What is it like doing a combined course?

1 week left till I’m finished for summer:) Can’t wait!

In the meantime, I thought I’d write about what it’s like to do a combined course. Many people have asked me how I find the time to do the two subjects, if I end up with two degrees or one and if it’s worth it.

There are two types of degree in which more than one subject are studied. What I do is a combined degree (Psychology with Sociology) and this is a single degree in which psychology makes up 2/3s of my final grade and sociology makes up 1/3. Usually, in these degrees, the two combined subjects relate to each other in some way.

A joint honours is another form of degree in which a person studies two different subjects within the same time-frame. These can relate to one another, such as business and management, or be totally unrelated courses. It is usually post graduate students who take this type of degree.

My combined degree, therefore, is not harder than a degree in straight-psychology. Last term, for instance, I did not have to do two psychology library modules and instead did one sociology module which was weighted as twice of these. As well as a ‘BSc Psychology with Sociology’ degree, another option UoL offers is ‘BSc Psychology with Cognitive Neuroscience’ and so you can do a degree in which you can further in something which you are good at or which appeals to your interests. They also link brilliantly with one another.

It is important to take into account all the options available and see which one will work for you. I find it more motivating to be doing a degree with a variety of modules, however that is probably a reflection of my personality as I become bored very easily and need variety to keep me interested. For those of you who are making these decisions soon, think about what working conditions work best for you and read the course outlines through very carefully. Hope this has helped answer some of your questions:)