Read this before asking "What to expect from [subject/course]?" ALL COURSE INFO HERE!

Seren_ · 26-09-2011 7:42am

karaokeman wrote: »

In English do you need to study Shakespeare for first year?

I bought the bundle and was shocked to see there was no Shakespearean drama in it.

I studied 2 Shakespeare plays when I was in first year; I assume you will be. Maybe you're not doing any until next semester though.

I know it's a bit late for you, but I'll say this for the benefit of others. There is absolutely no need to buy that novels bundle. They can be got far cheaper if you buy them separately! Editions of novels make no difference whatsoever, the text is always the same :-)

karaokeman · 26-09-2011 8:52am

Your Text Here wrote: »

I studied 2 Shakespeare plays when I was in first year; I assume you will be. Maybe you're not doing any until next semester though.

I know it's a bit late for you, but I'll say this for the benefit of others. There is absolutely no need to buy that novels bundle. They can be got far cheaper if you buy them separately! Editions of novels make no difference whatsoever, the text is always the same :-)

Is it the same for English through Arts students.

I know the Arts route and direct have different course structures so this may be the case.

Seren_ · 26-09-2011 9:40am

karaokeman wrote: »

Is it the same for English through Arts students.

I know the Arts route and direct have different course structures so this may be the case.

I did English through arts.

dariusIII · 27-09-2011 4:21pm

anybody do greek or latin, what's it like?

karaokeman · 27-09-2011 8:33pm

Your Text Here wrote: »

I did English through arts.

Alright cool thanks, I'm perfectly ok with studying Shakespeare. It can be difficult but I understand that its necessary to become a good literary critic to have studied his work.

Another thing, is it true what my uncle told me (he's a mature in 3rd year) that in a poetry essay you only need to write about one poem in your answer but write 5-6 pages about it?

I was surprised when I heard this considering that for the LC we covered 4-5 poems in an essay.

mickstupp · 27-09-2011 8:34pm

dariusIII wrote: »

anybody do greek or latin, what's it like?

They're language classes, you've already missed 7, next Greek one is on Thursday at 9, don't know about the Latin but I think there's 5 classes a week in that too. If the Greek is anything to go by, both languages are moving fast, but I think it's still at a stage where you could catch up if you put in a good weekend of work. Two solid days and you'd be flying. But I'm slow so it might not take anywhere near that long. We started from absolute scratch, no prior knowledge necessary, so if you have any you could just jump in and probably find them pretty easy for a while.

But they're pure language, in first year anyway. Not the same as the Greek and Roman civilization course, which is all the history and literature etc.

For what it's worth, I'm really enjoying the Greek so far. Something extremely satisfying in being able to translate a whole paragraph of Greek text after only a week, even if it is just Ann and Barry level stuff at this stage.

Seren_ · 27-09-2011 10:37pm

karaokeman wrote: »

Alright cool thanks, I'm perfectly ok with studying Shakespeare. It can be difficult but I understand that its necessary to become a good literary critic to have studied his work.

Another thing, is it true what my uncle told me (he's a mature in 3rd year) that in a poetry essay you only need to write about one poem in your answer but write 5-6 pages about it?

I was surprised when I heard this considering that for the LC we covered 4-5 poems in an essay.

One thing you should get out of your head is what you did in essays for the LC, especially poetry. It's studied in a much different way at college.

What your uncle said could indeed be considered true (e.g. I've written an essay about "The Waste Land" in the past, which is just one poem, albeit a long one). However, the main thing to do is just answer the question; it will tell you how many poems you need to refer to. Don't try and stick to a certain number for every answer.

Manic2 · 30-09-2011 12:25am

Hey guys,
Just wondering can anyone give me any info about the Science Education course?

I'd love some info from students doing the course who know 1st hand what it's like.
Any tips?
What's the time table like?
Is it really difficult?
How many people are accepted yearly?
I only have maths (OL) and biology and plan to major in both. Is it ok not to have chemistry/physics?

Any inof would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Saramina · 30-09-2011 8:31pm

hey guys,
I'm a first year and I'm thinking about changing one of my subjects to history, could anyone please post up the times for the history tutorials for HY111? that would be great, thanks a mill.

cclittlec · 25-10-2011 10:58pm

Hi all,

I was just wondering if anyone has done the MA in Mediation and Conflict Resolution in NUI Maynooth and what they thought of it? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I am a recent law graduate and have been looking into mediation as a career. I studied it during my law degree and am seriously thinking of becoming a certified mediator. I am only 23 though and don't have much practical work experience as I only graduated recently. Is 23 too young to be thinking of this career?

JonnyMcNamee · 08-01-2012 5:04pm

Well lads, thinkin of doin music technology next year and just wonderin has the course changed because all the info from students that I can find are old posts! If anyone could gimme an idea of what its like now that'd be great.. Is it still as slow moving as it was?

DB21 · 16-01-2012 11:57pm

Manic2 wrote: »

Hey guys,
Just wondering can anyone give me any info about the Science Education course?

I'd love some info from students doing the course who know 1st hand what it's like.
Any tips?
What's the time table like?
Is it really difficult?
How many people are accepted yearly?
I only have maths (OL) and biology and plan to major in both. Is it ok not to have chemistry/physics?

Any inof would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Okay, Science Ed:

It can be tough. First year, you'll be doing Maths, Chemistry, Experimental Physics, and Biology. So pretty full timetable.

2nd year, you drop two of those, and pick up Education. The two you stick with, you get your BSc in, as well as your BA in Education.

However, I wouldn't plan on doing any post-grad stuff following on from a Science Ed degree. The reality is that due to the Education modules, some Science modules are trimmed, and others are set specifically for SciEd.

For instance, there are no research lab options in final year SciEd in Chemistry. So, you only do this course if you intend on being a teacher.

BUT you CAN drop out of SciEd into most other denominated science courses (Pharma Chem, Bio Med, etc.) at the end of first year, and into General Science at the end of Second Year.

Second Year onward, you'll be out on Teaching Practice on a weekly basis. Semester 1 of Second Year is observation. Semester 2, you teach 1st to 3rd years.

In Third Year, you take 5th and 6th years as well, for both Semster 1 and 2, you will be teaching.

In Fourth Year, you do a 2 week block of teaching practice before college resumes, and again weekly for semester 1. There is NO teaching practice in semester 2 of 4th year.

While you're teaching, you'll have to do up lesson plans, which can be time consuming.

30 students are accepted into the course each year. This is a huge benefit, because you really get to know everyone in that group. I know each and every person from my (now former) SciEd group. There's a lot of team work assignments in Education, so you learn to stick together.

As far as difficulty goes, I'm not going to lie. In the two years I did SciEd, I learned a lot about it. In particular, it takes a specific type of person to be a teacher. There are those who can juggle everything, and then there are those like me who get overwhelmed. There are others who think teaching is for them, but realise a couple of weeks into TP, it really isn't. So the only advice I have there is that you try it.

And it's perfectly okay not to have chemistry and physics. The first year courses aren't that tough.

Best of luck.

freeze4real · 21-01-2012 11:53pm

Hiya
I'm in 2nd yr doing economics and finance.

I would like to know if anyone has done this module called game theory and strategic behaviour ec215.

The whole concept is very interesting but I'm worried about the exams.

Could anyone shed light on this module.

Cheers

heffo500 · 22-01-2012 12:28am

freeze4real wrote: »

Hiya
I'm in 2nd yr doing economics and finance.

I would like to know if anyone has done this module called game theory and strategic behaviour ec215.

The whole concept is very interesting but I'm worried about the exams.

Could anyone shed light on this module.

Cheers

FairPlay man I'm the same course and I thought game theory was interesting but don't think I would be able to continue as it wouldnt be as much use to me as the finance options.

I'm doing FN212 Financial Modelling and EC211 Money and Banking so if anyone did either of these model I too would be interested in some feedback.

Thanks in advance.

irish_goat · 23-01-2012 8:42pm

heffo500 wrote: »

] EC211 Money and Banking

I done this last year and really enjoyed it. Julie Byrne is a good lecturer and they were 2 hour lectures which I felt really meant we got more stuff covered.

The content is almost an extension of Macroeconomics just and a lot of it is relevant to current economic news. Plus you get to learn how the bond and stock markets work. I'd definitely recommend you take the module.

freeze4real · 23-01-2012 9:42pm

heffo500 wrote: »

FairPlay man I'm the same course and I thought game theory was interesting but don't think I would be able to continue as it wouldnt be as much use to me as the finance options.

I'm doing FN212 Financial Modelling and EC211 Money and Banking so if anyone did either of these model I too would be interested in some feedback.

Thanks in advance.

Howdy,

I wanted to do fn212 as wekk but I might noit be able to as I do busines as my third subject.

I will be doing game theory as my extra module, not necessary but I want to as it will help me in seeking employment in my desired banch of economics/finance.

Although its hard v.hard.

I am also doing macroeconomics 2 and money and baking, great modules, Julie is one hell of a beast in teaching macroeconomics modules, so looking forward to it.

heffo500 · 23-01-2012 10:59pm

freeze4real wrote: »

heffo500 wrote: »

FairPlay man I'm the same course and I thought game theory was interesting but don't think I would be able to continue as it wouldnt be as much use to me as the finance options.

I'm doing FN212 Financial Modelling and EC211 Money and Banking so if anyone did either of these model I too would be interested in some feedback.

Thanks in advance.

Howdy,

I wanted to do fn212 as wekk but I might noit be able to as I do busines as my third subject.

I will be doing game theory as my extra module, not necessary but I want to as it will help me in seeking employment in my desired banch of economics/finance.

Although its hard v.hard.

I am also doing macroeconomics 2 and money and baking, great modules, Julie is one hell of a beast in teaching macroeconomics modules, so looking forward to it.

Thanks for all the replies.I'd say EC211 will be good. Just wondering what sort of area economics/finance are you going into?

I'd love someone to give an insight into FN212.Please.

freeze4real · 23-01-2012 11:34pm

heffo500 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies.I'd say EC211 will be good. Just wondering what sort of area economics/finance are you going into?

I'd love someone to give an insight into FN212.Please.

I would like to go into Investment banking or stock trading/ analysis.

Although I can take the path of becoming an accountant but I dont like accounting at all.

irish_goat · 25-01-2012 10:57pm

Asking on behalf of a friend here. Any history students know the craic with IRELAND,BELGIUM & EUROPE ES230 ?

Is it any good/do you have to pay for the trip to Belgium?

BubblegumBitch · 23-03-2012 10:14pm

Hey guys! Anyone know what Anthroplogy and Greek & Roman Civilisation are like in first year arts?

Aaron1993 · 23-04-2012 11:43pm

hey, i am hopefully going to transfere from dundalk IT to maynooth to do finance and economics,, i am currently doing BA HONS Business and I wanna transfere... Is the course good ? are the classes full,,, i will be entering year 2 in september if all goes well with my summer exams in dundalk

Wendero · 24-04-2012 12:05am

Is the course good? It's decent enough I'd say. You'll have some really good lectuerrs who care about you and your progress, and some lecturers who assume that you're a worthless piece of **** who doesn't want to learn anything. I've seen both, and I'm just finishing my third year here.

Are the classes full? Full attendance is really rare, though it depends a lot on the time of the class. 9 AM on a friday, and maybe 25 % show up. 1 PM on a monday the week before exams, and it's closer to 90 %.

Good luck anyway

lorebringer · 28-04-2012 7:46pm

BubblegumBitch wrote: »

Hey guys! Anyone know what Anthroplogy and Greek & Roman Civilisation are like in first year arts?

I was with the Science faculty but I could take an arts subject in first year - did R&GC and found it really good. Lots of reading and a few assignments but I found it enjoyable and it was interesting. Was glad I took it over something more "sciencey"

Really?? · 05-05-2012 4:29pm

I'm considering going back as a mature next year. I'm looking at MH110 BA Digital Media. My worry is about how much maths might be involved as I am lost when it comes to maths.
I do have a huge interest in digital media, should I be offput by the maths element?

JonnyMcNamee · 06-05-2012 10:45pm

Well lads, posted in this tjread a while ago.. Along with Music Tech I'm thinkin of taking Nua Gaeilge and either History or English! Any info on the Irish course or any of the other ones? Thanks

freeze4real · 16-05-2012 11:59pm

Did anyone here have aedin fortis for econometrics. I did mine yesterday and I think I failed. Something telling me I scraped over 45 but not sure. Does she mark it way tough ?

girlonfire · 30-05-2012 12:53am

Anyone have an idea of what's covered in 3rd year English?
May get a start on the reading during the summer :rolleyes:

How so Joe · 30-05-2012 1:02am

Ulysses.
Good luck!

girlonfire · 30-05-2012 1:27am

Yeah, I guess that'll take the up the guts of my summer reading. Anything a bit lighter that you know of?;)

How so Joe · 30-05-2012 1:40am

Not an English student, sorry.
I know one of my friends did a seminar on His Dark Materials and Harry Potter, but that was second semester.
So you're best off waiting for an actual, like, English student to answer.

girlonfire · 30-05-2012 1:58am

Cool, thanks!:)
Denial of a different kind going on here. Anything, except Ulysses.

plumpote · 31-05-2012 11:18pm

JonnyMcNamee wrote: »

I'm thinkin of taking Nua Gaeilge and either History or English! Any info on the Irish course or any of the other ones?

Hey

I'm doing Nua-Ghaeilge and I absolutely LOVE it.

In first year you have 2 modules per semester-one grammar and one literature/culture...
The grammar in Semester 1 isn't too hard-verbs, pronouns etc; if you know your basics you'll get through it fine. In 2nd Sem it gets a bit harder, you start doing numbers and adjectives (sounds grand but its a bit more complicated than you'd think!)
In the other half of the course you'll have poetry and prose in S1 and Drama and History in S2.

The staff in the department are really helpful and assignments are very manageable. For Grammar (NG101 and NG103 are the module codes for S1 and S2 respectively) you have a 2-hour tutorial every week. The tutorials are sorted by level, and are quite relaxed. They're enjoyable though. In terms of assignments, you get short enough written pieces, which count for a good portion of the continuous assessment (CA), and then you have the exam, as well as an oral in 2nd Semester.
For the other half (NG102 and NG104), you're assessed by exam only.

If you've any questions, fire away!

JonnyMcNamee · 31-05-2012 11:24pm

plumpote wrote: »

Hey

I'm doing Nua-Ghaeilge and I absolutely LOVE it.

In first year you have 2 modules per semester-one grammar and one literature/culture...
The grammar in Semester 1 isn't too hard-verbs, pronouns etc; if you know your basics you'll get through it fine. In 2nd Sem it gets a bit harder, you start doing numbers and adjectives (sounds grand but its a bit more complicated than you'd think!)
In the other half of the course you'll have poetry and prose in S1 and Drama and History in S2.

The staff in the department are really helpful and assignments are very manageable. For Grammar (NG101 and NG103 are the module codes for S1 and S2 respectively) you have a 2-hour tutorial every week. The tutorials are sorted by level, and are quite relaxed. They're enjoyable though. In terms of assignments, you get short enough written pieces, which count for a good portion of the continuous assessment (CA), and then you have the exam, as well as an oral in 2nd Semester.
For the other half (NG102 and NG104), you're assessed by exam only.

If you've any questions, fire away!

Sounds brilliant

I was just really worried about it from a written and grammar point of view. I thought they would be expecting you to write big long essay style pieces as assignments! What kind of stuff do you do on the poetry and prose sections? Is it like LC where you analyse them under different themes and headings or what?
Cheers!

plumpote · 03-06-2012 11:12pm

Hey Jonny,

JonnyMcNamee wrote: »

I thought they would be expecting you to write big long essay style pieces as assignments!

The longest assignment we had was a 200 word piece, so they're very manageable!

JonnyMcNamee wrote: »

What kind of stuff do you do on the poetry and prose sections? Is it like LC where you analyse them under different themes and headings or what?

For the Poetry, we talked about certain poets in the lectures, and then for the exam we had to talk about the poems...quite like the LC i suppose, but you have to do the work yourself, instead of being spoon-fed with notes being handed to you.

As long as you work hard enough, you'll fly through first year.

Good luck!

markk0719 · 04-06-2012 3:45pm

Hey folks,

Im starting Psychology in September and am wondering what the reading list for first year is like and is there any books I should definitely buy?
Thanks in advance for any advice!!

D_s · 09-06-2012 1:23pm

Wow, no engineering in this thread? :P

Any NUIM engineers here can give me an insight?

Cathal B · 14-06-2012 11:56am

I havent seen it any where in this tread so far. But if anybody could give me any information on it, it would be greatly appreciated.
e.g. what you thought of the course?
how many hours a week?
thanks in advance
Cathal

Geo10 · 29-07-2012 12:30am

Hi, I hope to be doing Arts this year and I plan to take Geography, Business & Economics. I'm aware what the modules in each of these are and what they entail (from the NUIM website) but one thing that I was wondering about was the Continuous Assesment. If anyone did any of these 3 subjects in 1st year can you give me a summary of what the CA entails? Like is it essays or class tests or...? Especially for the People & Places module in Geography (GY124) and the Business Landscape module in Business (MN172) as they are both 100% CA. Are those modules easier or more challenging because of that?
If anyone could give me any information it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

DylanII · 09-08-2012 12:43am

Geo10 wrote: »

Hi, I hope to be doing Arts this year and I plan to take Geography, Business & Economics. I'm aware what the modules in each of these are and what they entail (from the NUIM website) but one thing that I was wondering about was the Continuous Assesment. If anyone did any of these 3 subjects in 1st year can you give me a summary of what the CA entails? Like is it essays or class tests or...? Especially for the People & Places module in Geography (GY124) and the Business Landscape module in Business (MN172) as they are both 100% CA. Are those modules easier or more challenging because of that?
If anyone could give me any information it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I'm a finance and Economics Student with a minor in geography. So I have info on Economics and Geography.

GY124 is 100% continuous assessment. A lot of the marks go for group work. Particularly a group glossary. If you submit all of your assignments it is nearly impossible to fail and very easy to get a high mark in the subject. You get marks for attending lectures and tutorials. Almost all of the assignments are very short - they generally have a limit of 300 words. You are encouraged to get as much information as possible in the smallest amount of words.

From what I remember Gy114 was marked from tutorials and small assigments to be submitted before the turorial, these are every second week.One Multiple choice test and an exam at the end of the year

GY123 consists of one mid semester MCQ worth 33.33% and one exam.

Im not sure but I think GY111 was one MCQ and one exam.

For economics -
Microeconomics EC101 You will have to attend a tutorial every week, they are worth 5% of your finAal grade. You will have two longish assignment worth 10% (5% each) an MCQ worth 10% and the final exam.

Macroeconomics EC102. There will be one MCQ(10%) and one Long assignment (10%) - you should work on this from the start of the semester/as soon as it is given. There will also be the exam. You must attend one computer lab and one tutorial on alternating weeks. Worth 5%

Macroeconomics 2 EC101B - There will be an MCQ worth 10% and Two assignments/set of questions worth 5% each. There will then be one tutorial per week, worth 5% and the final exam.

Quantitative Analysis EC105A - Sounds more difficult that it is. You have two assignments 5% each, once MCQ at 10% and tutorials/labs on alternating weeks worth 5%. Plus the final exam.

The economics assignments were generally short enough (A few pages with the graphs). They were a mix of giving opinions, working out definite answers/solving problems creating graphs and excel spreadsheets and analysing data. You will be asked to "discuss" relevant news paper articles and provide possible solutions to problems presented.

If you have any questions just ask me

Geo10 · 09-08-2012 10:49am

DylanII wrote: »

I'm a finance and Economics Student with a minor in geography. So I have info on Economics and Geography.

GY124 is 100% continuous assessment. A lot of the marks go for group work. Particularly a group glossary. If you submit all of your assignments it is nearly impossible to fail and very easy to get a high mark in the subject. You get marks for attending lectures and tutorials. Almost all of the assignments are very short - they generally have a limit of 300 words. You are encouraged to get as much information as possible in the smallest amount of words.

From what I remember Gy114 was marked from tutorials and small assigments to be submitted before the turorial, these are every second week.One Multiple choice test and an exam at the end of the year

GY123 consists of one mid semester MCQ worth 33.33% and one exam.

Im not sure but I think GY111 was one MCQ and one exam.

For economics -
Microeconomics EC101 You will have to attend a tutorial every week, they are worth 5% of your finAal grade. You will have two longish assignment worth 10% (5% each) an MCQ worth 10% and the final exam.

Macroeconomics EC102. There will be one MCQ(10%) and one Long assignment (10%) - you should work on this from the start of the semester/as soon as it is given. There will also be the exam. You must attend one computer lab and one tutorial on alternating weeks. Worth 5%

Macroeconomics 2 EC101B - There will be an MCQ worth 10% and Two assignments/set of questions worth 5% each. There will then be one tutorial per week, worth 5% and the final exam.

Quantitative Analysis EC105A - Sounds more difficult that it is. You have two assignments 5% each, once MCQ at 10% and tutorials/labs on alternating weeks worth 5%. Plus the final exam.

The economics assignments were generally short enough (A few pages with the graphs). They were a mix of giving opinions, working out definite answers/solving problems creating graphs and excel spreadsheets and analysing data. You will be asked to "discuss" relevant news paper articles and provide possible solutions to problems presented.

If you have any questions just ask me

Thank you so much for giving me all that information! I really appreciate it!

LedZeppelin · 16-08-2012 12:55am

Really?? wrote: »

I'm considering going back as a mature next year. I'm looking at MH110 BA Digital Media. My worry is about how much maths might be involved as I am lost when it comes to maths.
I do have a huge interest in digital media, should I be offput by the maths element?

Howdy

I just completed 1st year of this course.
Firstly, in first year you study compulsory media and computer science modules and then you can pick an arts subject to study along with it.
After first year you have the option of either dropping your arts subject or dropping computer science.

Secondly, when it comes to choosing your arts subject, you don't have to pick maths and the computer science modules don't involve maths. (at least in what Ive done so far.) So you can avoid it altogether!

Thirdly, if you do decide to pick maths as your arts subject, it's not too bad. In my opinion the worst module is Calculus but as long as you go to lectures, do the assignments etc you'll do fine. Theres also a maths support centre on campus for any extra help you need

If you're passionate for digital media then go for it!

Hope this helps.

ItsJustLaura · 29-05-2014 11:55am

Hey guys.. So I'm doing my leaving cert this year and I was considering doing Arts in NUIM next year. I think I want to be a teacher when I'm older but I am undecided between secondary and primary so I think Arts could be the best way to go. My problem is the subjects I should choose. Business, Maths, Nua Gaeilge, Music, Pyschology and Law all appeal to me. At the moment I have nua gaelige and music at the top of my list. I'm afraid that Irish could be too difficult for me. I have a great interest in it and I do enjoy it but I find the grammar difficult. I don't go to an Irish speaking school nor have I been at the Gaeltacht so I'm worried my standard of Irish would not be high enough. I'm hoping to get a B in the LC in Irish. I also think Irish would be very beneficial for Primary teaching. Anyone with any advice on the standard of Irish needed would be greatly appreciated! Also seriously considering music as a subject. I enjoy music at school and I play the piano. What is music like in NUIM? I don't sing, would that be a problem? Is the music like Leaving Cert music? I'm aiming for a high B in the LC. As well as that I have been looking into maths. I find maths a bit hard but I do enjoy it. I'm at a C at higher level at school. Is the maths very difficult compared to the Leaving Cert? Any advice on business, psychology and law would also be very greatly appreciated! I'm really confused about this whole situation. Everyone keeps putting me off arts saying its a useless degree but I don't know. Also what is NUIM like as a college? Thanks in advance for all your help

itsgrand · 29-05-2014 6:25pm

Do what you're most interested in. If your over grade 6 in piano music is a good choice. You will get first study tuition with usually a good teacher. If you continue to play all 3 years you'd save well over 1,000 euro on tuition alone. It's not particularly difficult either, you'll get whatever result you do the work for...There are some cool modules but most of it is musicological.

An Arts degree is an excellent stepping stone, people who tell you an arts degree is useless usually look at the world from a DEGREE = JOB perspective.

NUIM is a great college you'll love it.

PM if you need any more info on the music course

littleblackDRS · 29-05-2014 8:27pm

I know a lot of people do psychology because they think it will be really interesting,but bear in mind, 1st year psychology in NUIM starts with biology and statistics, and a lot of people are really disappointed with that.

Westeros · 10-06-2014 8:39pm

Can only repeat what 'itsgrand' has said, do what interests you most! It'll make your whole college experience better if you're doing something you enjoy

I've just completed my first year in Maynooth this year and studied Business as one of my Arts subjects. Personally I really like Business. I never studied it for my Leaving Cert, but I really enjoyed it for Junior Cert. Business in Maynooth is really one of those subjects where you do not need to have it done up to LC level.

In semester 1 I had 2 Business modules which added up to 4 hours a week. One module was 100% exam at Christmas and the other module consisted of an end of year exam worth 60% and a group project completed around November worth 40%. Both lecturers brought in some guest speakers, one speaker was a lecturer in Kentucky who came to give a presentation of what he teaches there (I believe our lecturer also went over to Kentucky to give a presentation).

In semester 2 then I had another 2 modules, adding up to 4 hours a week again. One module was 100% exam again and the other 100% continuous assessment. For the continuous assessment module there was a 40% group assignment and 60% came from the short quizzes completed online - 10 quizzes at 6% each. For this module the lecturer had guest speakers from various business' around the country come in and speak to us. This is where he drew up the questions for the online quizzes (unlike semester 1 speakers these guest speakers are examined). These quizzes had 6 questions and you were allowed 20 minutes to complete them. Also, they are open-book quizzes. Basic notes from each guest speaker are provided online and you can take extra notes in class if you want to. This year, our class created a Facebook page dedicated to 1st year business where we posted star slides (missing slides that will be examined) for those who couldn't make lectures or those who didn't bother coming in :P Though you will find this is a huge help!

I thoroughly enjoyed Business this year, met some great people and the group work is a big part of it. While the idea of group work seems daunting at first it is an excellent way of meeting new people. In comparison to other modules Business does not have a big workload, 2 group assignments, 10 short quizzes and no tutorials. A relatively nice module to pass!

As regards Maynooth as a college, you will love it! Great atmosphere, very homely, the people are extremely friendly, easy to settle in to and the Student's Union is great!

Hope this was useful! Best of luck with the rest of your exams

jDicey · 30-07-2014 6:29pm

Is it a bad idea to choose three entirely unrelated subjects for first year Arts? I would ultimately like a degree in astrophysics and cosmology, so I'm going with theoretical physics, of course. Maths is (are?) crucial, however I'm American - horrible education system - and I studied at an art school which neglected to teach me any trigonometry or calculus. That being said, I think I would fail miserably in a straight up Maths course and have planned to study music and geography as my second and third choices. Is this decision going to bite me in the a** down the road?

In addition, is it possible for me to switch degrees after a year or so in Arts? I had applied to General Science and Physics, but alas, did not have enough science under my belt to meet the qualifications! *sigh*

And while I'm here, I may as well ask: Is there a simple way to go about explaining how grading works? In the States they grade A-F, but I have seen Irish students receiving 2:2, 2:1, etc, and it makes no sense whatsoever to me.

How so Joe · 31-07-2014 3:02pm

Okay, I'm not a science student, nor have I ever been, so these are my comments for you.
1) astrophysics in Maynooth is part of the department of experimental physics, not theoretical physics
2) geometry is not a subject on its own in Maynooth
3) as far as I'm aware, maths in Maynooth teaches from the very basics, so you should be able to catch up if you take maths on.
4) studying two or three unrelated subjects in your arts degree is fine - I did French and Law, which could not have been more different, but thoroughly enjoyed them both.
5) I wouldn't say that music is your second choice - unless you're doing a major/minor, whatever you choose to keep in second year will be absolutely equal in terms of priority to your physics - half of your year's credits will be for each subject.
6) if you think you would fail miserably at maths, may I ask why you want to do mathematical physics? While they're obviously different, you need quite strong maths skills to succeed at m.phys, surely?
7) grading system
0-39% - fail
40-44% - pass
45-49% - third class honours
50-59% - second class honours, grade 2 (2.2)
60-69% - second class honours, grade 1 (2.1)
70+ - first class honours
If you want to know more about marks and things, have a look here.

jDicey · 01-08-2014 3:12am

Ah, you're a gem. I meant geography, but I couldn't get mathematics out of my head. Haha. I grasp what I have studied of maths very well, but looking at the modules it seems they start right off with calc which was really my main concern there as I've never taken a calculus course. Thank you so much!

TheGoldenAges · 02-08-2014 2:13pm

jDicey wrote: »

Ah, you're a gem. I meant geography, but I couldn't get mathematics out of my head. Haha. I grasp what I have studied of maths very well, but looking at the modules it seems they start right off with calc which was really my main concern there as I've never taken a calculus course. Thank you so much!

I did maths through arts this year and found it challenging but rewarding. Calculus wouldn't be my strongest field but I found it manageable. The maths support centre is great if you need extra help but I found the tutorials to be all the help you need.

jDicey · 02-08-2014 7:34pm

TheGoldenAges wrote: »

I did maths through arts this year and found it challenging but rewarding. Calculus wouldn't be my strongest field but I found it manageable. The maths support centre is great if you need extra help but I found the tutorials to be all the help you need.

In that case I'm going to have a go at it and take the extra help where it's needed. I feel better now.

Read this before asking "What to expect from [subject/course]?" ALL COURSE INFO HERE!

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