From September 2015 significant changes are to be made to the structure of the UCD Bachelor of Arts degree. Arts students were made aware of these changes via email from Dean of Arts, viagra Professor Muiris O’Sullivan on January 8th detailing the shift from a two stage to a three stage format.
For the most part, students enrolling for this degree must now complete level two modules in stage two, and level three modules in stage three, with 60 credits in each stage. This marks a significant change from the current system, where students can do either level in their second and third years provided they fulfil the minimum requirements for each.
These structural changes will not apply to student who are currently in Stage 2 for the 2014-15 academic year, but may affect Students on leave of absence, students currently in stage two who are repeating modules, and BA students currently on an Erasmus year abroad.
The changes have been fully backed by the UCD Students’ Union, and on the most part students’ reactions to these changes have been positive. Second year arts student Laura Durnin praised the new structure commenting; “There is no point in doing stage 3 modules in second year if you have not covered the basics in year 2, Level 3 modules should definitely be reserved for 3rd year and level 2 for year 2”.
Second year student Mark Davis also had praise for the initiative “I think it’s a good idea splitting it up to have the basics covered before any progression to a higher level.”
As detailed in the email received by arts students, the new structure has been implemented to try and improve student learning and understanding of the course. The new programme claims to insure a more broad range of learning and a better overall understanding of the main points of learning for the degree as a whole.
-Ciarán Leavy
