UCAS conference: Getting into Competitive Subjects

1. UCAS conference: Getting into Competitive Subjects Workshop: ‘Getting into History’ Dr Adrian Smith

2. Topics to be considered: • History admissions from start to finish • The transition from History at A-level to studying the discipline at university • Studying History in an era of mass higher education • What do university historians look for in their potential students? • Looking to the future

3. History admissions from startto finish… • Not a merely administrative process, and never should be! • Admin staff consulting with admissions tutors on: • predicted grades and past results as vital criteria • whether results tally with reference claims • the contribution of personal statements • the need to allow for exceptional circumstances • encouragement for non-traditional applicants • the purpose of visit days, and of interview • who can and can’t come after A-level results known

4. More on History admissions fromstart to finish… • onus on History admissions tutors to be aware of what is happening at A-level (and GCSE and KS3), as will impact upon decisions made re applications, individually and collectively • History admissions tutors have to go into colleges and schools, not just to sell their discipline (and of course their home universities), but to liaise closely with A-level tutors • a two-way process sees potential staff development for A-level tutors, while the quality of teaching of History at university enhanced by knowledge of prior student experience - network in Hampshire paralleled elsewhere in the UK?

5. The transition from History atA-level to studying the discipline at university… • Bridging the gap via Year 1 modules that enhance or extend study/transferable skills, and highlight historiography, e.g. at Southampton: ‘History and Historians’ ‘The Making and Remaking of History’ • Is the transition for students getting harder? Less used to extended reading Greater IT skills Even less cultural capital Information-gathering VG Less comprehension of scholarship Greater self-confidence Atomised historical knowledge More receptive to new areas Heavily assessment-focussed More motivated

6. Studying History in an era ofmass education… • Constantly evolving fresh teaching strategies to deal with large classes • Sophisticated IT systems vital for administration and for teaching - increasingly can not separate out the two - undermines students’ sense of scholarship and being part of an academic community (e.g. electronic submission of essays)? - reinforces managerialism? • Can lecturers really get to know their students – is this a factor where high drop-out rates? • Is there in reality a two-tier (or more?) system, with which university attended as important as the nature and quality of degree? • Has going to university lost its distinctiveness as a particular stage in life? • Growing levels of student dissatisfaction (e.g. contact hours; quality of feedback) • With fees do students increasingly perceive themselves as consumers exercising choice?

7. Studying History in an era ofmass education… Must not lose sight of the major pluses for society and for the individual: - dramatic rise in proportion of 18-22 students + widening participation - UGs as well as PGs benefiting from research-informed teaching - remarkable calibre of [international] staff - era of huge capital investment - still a reassuring degree of student satisfaction - greater sense of internationalism, e.g. ERASMUS, Commonwealth

8. What careers can a History degreelead on to? • The Civil Service, quangos, and local government • The legal profession • Private sector graduate training schemes • Libraries, archives, and the heritage industry • The media • Postgraduate study – approx. 20% and rising • Teaching – primary and, less and less, secondary

9. What do university historianslook for in their potential students? • Critical and analytical: problem-solving abilities • Capacity to ask awkward questions, challenge established opinion, and think outside the box • Opinionated (but evidence-based opinions), and a ‘hinterland’ • Ability to work for long periods unsupervised, BUT also able to work within a team, e.g. Group Project at Southampton • Organisational skills, fundamental to independent learning

10. Looking to the future… • Application process become even more competitive? • A new binary line between research-focussed (more PGs) and largely teaching only universities? • Differential fees? • A second language de rigueur? • Private sector influence over the curriculum? • More American-model curriculum, i.e. following the Australians with more multi-disciplinary degrees?