requirements, there are some factors to keep in mind when choosing your A-levels.

Want to become a law student? Start by booking a free ticket to one of our ‘Get into Law’ TLP Aspire events in 2018!

A-Level Choices: Essay-Based Subjects

It is no secret that a law degree will involve a huge amount of writing essays and, therefore, it is usually recommended to take at least one subject that will develop these skills, which you can talk about in your personal statement. Universities and certainly employers in the legal sector look for candidates who showcase the ability to write coherently, reason and argue. As a result, A-levels in English literature or history are highly regarded subject choices.

On the other hand, having sciences or maths alongside an essay-based subject is also seen as very impressive since these students have a strong ability in problem-solving, logic and analysis – which are key skills needed for a law degree and certainly a career in law.

A-Level Choices: Facilitating Subjects

Whilst not strictly necessary, it’s worth bearing in mind the idea of facilitating subjects. According to some Russell Group universities, you must have at least two facilitating subjects as part of your A-levels.

Facilitating subjects are traditional academic subjects which allow you to keep your options open for the future and enable you to develop many key skills needed for any career within law. They include maths, English literature, physics, biology, chemistry, history, geography and a foreign language.

A-Level Choices: Good Grades

If you would like to secure a spot in one of the Russell Group universities, getting good grades is essential, which is why it is so important to pick subjects that you not only enjoy, but can also excel in.

Many of these universities also emphasise their selection process in choosing strong, academically-able students suited to this challenging degree. This is why top universities and big commercial firms ask for between AAB-A*AA.  Below are only a few examples of A-level entry requirements from some top universities:

• University of Oxford: AAA
• London School of Economics and Political Science: A*AA
• University of Durham: A*AA with LNAT
• University of York: AAA

>> Want to see more entry requirements for top UK universities? Take a look at our Uni-by-Uni comparison page!

A-Level Choices: Extended Project Qualification

Slightly unrelated to subject choices, however if your sixth form/college offers the opportunity to complete an EPQ, you should definitely do one related to law.

This is a great point of discussion in a law personal statement, in interviews and generally, it successfully shows your interest in the field.

A-Level Choices: Good Example Subject Combinations

Remember, almost all subject combinations which include at least two facilitating subjects are favoured. However, below are just a few good example combinations, popular with aspiring lawyers.

• English literature, history, maths
• English literature, maths, economics
• Chemistry, biology, history
• History, french, geography

A-Level Choices: Other Factors to Consider

But A-levels aren’t the only crucial aspect…

Competition for a law degree is increasingly high – there was a 4% increase in UCAS applications for law courses in 2017. Therefore, it is important to note that alongside good A-level subjects/grades, there are also other factors to consider:

Work Experience

Alongside good academia, work experience is equally as essential. Work experience proves to universities and future recruiters that you have a genuine interest in pursuing a career in this field.

Many firms and chambers offer short work experience placements for students in year 12 such as Pinsent Masons, Royds Withy King, BLP, Foot Anstey, Old Square Chambers, Matrix Chambers, and the list goes on. While it is not crucial for admission into a law degree, it would certainly put you to an advantage.

>> Read our new page on The Ultimate Guide to Law Work Experience for Year 12 Students as a starting point!

Personal Statement

Finally, your law personal statement should play a significant role in convincing admission tutors that you have a genuine interest for studying a law degree. Universities look for proof about the reasons why you want to pursue a law degree, which could be shown in the form of relevant work experience, related extra-curricular activities, EPQ’s or any books you have read that have a legal dimension.

Overall, as long as you are well informed about these key aspects, there is nothing stopping you from obtaining a place in a good university for a law degree.

Best of luck!

Published: 23/02/18    Author: Tvara Shah

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A-level choices: which subjects should you pick?

I t's that nailbiting time of the school year when prospective sixth-form students must choose which A-levels to do. Those who plan to go on to university will be hoping to pick the perfect combination that will ensure a place on their course of choice.

But it's hardly surprising if, aged 15, you don't have much of an idea what degree you want to do, let alone the shape of your future career. So Guardian Students has asked university admissions departments and sixth-form tutors to answer some of the questions pupils ask as they try to figure out which subjects to take.

Which A-level subjects are blacklisted by the more prestigious universities?

"An A-level subject blacklist does not exist, but certain universities do require particular subjects for particular courses, and applicants applying without these subjects will often not be considered," says Julian Skyrme, head of undergraduate recruitment and widening participation at the university of Manchester. In some cases it's obvious: you need to take science subjects to apply for medicine and dentistry, but in others, Skyrme says, the requirement "may be more subtle". A drama course might require that you have at least one essay-based A-level, for example. It's time consuming, but to be safe you need to look at the detailed entry criteria given by each university for individual degree courses you think you might be interested in.

What are the Russell group "facilitating subjects" and what does the term mean?

The Russell Group, to which some of the UK's most prestigious universities belong, publishes a guide called Informed Choices . It tells you the most common subject requirements for different degree courses at those universities. It also features a list of "facilitating subjects" and advises pupils wanting to be considered for a Russell Group university to pick two of them as part of their A-level mix. The facilitating subjects are: mathematics and further mathematics, English literature, physics, biology, chemistry, geography, history and languages (classical and modern).

Will universities really consider a BTec as equivalent to an A-level?

"Some will, some won't," says Matt Cole, head of modern history and politics at King Edward VI college in Stourbridge. "And I've seen departments that will one year, and won't another. There may also be a difference in what universities say they will consider and what in reality they do. They may consider BTecs – but not equally."

It depends on the type of course, adds Laura Lane, from the admissions service at Sheffield University. "The general rule is that BTecs should be in a relevant subject area to the degree a pupil wants to do."

"Students who are considering studying a BTec or another more vocational qualification (such as applied double-award A-levels) should research university entry requirements very carefully," says Skyrme, who points out that all universities publish precise details of what will be required both on their own websites and on the Ucas website.

"Sometimes universities will only be able to accept these sorts of qualifications when combined with other qualifications. For example, some engineering courses at university require students to have an A-level in maths alongside their BTec diploma, to ensure they have the mathematical skills required to complete the degree successfully."

Do teachers put pressure on pupils to take "easier" subjects to keep the school's results high?

Suspicion was voiced in comments on a Guardian Students feature last year that some schools advise pupils not to risk getting lower grades by taking on "hard" subjects at A-level. But Ian Hunt, MD of Gabbitas Education says: "I think what you'll find is that the pressure comes from the individual [school] department wanting to pick the best students to do their subjects, not an overarching directive from above."

At King Edward VI college, which last year saw 86% of its A-level pupils apply successfully to university, "we'd be encouraging pupils to play to their strengths", says Cole. Pupils occasionally do have to be guided away from a particular choice though – "there are some subjects, such as further maths, where you would have had to get a very good GCSE result to be accepted for A-level". Cole says teachers would make sure pupils understood that this was because you'd be unlikely to cope with the subject without a strong aptitude for maths.

If you feel you're being pushed towards subjects you don't want to do, what should you do?

"Teachers and parents can be a great source of advice to students; teachers especially can provide an honest insight into students' academic strengths," notes Skyrme. "However, students shouldn't be pressured into taking subjects they don't want to study, or that they don't feel confident about. Students should remember that it is they who will be studying the course, and taking the exams at the end of it, so it really must be a personal choice."

Should your GCSE grades dictate which subjects you pick at A-level?

For some subjects, you should take your GCSE grades very seriously, says Hunt. "Take maths: it's the sort of subject that if you don't get an A* at GCSE, it becomes a really big leap at AS and A-level and you need to consider that." But, he adds, this doesn't apply in all subjects – "for the humanities it's not nearly so strict a rule."

Do universities look at your GCSE results?

"Performance at 15 or 16, and sometimes even 14 if you take a GCSE early, isn't necessarily a good indicator of whether you'll be a good undergraduate and do well when you sit your finals," says Cole. But GCSEs – together with AS-levels – are the first filters that universities will use, simply because of the numbers they're dealing with. Most universities don't interview any more, Cole points out, so they've lost a valuable way of making a judgment, and in turn must rely more on a pupil's past performance.

"GCSE results do have a great bearing on university acceptances in some subjects," says Hunt. "Certain universities see GCSEs as great predictors. Oxford do, for instance."

How can you keep your options open?

Reality check: growing up is about making choices, and you can't keep every option open. But it may be useful to ask yourself if you really need to. If you're pretty sure you want to do medicine or engineering, then you can stop agonising: you need to narrow, not widen, your subject choice. But, says Lane, if you're not set on a particular area, "play to [your] strengths, but don't specialise in one area too much".

You could consider not doing A-levels at all. "The International Baccalaureate doesn't suit everyone, but if you're bright and want to keep your options open, that can be the best option," suggests Hunt.

Young people need to think carefully about what they enjoy and what they're likely to excel at, says Louise Banahene, education outreach manager at Leeds university. "If you study at least two of the facilitating subjects – ones you're interested in and good at – then the options are as wide as possible."

Skyrme says it's worth noting that by choosing facilitating subjects, pupils aren't restricted to applying for degree courses that require those subjects. "Even if a student studies three facilitating subjects, they would still be able to apply to study law, for which most universities do not require any specific subjects."

Should you always do maths A-level if you're capable of getting a decent grade, even if your interests lie elsewhere?

Most of the experts said no to this question: unless you want to do a maths- or science-based degree, it's not likely to be required. Skyrme suggests that students ask themselves a series of questions to decide: Will I enjoy maths A-level? Do I need it for my chosen university course? Might it be useful for my chosen university course? Will I get a good grade?

If the answer to most of these questions is yes, then clearly it would be a good idea, he says. If the answer to most of them is no, then don't do maths.

Should you try to do a science A-level if you can, even if you prefer arts and humanities?

It depends on the course a student is interested in. "A psychology course may prefer to see a science A-level in a student's portfolio, but an English course wouldn't see this as a benefit," says Skyrme. If a science A-level is preferred, it will always be clearly stated in the published entry requirements. If nothing is specified, "then students should prioritise those subjects they enjoy and will do well in".

If you don't think you're getting good advice from your school, where can you go for a second opinion?

"Ring up the universities – you're a customer, after all," says Hunt. "You'd be amazed how many humans they have in their admissions departments. They're very friendly people!"

"Students should feel confident contacting universities they are interested in applying to, from year 10 onwards, to discuss A-level choices," confirms Skyrme. Contact details for all courses are listed on university websites, so students can call or email admissions staff for the courses they are interested in to get advice directly.

Don't be shy if a university comes to your school on a careers day – ask lots of questions, advises Lane. Sheffield University encourages pupils to phone or email directly, and the applicant information team will answer your query or find someone for you to talk to in the relevant academic department. Sheffield has an online database of frequently asked questions – and so do most other university admissions website pages.

As there are so many universities, a good initial approach might be to choose a dozen or so that you think you might be interested in, and ring up the admissions offices for a chat, says Cole.

"But remember that whatever information you get, it's in principle, not a guarantee. There isn't a guaranteed way of getting a place university, but [by following their guidance] there is a guaranteed way of being considered for a course."

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Hey there college students. Are you tired of writing essays? Do you struggle to find the right words in English? If so, we’ve got you covered.

When searching for the most accessible degrees for international students, you’ll come across a lot of creative majors. But let’s be honest, how easy are these degrees? The truth is, what’s easy for one person may be a real challenge for another. It all depends on your background, language skills, and interests.

However, certain degrees tend to have less emphasis on essay writing. For example, social science courses like sociology and journalism often require a lot of writing. This can be demanding for international students who may not be confident in their English skills.

But don’t worry, there are other options. Technical subjects like engineering, math, and business administration typically require minimal writing. These subjects focus on numbers, equations, and problem-solving skills.

If you’re somewhere in between, there are social science programs with mixed exam formats. These programs assess students through a balance of exams and essay-based assignments.

Let’s now discuss some of the most feasible majors for international students who hate writing essays, along with the top-ranked and cost-effective colleges to pursue those fields of study.

Fashion Design

If you’re passionate about fashion, this is the degree for you. Fashion design focuses on hands-on learning like sketching, drawing, draping, and selecting textiles. You’ll also learn about the history and theories of fashion design.

• Kent State University in Kent, Ohio
• SUNY Buffalo State in Buffalo, New York
• Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri
• Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, Massachusetts
• Columbia College Chicago in Chicago, Illinois.

Computer Science

This is a great option for tech-savvy folks. You’ll write code fragments, solve mathematical equations, and develop applications. But beware computer science is not an easy degree. According to the National Science Board, 30% to 50% of STEM college students do not complete their degrees.

• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Champaign, Illinois
• Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia
• University of California, San Diego in La Jolla, California
• Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana
• University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, Wisconsin.

A math degree is a great choice for those who are strong with numbers but not so strong with words. You won’t have to write any essays, but you will have to complete complex calculations, mathematical proofs, and challenging problem-solving exams.

• University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, Wisconsin
• Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

Business Administration

Unlike finance and accounting, business administration offers broader business operation and management knowledge. You’ll crunch numbers and complete math and economics modules, but you won’t need perfect English skills to write the essays.

• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Kenan-Flagler) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (Carlson) in Minneapolis, Minnesota
• University of Utah (David Eccles) in Salt Lake City, Utah
• University of Oregon (Lundquist) in Eugene, Oregon
• University of South Carolina (Moore) in Columbia, South Carolina

Engineering

It is a broad field of study with lots of different specializations. You’ll deal with numbers and formulas most of the time, and all you’ll have to worry about is just lab reports.

• University of California, Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara, California
• University of Colorado Boulder in Boulder, Colorado
• University of Maryland, College Park in College Park, Maryland
• Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa
• University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma

Architecture

If you’re interested in design and problem-solving, architecture is a great degree option. You’ll spend long hours in studios honing your skills to design structures that suit your clients’ requirements. Writing essays in perfect grammar is not completely necessary, so this is an excellent option for those who struggle with English.

• University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona
• University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas
• University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Las Vegas
• Nevada University of Colorado Denver in Denver, Colorado
• Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, Michigan.

Finally, if all this doesn’t look convincing enough, let’s listen to the music of reason – math and statistics. According to a report by the Institute of International Education, the most popular major for international students in the United States is Business and Management. In fact, 20% of all international students in the U.S. are enrolled in Business and Management programs. This is followed by Engineering (18%), Math and Computer Science (14%), and Social Sciences (9%).

So, there you have it. These are some of the most manageable degrees for international students who hate writing essays. Remember, what’s easy for someone else may not be easy for you. Choose a degree that matches your interests and capabilities.

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Why skills - not degrees - will shape the future of work

Skills - not educational qualifications - are becoming more valuable to employers Image:  Skeeze at Pixabay

.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo{-webkit-transition:all 0.15s ease-out;transition:all 0.15s ease-out;cursor:pointer;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;outline:none;color:inherit;}.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo:hover,.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo[data-hover]{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo:focus,.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo[data-focus]{box-shadow:0 0 0 3px rgba(168,203,251,0.5);} Ravi Kumar S.

Steve george.

.chakra .wef-9dduvl{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;font-size:1.25rem;}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-9dduvl{font-size:1.125rem;}} Explore and monitor how .chakra .wef-15eoq1r{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;font-size:1.25rem;color:#F7DB5E;}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-15eoq1r{font-size:1.125rem;}} The Digital Economy is affecting economies, industries and global issues

.chakra .wef-1nk5u5d{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;color:#2846F8;font-size:1.25rem;}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-1nk5u5d{font-size:1.125rem;}} Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale

Stay up to date:, the digital economy.

• The nature of work and careers is changing fast - and in the future, the right skills will be prized over academic qualifications alone.
• The COVID-19 slowdown offers employers an opportunity to reshape their hiring practices around this shifting paradigm.
• How well companies can change their mindset will help define their future performance.

For generations, we have spent the first third of our lives acquiring the college degrees we need to find jobs. These degrees are the stamps on our professional passports that paved the way for the remaining two-thirds of our journey. This implies that the nature of our work, along with the skills and knowledge required to execute it, remains unchanged for a lifetime – which of course is no longer true. While our parents likely held one job for life, most of us have had several – and not just jobs but careers, too. Our children can expect to have many jobs and careers through their professional lives – perhaps even at the same time, with the maturing of the gig economy.

Clearly, the future of work will not be about college degrees; it will be about job skills. Now is our opportunity to steer those without college degrees toward successful careers and increase diversity amongst our workforce.

According to the World Economic Forum , more than 1 billion jobs, almost one-third of all jobs worldwide, are likely to be transformed by technology in the next decade. We are already seeing this happen. Think of the service staff at your favourite restaurant taking your order on a tablet that is connected to a central order-processing system back in the kitchen. The tablet must work without glitches to keep the restaurant running smoothly. Think of the apps you use to shop, track orders and simply stay informed. The store needs to keep them up and running at all hours, day after day, all year round. And because every one of these stores collects and maintains customer data that they study for trends – they need data analysts. They must also secure this data, which means they must therefore run cybersecurity operations.

Have you read?

15 skills linkedin say will help you get hired in 2020 - and where to learn them, reimagining the future of skills: what do young people think, world youth skills day: what you need to know for 2020.

In these and other similar situations, people are the organizing force making sure technology works the way we want it to. This means an unprecedented and rapid rise in new kinds of digital jobs. According to the Forum’s Jobs of Tomorrow report, there will be a rapid influx of roles at the forefront of the data and AI economy, as well as new roles in engineering, cloud computing and product development. These jobs need talent with relevant skills, and importantly these skills can be learnt even by those without college degrees.

The COVID-19 downturn gives us ample reason to act at scale, and act now. While the outbreak has been unsparing in its impact, we’ve seen a correlation between jobless rates and education level. For example, in the US, the decrease in employment from February to May ranged from 6% among workers with a bachelor’s degree or above to 21% among workers without a high school diploma (see figure below). Workers with a college degree or higher education are also much more likely to have the option to telework compared with high school graduates who did not go to college.

However, if we shift our focus from degrees to skills, we’ll enable a bigger workforce that represents the diversity of our populations, and will help close the all too familiar opportunity and employment gaps. This will mean transitioning to always-on skills-based education and employment infrastructure that embraces not just credentials and certification but fitness-for-job and employment as outcomes.

In recent years, several companies – including EY, Google and IBM – have embraced this kind of thinking and have increased hiring from alternate talent pools. Several more are investing in continuous learning for the workforce.

Others, like Infosys, following COVID-19, have brought together a consortium of partners on a free, online platform, to provide job training and apprenticeship opportunities for job-seekers and to connect them with employers offering them new work streams and career pathways.

Interestingly, the future of work will not only be about hard skills; it will be about holistic job skills. When it comes to skills, employers look for more than just task-oriented or technical skills. Companies want people with an eye for detail, creative problem-solving skills, a collaborative mindset and an ability to deal with ambiguity and complexity. These too are skills that can be learnt, often through apprenticeship programmes. The Forum’s Jobs of Tomorrow report, in fact, found that emerging professions reflect the continuing importance of human interaction in the new economy, giving rise to greater demand for roles at the forefront of people and culture.

As lines blur between conventional business roles and technology functions, there is a coming together of digital and human tasks best tackled by people with a broader, more holistic mindset. Traditionally, we have seen this pan out in the context of talent with liberal arts backgrounds. Often viewed as generalists, compared to hires with technical or STEM backgrounds, their breadth of exposure often gives them a distinct advantage. Those qualified in the liberal arts are also attuned to learning many new and disparate topics – another plus in an age that demands lifelong learning.

Every business leader will agree that finding not only the right people, but people with the right skills and mindset, is a serious challenge for enterprise. Using a four-year degree as a proxy for employability means relying on talent with potentially redundant skills rather than lifelong learners with ever-relevant skills. It hurts us all, too – because our current over-reliance on college degrees further alienates already vulnerable job-seekers.

The amount of work we put into changing our mindset around talent and approach to hiring today will determine how far we are going to get together.

Disclaimer: This publication contains information in summary form and is therefore intended for general guidance only. It is not intended to be a substitute for detailed research or the exercise of professional judgment. Member firms of the global EY organization cannot accept responsibility for loss to any person relying on this article.

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World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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