liberal studies? (1 Viewer)

jessum

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i dont know which faculty it is under, so ill just post here.
i read about liberal studies somewhere.... cant remember where.. and though it sounded interesting.
does anyone do it and want to tell me if its good or not??
thanks :)
 

Toodulu

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erm i'm doing commerce (liberal studies) which is not the same as the liberal studies course. but basically it's all electives so if you wanted something detailed you're better off asking people doing the units you want to study.
you study arts and science units and a language, 4 years. i think you also need to do maths for a semester. it's pretty crazy and broad, and it's ideal for postgrad law or med if you're into that.
 

jessum

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yep thats pretty much want im into.. postgrad med... only if i dont make the cut for undergrad med.
buti think the broadness makes it sound fun. coz i dont have any favourite subjects at school really. i like them all. and maybe uni could be just like school. but better.
hehee
 

Toodulu

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oh how exciting! good luck! yeh i'm really enjoying my course because you only pick what you want to study. there's nothing worse than doing something you hate and knowing that you have to do more of it next semester because it's compulsory.
it's also good to look at the arts and science handbook to see what you want to study... that's the thing with crazy broad degrees - lots of choices! ahah you're better off knowing what you're getting yourself into :p

and yeh, that's pretty much why i chose my course too. and thing is, you can sus out everything and anything in first year basically.... and if you discover something you like better you can always transfer and have lots of stuff count towards the other degree
 
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santaslayer

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Yea, but my friend said it was like going back to year 7 where u had to study a bit of everything.....
 

elizabethy

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yes, based on the us style degree....i know this girl doing it , they have 2 do subjects from both science n arts.....n she's enjoying it!!
 

gloria*

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I am first yr Liberal Studies and I absolutely hate it-- I am transferring into a BA at the end of the semester.

You HAVE TO DO 2yrs of a language, + 6units of some bullshit retard-linguistics course + 6units of mathematics. And then your core subjects--: as someone said, one from Arts and one from Science. I found the maths to be a waste of time and am told by almost everyone that the linguistics-english thing is completely fucked up and annoying and useless too. Two of my friends also do the course-- both are close to miserable in it; one is applying to do something else a unsw next year, the other is unhappy and not sure what she's doing.

I also found the language to be too time-consuming on top of everything else-- a lot of the tutorials and learning is online which is more disruptive than you would think and it demands an effort which would ideally be shared out across your subjects instead of just the language.

I honestly wouldn't recommend it to ANYONE unless they are science oriented (and willing to spend time on arts courses) and already have fluent knowledge of the language they are going to elect. Otherwise it really is a waste of time; as it is, the 6units of math and the 6 of weird-english are just killing credit points that are better spent elsewhere.

If I were you (anyone) I would look seriously at Arts/Science instead of Liberal Studies. I felt compelled to do it because it seemed diverse and to be honest, the uai was a little higher so I felt like I was putting my hsc marks to good use. I regret it. The end.
 

lbft

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Originally posted by gloria*
You HAVE TO DO ... 6units of some bullshit retard-linguistics course
You have a choice between a certain English subject or a certain Linguistics subject.

I found the maths to be a waste of time ... If I were you (anyone) I would look seriously at Arts/Science instead of Liberal Studies.
With arts/sci you're going to have to do 12cp of maths/stats anyway (twice what you have to do in Liberal Studies.) And remember, you choose which maths subjects you want to do.
 

Generator

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I think the point was that if you are going to take maths then you might as well take the 12 (or above) credit points so that it does not seem like a waste of time.

Go for the Science/Arts rather than Liberal Studies or the Arts/Science. It's great (well, it's OK).
 
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Generator

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Science/Arts (but with a social science like(Geography) major in Science).

Being a plain Arts student would not work with my mates.
 
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gloria*

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And I should also point out that Language and Image (the english option that lbft so <I>smartly</I> pointed out) is apparently lame. Really I swear to god, you should definately do a degree without all these addon subjects.



<B><I>Being a plain Arts student would not work with my mates.</I></B>
hahahaha
 

cayte

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It depends on what you want out of your degree. I'm second year LibStu, and the way I see it the degree is set up to produce an army of internationally employable psychologists. Being a glorified arts degree, most people tend to choose psych as their science major, and the way the compulsory subjects are organised, it really nudges you into majoring in your language.

Gloria is more or less right on in her assessment, if a little passionate and fatalistic - this degree will do that to you. But yes, if you already have knowledge of a lote, don't mind spending two years instead of the barely sufferable one with first years, want something a little more fancy than just "Arts" or "Science", don't want to lock yourself into a profession-based degree and don't mind attending your friends' grad ceremonies while you are still studying your final year which, incidentally, only qualifies you to spend a few more of what are supposed to be the best years of your life at university, then by all means go for it.

The thing it has over the Arts/Science degree, and the reason I believe it is harder to get into, is that it is (potentially) completed within four years rather than an excruciating five.

The maths thing - pretty much every science degree requires at least 12cp of junior maths - four subjects from a choice of four. Not exactly much of a choice.

The English thing - conspiracy (see reference to army of internationally employable psychologists above).

It looks great on paper, I will give it that. In fact I think we might rename it communism.
 

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It's a choice of 4 from 5 for the regular and advanced maths units... Go the person who picks at little points.
 

cayte

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Touche; however, most Libstu students study Life Sciences Maths - which only offers four. And yes:

"Go the person who picks at little points."
 

Annababanana

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I am also doing first year liberal studies at USYD, and although the course has its ups and downs I believe that overall it is a great course for people who are interested in the humanities and the sciences. You end up with a double major, and whilst it is similar to a Arts/Science (a double degree) there are different criteria for both.

Arts/Science - have compulsory 12 cp of maths, is 5 years and u come out with two degrees.

Liberal Studies - only have compulsory 6cp of maths, is 4 years!, only come out with one degree (but is recognised internationally - especially America), 6cp of an english course, and 2 years of a language (24cp).

While I agree with the previous posters who said that learning a language from scratch is hard work and involves long hours - I am beginning to learn just how rewarding it is to be able to speak, read, write and listen in another language. (I am doing Italian, where we also learn about the history of Italy in addition to learning the language). Once you get the hang of the language it can be amazingly enjoyable and motivating.

Liberal studies is an extremely broad degree that allows you to choose from all units in the Art and Science faculties. (Sometimes the degree of choice is overwhelming, but it allows individuals to cater for their particular interests).

Also, there is less compulsory maths in the Liberal studies degree. If you want to do any science, you are going to want to know some maths and the Life Sciences courses prepare you for this. (Beware though - lectures in first year are at 8am and 11am- the 8am start is a shocker!)

USYD is one of the few unis that offer Liberal Studies, and last year the UAI required was ~91.4 (I think!)

I am wanting to do post grad med so I am also looking at Lib Studies as an undergraduate degree that prepares me for a future career in med.

I believe that being able to appreciate the humanities and the sciences are fundamental to medicine. Arts subjects broaden your perspective on the world - asking you to analyse critically and perceptively, whilst the science element prepeares you for the challenges of a career that revolves around a rigorous science based discipline.


If you have any further questions - I am happy to answer any that I have knowledge about.

Anna
 

cayte

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About which I have any knowledge.

Sorry, couldn't help myself.
 

enter~space~cap

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Actually im thinking of doing this subject too.
But i think theres an important question that hasnt been asked

Has anyone completed Commerce(liberal Studies) or Liberal Studies or know anyone whose completed it and if so what type of jobs (if they found any) have you's/they landed on now?

Also, is the 6 units of English compulsory??
 
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cayte

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I think this year or last year was the first lot of LibStud graduates, so there isn't a whole lot of info about graduate job placement. Basically it's like any generic arts/science degree: you'll probably get a shit job completely unrelated to your field of study unless you do postgrad when you'll end up researching your field of study for a living.

And yes the shitty english subject is compulsory for B.Lib.Stud.
 

Toodulu

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I'm doing Commerce (Liberal Studies) and it is quite different to liberal studies.. the majority of your units is still undertaken in the business and economics faculty, and you still complete 2 commerce majors. You can take more but only 4 arts and 2 science subjects are compulsory.

Also, i just saw this on the usyd site.. it's a new liberal arts course that also allows you to take foundation law subjects
-------------------
Liberal Arts and Science
This new three-year liberal arts degree will enable students to acquire key understandings in the arts, sciences, law and economics and business, while also allowing students to pursue an interest in certain specialised areas. Available subject areas include foundation courses in arts, sciences, law and economics, normally taken in the first year, and other subjects of the student's choice drawn from a wide range of discipline areas available across the university, including those listed in the UAC Guide under B Arts 511200 and B Science 512040. Honours is available to qualified students in an additional fourth year. The degree is targeted at students who seek a broadly based education with a view to a career in the government or private sphere in organisations whose activities span across a broad range of civic and commercial areas. Career opportunities, depending on specialisations chosen, include policy development, administration and research in government and private organisations, public and private management and administration and a wide range of careers in areas involving breadth of understanding and problem solving skills.
 

cayte

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So it's a degree to become a public servant... Sorry but why waste the money? Just get the damn job!! I dunno, maybe it's changing and they want the bit of worthless paper now. Such BS. Everything's learnt on the job anyway.
 

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