Hi guys, so this is a video specifically for Liberal Arts Offer Holders. Now that you’ve got your offer, it’s kind of like what do you do next and things that you can check out next. I’m just going to be going through a couple of brief options that you have right now to find out more about the course in preparation for when you start in September. I’m so excited for you guys! These are a few of my tips of things to check out:

Offer Holder Open Days

First up, I would highly recommend that you attend the Offer Holder Open Days. Obviously this is super important because you get even more of a feel for the course and you also possibly get to meet your course mates which is really nice, so when you start you’re not thrown in at the deep end, you already know some people which is always good.

Live chats

Next up, I would highly recommend that you join a Liberal Arts live chat [invitation via email]. These are going to be held monthly now [February 2021]. I’ve helped out at a few of these live chats and they’re really important because you get to ask questions not only to the module leaders but also to students like myself. It’s a live chat so if a question comes in off the top of your head you can ask there and it will be answered there and then which is really good.

Offer Holder page

Next up, I’d say it’s important to check out the Liberal Arts Offer Holders page. That is a page made specifically for you guys on the website. It has a little word from the Director of Student Experience and Admissions for Liberal Arts which is Gavin, who I’m sure you guys have already met – he’s lovely. It has a brief introduction from him, and it has more links to things like the Offer Holder Open Days, so definitely check out that page and it has it all compiled there for you in one place.

First-year core modules

Moving on from that sort of stuff, I’d say definitely check out the first-year modules ahead of time so you can familiarise yourself with what kind of things you’re going to be learning, you can maybe get ahead of everyone if you want to check out the books that are recommended. I’d really recommend to just know what you’re getting into.

I think that’s especially important in first year because obviously you already know what core modules you’re going to be doing. In first year you’re going to do Science, Society, and the Media; Art and Revolution; Principles and Praxis; and then finally you’re going to do Qualitative Methods for Undergraduate Research. Those are the core ones that you’re going to do so I’d recommend looking into them because they’re solid – you know you’re going to do them already, whereas the other ones are optional. As you know already, there’s such a wide variety of options so I’d make sure to check out the core one first so you’re not too overwhelmed by all the options that you do have.

It’s particularly good if you can get ahead for modules such as Art and Revolution because they try and keep the modules so up to date so every year the revolutions that we study change. So when I did it we did the Iranian Revolution, the Russian Revolution, the Haitian Revolution, and the French Revolution. As you can see, we try and do a whole, big span of revolutions. So maybe if you check out and see which revolutions you are doing, you can do a bit of a background check on it. I think that’s something that I wish I had the opportunity to do in first year because I’m not really a history buff, and so some of the things we were talking about I had to do my own research to contextualise the stuff that we were learning. Overall it’s not like a history module – it’s not important that you know the exact date that this revolution happened or that revolution happened. It’s more about the context and the political atmosphere of the time of the revolutions and less about specific dates, so I wouldn’t get too caught up on that but obviously it’s a bit easier if you do know the specific revolutions that you’re going to be learning about and maybe roughly when they took place and who was involved etc. You won’t be at a disadvantage if you don’t try and study that before but if you want to get ahead, definitely check it out.

Professional development certificates

Finally I would say to make sure to check out the professional development certificates we have on offer. The first one we have is the Certificate of Digital Literacy. I’ve actually done a whole video on that certificate and my experience with it. I go more in depth on that certificate in the video so if you’re interested or intrigued check that out too. We also have the Certificate of Professional Communication which you can do in first year, and that also comes with a placement. If you do that, you are then given the option and you’re given the help (most importantly) to try and find a placement to fulfil. Obviously that’s really cool, especially to be doing it in first year, to be getting things like placements to add to your CV. If you want to get an early start on the whole work experience thing, I would highly recommend. Barring the degree, work experience is the biggest thing that you can have on your CV.

Those are my tips for now, but as always if you have any questions feel free to message me. Some of you have messaged me already and it’s been so nice to talk to you. I was in your position a couple of years ago so trust me, I know all the questions that you have. If you have anything whatsoever that you’re not sure of, please feel free to drop me a message and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Finally, well done for getting your offers, I know it’s crazy right now and it’s really hard out there. So congrats on getting your offer, you can breathe a little bit and hopefully you have an amazing time on the course!