Your programme will be constructed around Problem-Based-Learning (PBL). This dynamic, student-centred pedagogy allows the course to evolve and adapt to the social, political, scientific and historic environments in which it is delivered. PBL gives us the room to revise our teaching to suit the learning needs of our students.

During your core Liberal Arts modules, you will be taught through a series of highly interactive, student-led workshops: you learn by doing. Your optional modules from around the university may include:

• Lectures
• Seminars
• Tutorials

You will be taught by academics from across different disciplines. Your role will be to bring together these various approaches in a way that makes sense to you.

This will vary depending on the modules you choose to study, but most students take between eight and sixteen classroom hours per week (depending on specialism). Fewer hours doesn't mean less learning, however: all full-time students are expected to work around forty hours per week.

Liberal Arts modules (both our core ones and our set of optional ones) are typically arranged around weekly two-hour workshops that are mandatory, but there will be a range of other mandatory and optional events associated with particular modules: film screenings, research seminars, student-led discussion groups, and tutor office hours.

Your optional modules may be taught by other departments - this depends on your specific interests. Other departments may use different teaching and assessment methods, and offerings may involve more or less formal teaching time per week than the Liberal Arts core modules. You can find information about minimum number of timetabled hours for these modules on departmental websites.

Example of a real student timetable

Year 2, Term 1

Your assessments will allow you to develop the way you address problems by using a variety of perspectives from the Arts, Sciences and Social Sciences. We will teach you to use quantitative and qualitative methods of research, enabling you to approach contemporary problems critically and creatively.

You will be assessed in the form of traditional assignments (essays, case studies and written examinations) and innovative assignments (creative projects, portfolios and performance). You will present your work in a public forum such as the British Conference for Undergraduate Research or the International Conference of Undergraduate Research. You will contribute to group projects and deliver extended pieces of writing (for the final year dissertation) as well as sit mid and end of year short tests and traditional end of year written examinations.

All our assessments are designed to be practical opportunities for learning, not just tests of content knowledge. We'll talk with you about how to use assessments to enrich your professional skillset, develop your academic knowledge, and build your leadership and organizational skills.

The methods of assessment will vary according to the optional modules that you choose each year from across the university. For example, if you follow the Life Sciences pathway, you may also undertake laboratory-based assessments.

Year 1

The ratio for the Liberal Arts Core Modules is 70% coursework and 30% exam. You will also choose optional modules from a wide range of modules offered by departments across the University. The ratio of coursework to exams will vary according to which modules you choose.

Year 2

The ratio for the Liberal Arts Core Modules is 50% coursework and 50% exam. You will also take modules which correspond to your chosen disciplinary interest/specialist interest. The ratio of coursework to exams will vary according to which modules you take on your pathway.

Final Year

The Liberal Arts Core Module is 100% coursework. You will also take modules which correspond to your chosen disciplinary interest/specialist interest. The ratio of coursework to exams will vary according to which modules you take on your pathway.

Example assessments

A Sustainable Serenissima: Water, Fire and Future of Venice (Optional Module) By examining the ways that contemporary Venice confronts sustainability challenges, and spending an intensive week in the north eastern city in Italy, you will bring together interdisciplinary knowledge for your formal assessments in this module. Thinking about how Venice's past can inform both its present challenges and implementations of future solutions, you will write a reflection on Venetian industrial contexts, create a policy proposal or write a research essay, and partake in a group media presentation.