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- Hi, my name's Rich.
I'm studying philosophy at UCL and I'm in my second year.
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So you take four modules per term in philosophy.
I think this changes per department.
So I take eight in the whole year,
'cause the first two terms are teaching
and the last is exams, so you have
four in the first, each in the first two terms.
So my actual contact hours is relatively small for my course
and I think this is true for most humanities.
You actually, I actually only have about 10 contact hours
of lectures, seminars, and tutorials,
and then, because they're expecting so much reading
and so much work outside of class,
I have to do my own research.
It's a very research orientated university.
I have to do my own research.
I have to do, I'd say any one hour of contact time
requires about five hours of reading,
so I mean you're still here a lot of the time
even if it's not actually with contact hours.
You've gotta do a lot of prep for each of your lectures
so you can really make the most out of it,
'cause they'll be constantly referring to readings
and things that other philosophers or other scholars
have said, even the ones at UCL themselves.
So tutorials are the one on ones.
They're like you sit in the lecturer's office
and just speak with them and they're, it's quite intense.
You have to make sure you've done your readings for them.
And the seminars is kind of just that bit bigger
so maybe about between eight to 12 people in your seminars
and then in lectures, I mean, depending on which subject,
I mean I've had ones with 30, I've had ones with 150.
But the seminars are always a follow-up discussion
of what happened in the lectures,
so the lectures, you'll get loads of information
like hurled at you and then in the seminars
you kind of mull it over in a smaller scope,
argue it out, talk about it,
make sure you really understand it.
Tutorials are much more like intense,
focused on your writing style,
focused on your learning style.
You'll get corrected if you're wrong.
And you kind of like debate it out with someone
who's professional in that field.
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So I chose UCL because, I mean,
it's such a reputable university.
You can really tell everyone here is like
buzzing off their subject,
they really love it, they're really good at it,
and they're really excited to learn the next step.
I think it's such a research university
that, I mean, when you're in your classes,
your lecture will be on like on the forefront
of some new innovation in that field,
which is really interesting to learn from,
and you feel like you're actually making a contribution
rather than just kind of, you know, in school
it sometimes feels like you're just kind of learning facts
whereas now you feel like you're really onto something.
I think for me philosophy was the bridge between something
that is really academically rigorous and challenging for me
and also something I love.
I mean I really like books and reading.
So philosophy was kind of the joining between
my love for reading and words and the use of language
and then also that kind of really tough thinking
that you just don't think about in day to day.
It also completely changed my life.
Anyone who studies philosophy,
like after studying UCL philosophy for a year
your perception on life just changes so much.
I am not thinking the way that I used to
and I'm all the better for it, I think.
I mean I'm gonna do a conversion course
which means I'm doing an extra two years
on the end of my UCL degree
to become qualified as a solicitor.
I think I know quite a few arts students who are doing that.
That's quite popular, and it's quite a respected route now
that a lot of people are doing,
and I think a UCL Arts graduate
has quite a lot of opportunities
to convert into courses like this.
It's quite a reputable degree that will really help you.
I know, philosophy's one of those weird ones
that's like such a malleable subject.
It really goes into anything.
I know a lot of people going into accounting,
strangely enough, sometimes it's hard to see the link,
but there definitely is one.
It's that kind of logical deductive reasoning
that you get from philosophy that transfers quite well.
I know a lot of people go into kind of higher academia,
so they do a masters, they do a Ph.D.
Philosophy is quite a facilitating subject
in terms of academia 'cause it gets you to think about
content, whatever the content is,
so I mean I know a lot of people go into doing
English literature masters or politics masters
after having done a philosophy undergraduate.
I mean, I'm not sure if she's still our Poet Laureate
but I know that Carol Ann Duffy, who was the Poet Laureate,
like a few years ago, did philosophy,
and I know that Ricky Gervais did UCL philosophy,
so I mean like you can become a comedian.
It's such, it doesn't really lead into anything,
which I think is actually a good thing
'cause you really get to choose.
So in applying for UCL, I think the techniques
for applying really differ per department.
I think for most of the Arts ones you just need to be
hugely interested in your subject, and really show that
by kind of having done your own thing
in your own time for your subject,
having done like a project in it
or having done loads of wider reading
and showing that you're interested in your subject
to a level that's kind of beyond the standard level
for a place like UCL 'cause it's very research orientated,
very always trying to find something new to work on.
So I think if you tap into that and try and
find for yourself something really interesting
about your course and subject, you'll be a shoe-in.
But I mean, of course, check your departmental requirements.
I can only speak for philosophy
and I know the law ones as well are similar.
When you make your application, just make sure
that you really sell yourself as on the top of your field
and really really engaged with the current affairs,
what's changing about it, and the really topical issues.
I got in by saying how, by talking about
this really niche problem in philosophy,
and talking about it in my personal statement
and how my own personal life had helped me tackle it
and relate it, and relate to it in a way
that I didn't before and that helped me solve the problem.
And it's kind of this innovative approach that UCL love.
But do apply and do try your best to get in.
It's really an amazing university, I'm so happy here.
Living in London and going to UCL is such a privilege,
and I wouldn't change it for the world.
I mean, so you have the kind of hustle and bustle
of the city that's constantly awake, that's really busy,
but I mean just being in central London,
there's so much, there's so many colleges.
So UCL is actually not it's own university.
It's actually a college of the University of London
which it shares with LSE, King's,
so I mean we have loads of links with all of them.
There's also the new College of Humanities,
which is just up there.
We talk about, we have talked with them,
we have meetings with them.
So I mean going, being in London means
that you're with all these people all the time,
and you can really expand your perspective.
(laughter) Stop distracting me.
- Enjoy. - Thank you.
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