Researching HE institutions and courses

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• Researching HE institutions and courses

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Choosing a Course

• There are over 50,000 courses to choose from
• Courses can be academic or vocational
• You can move away or attend a local university
• You can study full or part-time
• You can work for a higher education qualification
  while you are employed

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EMERGING SUBJECTS

• Many new courses available e.g.
• Animatronics
• Coin Slot Technologies
• Technotronics
• Technical Theatre Awards
• Theatre Lighting Design
• Theatre Production
• Theatre Production Stage Management
• Theatre Sound

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Consider the following points

• What are the employment prospects?
• What subject area interests you?
• Are you interested in studying more than one
  subject?
• Do you want a course that will lead to a
  particular career?
• Do you have a particular course in mind? If so,
  do you know where you can study it?
• Are you aiming for a particular level of course
  (e.g. HND? Foundation degree? Honours degree?
• Examination or continuous assessment?

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Other considerations

• Is going abroad or spending a year in industry
  important to you?
• Do you have any preferences about geographical
  area, environment, size of the HE institution
  (e.g. distance from home, mixed, urban, city,
  campus)?
• What type of accommodation hall, self-catering
• What bursaries or other financial help might you
  be eligible for?
• Is it important whether your institution is
  ranked highly?

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Choosing your level of study

• There are three main levels of higher education
  you can choose from
• Degrees typically lasting 3 or 4 years
  full-time, allowing you to enter graduate
  professions
• Foundation Degrees lasting 2 years full-time and
  related to specific career paths, with
  opportunity to continue to a higher level
• HNDs/HNCs and DipHEs these usually last 2 years
  and are recognised HE qualifications in their own
  right but may be converted to an honours degree
  by taking a further 1 or 2 years extra study

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Why look at graduate destination
information?..........

• When making your application it can assist you in
  your planning.
• It can bring an element of realism to the
  planning process. Actually see what careers
  graduates go into after completing different
  courses.
• Contribute to informing your career development
• Give you an appreciation of graduate
  opportunities now and in the future.
• Assist you in becoming a cleaver consumer.

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Where can I find the information?...

• Many, but not all universities post their
  destination of leavers from HE on the internet.
  
• The quality and quantity of information varies a
  lot. It will also appear in many different
  formats.
• If you search individual university websites for
  the destination info you need to be creative.

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Contwww.universityoptions.co.uk excellent
site, it has graduate profiles with detailed info.

• Name Julian
• Which school did you attend? St Bernards RC High
  School
• Which university did you attend? Liverpool John
  Moores University
• Why did you choose this university? Liverpool JMU
  is one the most well regarded Universities in the
  Country. It has good links with professional
  sport organisations in the Northwest and
  Liverpool is a great City to live in.
• What discipline did you study? Sports, Tourism
  Leisure Studies
• What level was your course?1st Class BSc Hons
• What was the name of your course? Science and
  Football
• Why did you take this course?I love competing in,
  speculating and discussing sport. I wanted a
  career in the professional sports industry,
  whether it be assisting athletes performance
  levels or managing their careers.
• Who do you work for? ProZone Holdings (Football
  Analysis Company)
• What is your job title? Sports Scientist / Match
  Analysis Consultant
• What are your responsibilities? I work with the
  coaching team and players to give feedback on
  their performance.
• Why did you choose this career? It is an exciting
  and interesting career to be involved in. It
  develops your confidence and ability to
  communicate with professional coaches and
  athletes. You help get the most out of the
  athletes you work with.
• Why did you choose this employer? It is one of
  leading analysis companies in the UK who place
  qualified Sports Scientists into Premier League
  and Nationwide Clubs.
• Things you love about your job Watching Football
  Increasing my knowledge of pro sport Travelling
  across UK and Europe
• Things you aren't so keen about Working weekends
  No set days off, lots of travelling
• Things to do at university to improve your
  employment prospects Gain a variety of
  experience (different hobbies etc) Get CV advice
  early Don't be scared to change your career path

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Cont

• www.prospects.ac.uk- site map- what do graduates
  do?
• www.agcas.org.uk all university careers
  services websites can be accessed through AGCAS
  (Association of Graduate Careers Advisory
  Services).
• Individual university sites- top 10!
• Leeds Met
• Bournemouth- good for media destinations
• Manchester
• Hull
• Brighton
• Bradford
• Loughborough
• Sheffield Hallam
• Aston
• Bath-good for business destinations
• Local graduates into Employment websites
• www.qeliz.ac.uk/careers- starting point for
  preparation

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In conclusion..

• You need to develop a realistic view of what lies
  ahead for you as an individual
• The internet is a great resource for your
  research, use it in your stages of research and
  planning.
• There is no excuse for lack of research- its all
  there!