There’s a way to unlock new friendship groups at university while also keeping your career options open - and THIS is how.
Choosing the perfect undergraduate course is no mean feat, particularly if you might not necessarily know which way your career will ultimately take you.
And that’s why opting for a combined degree - where you study two subjects at the same time - could be the perfect way to keep twin fires alive while ensuring your employability prospects aren’t too narrow.
Liverpool Hope University has revealed it has more than 1,318 course combinations on offer to prospective students.
That’s thought to be the largest number of combinations in the North West and one of the highest combined offerings in the UK.
It might be a combined course that knits together seamlessly - such as Criminology and Psychology, Business Management and Marketing, Music and Music Production, or Nutrition and Sport & Exercise Science.
As Catherine Harvey, Director of Student Enrolment, points out, these combinations where the two courses overlap into very similar industries.
Other combinations on offer at Hope, however, don’t play by such hard and fast rules!
Students are currently engaged in combinations that include Criminology and Musical Theatre, Computer Science and Human Biology and History and Music.
Catherine explains: “We’re proud to have an extremely high number of combined degree course combinations here at Liverpool Hope University - more than 500 for the 2022 intake of students.
“And it’s all about offering students maximum flexibility in their degree choices.
“There are some combinations that really complement each other, and some others that really highlight a student’s passions in very different fields.”
Isabella Guthrie is one of two students currently combining Criminology and Musical Theatre at Hope. And while it might sound like a weird and wonderful mash-up, Isabella says there’s a great reason behind her choice.
The 18-year-old, from Widnes, Cheshire, is weighing up a future career either in acting or in criminal law. What she doesn’t quite know yet is which area she wants to focus on - and her combined programme gives her that flexibility to decide in two year’s time.
She reveals: “I came to Hope because it was the only university I could find which allowed the flexibility to study both Musical Theatre and Criminology - which is the perfect combination for me.
“I love Musical Theatre and I’ve got a passion for criminology and criminal history, too.
“And the way I see it, my degree programme gives me more time to decide what I really want to do after I leave Hope. Ultimately, I want to go into a career that I’m really passionate about.”
Isabella says her average week is pretty much split 50/50 - the first half of it sees her on Hope’s city centre Creative Campus studying Musical Theatre while the second half of her week sees her travelling to the Hope Park campus, in leafy south Liverpool, for her Criminology seminars.
She has nine hours of Musical Theatre lectures and six hours of Criminology classes.
She adds: “I think it’s important to tell anyone thinking about studying a combined course that it can be tricky to manage the workload. They need to go into it prepared to work hard, as you need to wear two different hats for both the reading tasks and the assignments.
“But it’s incredibly rewarding and never, ever dull. And I think picking a creative subject alongside a more academic subject can help to lighten the load slightly.”
Aimee Dinwoodie studied for a degree in Creative Writing and History, graduating this summer.
And for Aimee, 21, a combined degree not only gave her two different friendship groups, it also meant two lots of tutors for additional support.
Aimee, from Carlisle, Cumbria, explains: “Doing a combined course meant that I had two different sets of friends - ones doing Creative Writing and ones doing History - with really different interests.
“That, to me, was really important as it meant I always had someone to turn to. And I also had two sets of tutors, which meant I had even more access to support when I needed it.”
A combined honours course meant Aimee actually wrote two separate, shorter dissertations of 5,000 words each - something she relished.
Aimee adds: “I had friends who got frustrated writing the longer, 10,000 word dissertations because they were so fixated on the one thing. For me, I enjoyed flitting between the two and I think it helped to keep things fresh.”
Those dissertations, while different, ploughed similar furrows. Her Creative Writing project focused on the reputation of women in crime fiction, while her History dissertation lifted the lid on the roles of women during World War II, comparing the locations of Liverpool and her hometown Carlisle, Cumbria.
She reveals: “I love history, but I know writing is where my heart lies. I’d love to enjoy a career in publishing, or in journalism, or to just make it as a writer. And I’m really excited about what the future holds.”