Economics/History

Paddey7 · 24-03-2014 9:17pm #1

Can anyone tell me what the economic and/or History department at TCD is like? Teaching style, module choice and so on?

maedhbh_mac · 24-03-2014 11:16pm

Yep, history student here. The department is rather old-fashioned in a lot of ways - assessment is usually 80% exam-based per module and there are a fair few lecturers who lecture without slides or online notes etc. Teaching is done through lecturers, where you show up and take notes. You have to do a lot of reading to be able to get the most out of lectures - they really just summarise the most important information, but you have to read around them.

Module choice is quite limited in the first two years - if you take as TSM with economics, over the first two years you have to fill quotas by studying two medieval modules, two Irish modules and two European modules. The first term, you have two compulsory modules - 'Government and Society in the Age of the Crusades' (it acts as one of your medieval modules and one of your European modules) and a general introduction to the study of history called 'Doing History'. Then second term you choose two modules, one for 10 credits (two lectures a week) and one for five (one lecture a week). You have three exams at the end of the year if you're TSM, as there's no 'Doing History' exam. Assessment is structured like this, as there are no winter exams for history - you take the exams for both terms in the summer, which is a bit of a pain.

If there's anything else more specific that you want to know about the department, let me know!

Mr Pseudonym · 24-03-2014 11:27pm

These are the History handbooks: Freshman (first and second years) and Sophister (third and fourth years).

Just to add to maedhbh_mac's very comprehensive summary, TSM's can drop one subject after third year or continue with both subjects to a joint honours degree.

Bears and Vodka · 24-03-2014 11:40pm

Economics department:

It's ok, I guess. It's a bit reluctant to change. Same lecturers teaching exactly the same material for years, but it's alright. In first year you will do Intro to Economics, Maths & Stats and Economic Policy. Intro to Econ is a fairly easy module especially if you've done Econ for the Leaving Cert. The bare basics. Maths & Stats is straighforward too. The maths they cover also lingers around the Leaving Cert standard but everything has an economic interpretation and you will be applying maths in relation to economics. Mostly that involves working with demand/supply/cost functions to find maximum profit, minimum cost and that kinda thing. Stats is a bit more involved and it will be unlike most stuff you do in school, namely hypothesis testing. Intro to Economic Policy I haven't done but I hear it's a boring useless module.

In first year you get no choice of modules, really. In 2nd year there is an illusion of choice but there kind of isn't either. In 3rd year there is a lot of choice and likewise in 4th year. Lecturers can be interesting but more often they are fairly dull. Assessment varies from module to module. Econ department are a big fan of having midterm exams, so be ready for that. In maths & stats there are weekly assignments to be done either online or handed up to the department, they are graded. But in first year you get something like 10% for just showing up to tutorials and handing up your homework so that's nice. In 2nd year Economy of Ireland you will have to literally write a number of essays and rote learn them for the exam, there is no other way.

andrew · 25-03-2014 12:18pm

Paddey7 wrote: »

Can anyone tell me what the economic and/or History department at TCD is like? Teaching style, module choice and so on?

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=tcd+economics

Paddey7 · 11-04-2014 10:43pm

Thanks guys. Info was helpful

Paddey7 · 11-04-2014 10:46pm

maedhbh_mac wrote: »

Yep, history student here. The department is rather old-fashioned in a lot of ways - assessment is usually 80% exam-based per module and there are a fair few lecturers who lecture without slides or online notes etc. Teaching is done through lecturers, where you show up and take notes. You have to do a lot of reading to be able to get the most out of lectures - they really just summarise the most important information, but you have to read around them.

Module choice is quite limited in the first two years - if you take as TSM with economics, over the first two years you have to fill quotas by studying two medieval modules, two Irish modules and two European modules. The first term, you have two compulsory modules - 'Government and Society in the Age of the Crusades' (it acts as one of your medieval modules and one of your European modules) and a general introduction to the study of history called 'Doing History'. Then second term you choose two modules, one for 10 credits (two lectures a week) and one for five (one lecture a week). You have three exams at the end of the year if you're TSM, as there's no 'Doing History' exam. Assessment is structured like this, as there are no winter exams for history - you take the exams for both terms in the summer, which is a bit of a pain.

If there's anything else more specific that you want to know about the department, let me know!

Thanks
Are the lecturers themselves good? And how much independent reading/work are you suppose to do on average per week?

hfallada · 11-04-2014 10:55pm

Paddey7 wrote: »

Thanks
Are the lecturers themselves good? And how much independent reading/work are you suppose to do on average per week?

I have just done first year economics. The lecturers for Maths and Stats are excellent. They are both very passionate. But the economics lecturers arent that thrilling. Half of the lecture hall generally couldnt hack the second lecture most mornings and left during the break. And a majority of students have no understanding of macroeconomics after 12 weeks of it. You are expected to understand something without it being explained to you at all. Final exams make up 70% of the final grade of economics and 60% of Maths. But you can pretty easily get 30% of your final grade for maths without even starting the final exam. As you get marks for attending tutorials, online quizzes and mid terms

I did Ord. Maths and I find the maths ok. But higher level people find it extremely easy. Microeconomics is grand for LC students. But the macroecomics is completely new. As some other poster pointed out, there is no choice in first and second year economics.

Siobhan6 · 12-04-2014 5:29pm

Paddey7 wrote: »

Thanks
Are the lecturers themselves good? And how much independent reading/work are you suppose to do on average per week?

I'm finishing my third year of History.

The quality of the lecturers really depends on the modules you choose. Bit of a pain because you could choose a topic you're really interested in and then have it completely ruined by the lecturer in some cases. So in order to avoid that it's important to put in your own work and focus on the areas you're passionate about.

In terms of reading, you can never do too much. You should be reading at least 3 or 4 books or articles for each tutorial in first year (not entire books obviously, just the bits that are relevant), but that increases in the following years. And obviously a lot more reading is required if you are writing an essay on something. Basically, when you're not doing compulsory written assignments, you should be reading. The amount of reading you do also depends on which degree classification you will ultimately be aiming for. For example, if you want a first, you'll need to be reading non-stop, if you'd be happy with a II.I (since firsts are almost impossible in the History department) then that relieves the pressure slightly, but there's still a lot of reading!

Other thing is, if you really immerse yourself in books at the beginning, then you'll gradually find yourself coming back to things you've already read. So it helps to do as much as you can in the beginning before assignments start building up.

Paddey7 · 19-04-2014 8:52am

Thanks for all the info,
Slightly different question, has budget cuts affected trinity badly cause I have heard a lot of negative stuff about it. Just wondering as I'm trying to decide between trinity and LSE (accounting and finance). I think I be happier in trinity but I'm a bit hesitant when I hear about those budget cuts - do they change anything?

Bears and Vodka · 19-04-2014 11:40am

Jesus Christ, if you can get into LSE then go to LSE! :L I don't know why you want to do accounting though. If you like it then fair enough.
I don't think much changed at undergrad level because of the cuts. Possibly you will have slightly larger tutorial classes but that's it.

Paddey7 · 19-04-2014 10:39pm

Bears and Vodka wrote: »

Jesus Christ, if you can get into LSE then go to LSE! :L I don't know why you want to do accounting though. If you like it then fair enough.
I don't think much changed at undergrad level because of the cuts. Possibly you will have slightly larger tutorial classes but that's it.

Do you not think trinity would be any comparable with LSE? Im interested in hearing views about it
Just stuck trying to decide between economics and history at TCD or accounting and finance at LSE. Though economic and history seems harder to get into based on past few years points than my asking grades for LSE

Mr Pseudonym · 19-04-2014 11:12pm

Bears and Vodka wrote: »

Jesus Christ, if you can get into LSE then go to LSE! :L I don't know why you want to do accounting though. If you like it then fair enough.
I don't think much changed at undergrad level because of the cuts. Possibly you will have slightly larger tutorial classes but that's it.

Paddey7 wrote: »

Do you not think trinity would be any comparable with LSE? Im interested in hearing views about it
Just stuck trying to decide between economics and history at TCD or accounting and finance at LSE. Though economic and history seems harder to get into based on past few years points than my asking grades for LSE

There is a huge disparity at Graduate level, but I really don't think there's anything significant at Undergrad...as long as you get a First. It'll cost a lot more and the campus is decidedly urban (though, ofc, London is SWEET!).

EuropeanSon · 20-04-2014 2:03pm

An accounting and finance course sounds much less interesting than an economics and history course. However, LSE does have the better brand.

Paddey7 · 20-04-2014 8:31pm

Mr Pseudonym wrote: »

There is a huge disparity at Graduate level, but I really don't think there's anything significant at Undergrad...as long as you get a First. It'll cost a lot more and the campus is decidedly urban (though, ofc, London is SWEET!).

Do you think LSE is more of a graduate uni?
Trying to decide between (likely) better job prospects LSE vs more interesting course TCD, though economics, even if its a joint degree should have relatively good job prospects? Ive been the open days for both unis but that hasn't helped much as I was impressed by both

Do you think London would be more expensive to live in than Dublin or similar? ( Can't really judge as I'm from the a small town in Tyrone)

andrew · 20-04-2014 8:35pm

Paddey7 wrote: »

Do you think LSE is more of a graduate uni?
Trying to decide between (likely) better job prospects LSE vs more interesting course TCD, though economics, even if its a joint degree should have relatively good job prospects? Ive been the open days for both unis but that hasn't helped much as I was impressed by both

Do you think London would be more expensive to live in than Dublin or similar? ( Can't really judge as I'm from the a small town in Tyrone)

The LSE course has much, much better job prospects than the TCD one. As far as I'm aware, LSE has a very very good reputation for Finance type courses - and you'll be in London, which is arguably the world's most important financial centre. Not that the Econ/History course has bad job prospects, but they're significantly less good than the course in LSE.

Also, yeah, London is a lot more expensive than Dublin in terms of rent, which will be a huge expenditure.

Mr Pseudonym · 20-04-2014 8:45pm

Paddey7 wrote: »

Do you think LSE is more of a graduate uni?
Trying to decide between (likely) better job prospects LSE vs more interesting course TCD, though economics, even if its a joint degree should have relatively good job prospects? Ive been the open days for both unis but that hasn't helped much as I was impressed by both

Do you think London would be more expensive to live in than Dublin or similar? ( Can't really judge as I'm from the a small town in Tyrone)

Without doubt, LSE is substantially more geared towards Graduate study - the Undergrad:Grad is the reverse of TCD's. I don't know what effect that has on the environment or ethos.

I'm not sure I agree with andrew. It's difficult to judge job prospects because of level of employment in London, higher calibre of students at LSE, and the fact that it only teaches (largely) Social Sciences. I'm really not sure that an Undergrad at one versus the other would provide an advantage.

Everything is different at Graduate level, though. The LSE PhD is seen as being (perhaps along with Oxford's DPhil) the most prestigious economics programme outside of the US.

Paddey7 · 23-04-2014 5:29pm

Mr Pseudonym wrote: »

Without doubt, LSE is substantially more geared towards Graduate study - the Undergrad:Grad is the reverse of TCD's. I don't know what effect that has on the environment or ethos.

I'm not sure I agree with andrew. It's difficult to judge job prospects because of level of employment in London, higher calibre of students at LSE, and the fact that it only teaches (largely) Social Sciences. I'm really not sure that an Undergrad at one versus the other would provide an advantage.

Everything is different at Graduate level, though. The LSE PhD is seen as being (perhaps along with Oxford's DPhil) the most prestigious economics programme outside of the US.

So theres no real difference at the undergraduate level? I would probably be interested into pursuing a post grad either way

Mr Pseudonym · 23-04-2014 5:46pm

Paddey7 wrote: »

So theres no real difference at the undergraduate level? I would probably be interested into pursuing a post grad either way

First, I just re-read my post, and what I said about the ratio being the reverse is meaningless - ie if it were 49:51, it would not be significant, whereas, if it were 20:80, it would be incredibly so! Also, I was working from memory when I made that point, and misremembered that 40% of TCD's students are postgrads, rather than that postgrads equal 40% of undergrads. The correct figures, according to Wikipedia, are: TCD - 73% undergrad; LSE - 44% undergrad.

On your question: as can be seen from my disagreement with andrew, there's no definite answer. But, I would be confident that, in terms of job prospects, a First from TCD would not be inferior to a First from LSE, in the same subject. Almost certainly, however, the standard of lectures is superior in LSE.

Paddey7 · 23-04-2014 7:00pm

Mr Pseudonym wrote: »

First, I just re-read my post, and what I said about the ratio being the reverse is meaningless - ie if it were 49:51, it would not be significant, whereas, if it were 20:80, it would be incredibly so! Also, I was working from memory when I made that point, and misremembered that 40% of TCD's students are postgrads, rather than that postgrads equal 40% of undergrads. The correct figures, according to Wikipedia, are: TCD - 73% undergrad; LSE - 44% undergrad.

On your question: as can be seen from my disagreement with andrew, there's no definite answer. But, I would be confident that, in terms of job prospects, a First from TCD would not be inferior to a First from LSE, in the same subject. Almost certainly, however, the standard of lectures is superior in LSE.

Thanks that a good to know

Paddey7 · 23-04-2014 7:06pm

Mr Pseudonym wrote: »

First, I just re-read my post, and what I said about the ratio being the reverse is meaningless - ie if it were 49:51, it would not be significant, whereas, if it were 20:80, it would be incredibly so! Also, I was working from memory when I made that point, and misremembered that 40% of TCD's students are postgrads, rather than that postgrads equal 40% of undergrads. The correct figures, according to Wikipedia, are: TCD - 73% undergrad; LSE - 44% undergrad.

On your question: as can be seen from my disagreement with andrew, there's no definite answer. But, I would be confident that, in terms of job prospects, a First from TCD would not be inferior to a First from LSE, in the same subject. Almost certainly, however, the standard of lectures is superior in LSE.

Thanks that a good to know

Mr Pseudonym · 23-04-2014 7:07pm

Paddey7 wrote: »

Thanks that a good to know

You're doubly welcome.

Economics/History

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