Doing Arts at University

My thoughts on an arts degree you say?

Throughout my time at college I always heard the phrase 'wasters degree', other disciplines assume that all art's students do is sit around drinking coffee all day. Everyone is entitled to there own opinion but it is wrong in most cases.

One thing that no one tells you about is the amount of reading you need to do. Each week you are studying a new book/topic and a lot of the time both. I did six subjects each semester, a semester here at least consist of 12 weeks so that's 72 book. in the space of 12 weeks you are expected to read 72 books and these would not be short happy books but insane books such as good aul Ulysses. Lets not even think of the cost!

The second is that to get good grades, you really need to know your subject, I don't mean read up on everything you do. Look outside the box, go to events, read things that lectures would not expect. Answer essays to a high standard.

The third, as an art's student you are left to your own devices, there is so much free time, but all that free time is really meant for study and research.

What do most people really think its all about, well nothing really.

You are not going to get a job from it, it provides you with the ability to do academic research and to do it well.

You may not think that's such a huge deal, but being able to do research correctly is huge in both work and study, coming form doing arts and going into a comply different discipline now, you really do have an advantage. Having done arts I feel I am at a huge advantage as I am comfortable with how to research and what to search for.

For me arts was a great way to do something that I enjoyed studying and had an interest in but it was also a way of really thinking about what I want to do with my life. That's the beauty of an art's degree, you have to think long and hard about where you want to be next year and how to get there or if it really is for you.

An arts degree didn't really suite me. In saying that I am glad I did it and I have this skill because at masters level you don't realize how important it is to have this skill.