Easy electives in UCD

Lisa20

In need of a really easy elective for semester 1. Preferably no exam.

People should really consider IS20020 information literacy under the information studies school! very easy...the whole module consists of learning to write an essay which u had in at the end! Perfect for bringing up the GPA. Food, Diet and health is brilliant too.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

COMP10030, ECON10030 iirc

They both have exams but they're fairly pedestrian.

TDOie

Sean_K wrote: »

COMP10030, ECON10030 iirc

They both have exams but they're fairly pedestrian.

Although I didnt fail it ECON10030 does have a fairly high fail rate.

COMP10030 = Easy A if you go to lectures.

SarahChambers

Shouldn't people look for interesting electives instead of easy ones? If you enjoy something it becomes easier

33% God

I hear MATH40080 (Galois Theory) is a super easy elective, they only have one exam.

beautifulmeath

Really in need of an easy, no-exam elective too.

Is Food Diet and Health a good option? I was going to do it last year but was afriad it would be difficult. I love that sort of thing though so if it's easy I'll do it!

Thomas_S_Hunterson

There's no exam in COMP10070. If you're intelligent, you should get an A easily. Attendance is fairly compulsory though. Your grade is based mainly on 5 class assignment/tests and secondarily on attendance and the other tutorial work.

Lisa20

yeah you should really do that! i did it in first year! i did biology and home ec for the leaving so if u have either of those it provides a good background! also the assessments are pretty fair and no assignments!

dajaffa

I did food, diet + health having got an A in home ec + found it grand, but a mate had a c in home ec + just about passed it. Good module but it's not an easy one for most.

kev_s88

the Information Studies modules are relatively easy...even the ones with exams are easy if you do any small amount of work

IS 10030 (Information Design) is easy...you learn about where you find information and how its used in day to day life... 70% essay at the end of the year, 15% tutorials and 15% MCQ...nice and handy

mloc

I love the standard of UCD students these days.

Lisa20

Glad your impressed.

Lucet

I'm thinking about German for beginners (LANG10100) and then Modern Europe (HIS10070). How do you think, is it going to be hard? Maybe take something from psychology or sociology instead of Modern Europe?

Theresalwaysone

mloc wrote: »

I love the standard of UCD students these days.

Silly Comment. But there is one every year when this kind of thread comes up and its always someone on a nice high horse.

Its the system that flawed more so than the students. Why not do easy electives that guarantee you an A and a better GPA? To do otherwise would be insane.

33% God

Theresalwaysone wrote: »

Silly Comment. But there is one every year when this kind of thread comes up and its always someone on a nice high horse.

Its the system that flawed more so than the students. Why not do easy electives that guarantee you an A and a better GPA? To do otherwise would be insane.

Presumably because you came to University to learn things that you are interested in and that may be useful to you in the future. That's the idea behind the system. You can cheat it if you want but don't act like it's the smart decision.

Lisa20

anyone happen to know what the psychology module Disability studies is like?

El Siglo

mloc wrote: »

I love the standard of UCD students these days.

That's why some of us are going here next October...:rolleyes:

An easy elective: Introduction to Human Geography, Part I, very easy so it is. Or Land Use and the Environment (AESC10010) excellent elective, easy and interesting.

mloc

Theresalwaysone wrote: »

Silly Comment. But there is one every year when this kind of thread comes up and its always someone on a nice high horse.

Its the system that flawed more so than the students. Why not do easy electives that guarantee you an A and a better GPA? To do otherwise would be insane.

I agree that the system is more flawed. What we have in Ireland is a prime example of any-degree-will-do devaluation of education. I firmly believe half of students shouldn't be in college.

Handsome Bob

Though I feel bad about giving you young whipper-snappers tips on easy modules, I'd suggest anything from Level One Social Policy or Info Studies. Things are quite straight forward, particulary in SP. The essay referencing and citing is really the most basic/simplistic you'll come across. Tutorials aren't compulsory either in SP, and you shouldn't need them anyway if you go to your lectures.

Theresalwaysone

33% God wrote: »

Presumably because you came to University to learn things that you are interested in and that may be useful to you in the future. That's the idea behind the system. You can cheat it if you want but don't act like it's the smart decision.

Nah Bollox, in this system you go to University to get a degree (any degree) as without one your employment and career opportunities are very limited. N

You also have people coming to college for the experience. There is absolutely nothing wrong with either of those reasons. People shouldnt be made to feel guilty because they choose a reason for college which is outside what you think it should be. The system here is what makes is that way, not the people.

As it stands, UCD are the ones putting these joke electives out there for student to pick. Electives like Information Studies, Return to Learning as well as others. Anyone in their right mind would pick an easy one, to get an A and boost their GPA.

Its a very very smart decision to pick an easy elective. Do you think employers will give a **** if you have one person with a 2.1 and did relatively difficult electives? or one with a 2.1 and took the path of least resistance? They won't. A 2.1 is a 2.1. Same applies to a 1.1, or a pass. Its all the same.

mloc

Theresalwaysone wrote: »

Its a very very smart decision to pick an easy elective. Do you think employers will give a **** if you have one person with a 2.1 and did relatively difficult electives? or one with a 2.1 and took the path of least resistance? They won't. A 2.1 is a 2.1. Same applies to a 1.1, or a pass. Its all the same.

Dream on buddy. Nowadays an employer won't even bother with you unless your degree is hugely relevant to your field from day one. I'd take additional modules in your field and get the best quality degree you can, not just some piece of **** linguistics and canadian studies degree, which with the worlds best 1.1 isn't even worth recycling.

Theresalwaysone

mloc wrote: »

Dream on buddy. Nowadays an employer won't give two shiites what your degree is unless it is hugely relevant to your field from day one.

Obviously.

I mean, say you have a 1.1 in Commerce and did the Accounting mode.You apply or a job with one of the big four. Your 1.1 is due to doing very well in all your core subjects and some very easy electives.

It wont matter about the electives and even if it is a consideraton it'll be waaaaaay down the list of variables that the employer will use to decide whether you are for the job or not.

Lisa20

i'm in a tough enough course with a very competitive path ahead of me if i hope to get into a masters (without a masters i am not even qualified). i need a high 2.1 or preferably a first. So seeing as fifty of my credits are in my field area, i really don't see the problem with taking an easy elective to take some of the pressure off!

Bex2

Join the orchestra! Easiest 5 credits in ucd!! turn up at a few practices and the concert in mid November (or April semester 2) and you have yourself and A+ !!! Happy Days!!

remus808

Here's an unusual one folks: easy level 2+ electives

I'm not far off using up my allowance of Level 1 modules..

Lisa20

oh god...there is an allowance? ooops...well i dont think i have gone over it yet...anyone do applied languages German? or psychology of work?

opinions very welcome!!!

Iancar29

any1 know if theres any photography modules ??????????????

beautifulmeath

Lucet wrote: »

I'm thinking about German for beginners (LANG10100) and then Modern Europe (HIS10070). How do you think, is it going to be hard? Maybe take something from psychology or sociology instead of Modern Europe?

I did ME and German for Gen. Purposes 4 last semester

Finished with an A- in ME and a B in German...ME is interesting but involves a huge amount of reading and a tough exam at the end...so in short, I wouldn't recommend it. Also the lecturers, if the same as last semester, aren't very forgiving and mark very hard, so it's probably best to steer clear...

As for German, I had done it for the Leaving, but I can say that you are told to do all this work on Moodle and all that jazz, and the truth is I was wasting my time by doing it. Self-directed study towards the end of the semester will get you an A no problem (sadly I didn't realise that till about 2 days before the exam...:( ) also, the 40% exam is held in week 12, so that's one module done and dusted before the study week even begins. Pick this one!!!

Need any more advice, then give me a shout

Lucet

Lisa20 wrote: »

oh god...there is an allowance? ooops...well i dont think i have gone over it yet...anyone do applied languages German? or psychology of work?

opinions very welcome!!!

I will be doing (hopefully) beginner level German. I'm in love with that language :rolleyes:. I was also thinking about some module from psychology, but I think I'm sticking up with Modern Europe :pac:

Lucet

beautifulmeath wrote: »

I did ME and German for Gen. Purposes 4 last semester

Finished with an A- in ME and a B in German...ME is interesting but involves a huge amount of reading and a tough exam at the end...so in short, I wouldn't recommend it. Also the lecturers, if the same as last semester, aren't very forgiving and mark very hard, so it's probably best to steer clear...

As for German, I had done it for the Leaving, but I can say that you are told to do all this work on Moodle and all that jazz, and the truth is I was wasting my time by doing it. Self-directed study towards the end of the semester will get you an A no problem (sadly I didn't realise that till about 2 days before the exam...:( ) also, the 40% exam is held in week 12, so that's one module done and dusted before the study week even begins. Pick this one!!!

Need any more advice, then give me a shout

Thanks a lot. I did German in my home country for a half of the year and I love this language (didn't have an opportunity to do it here in school), so hopefully everything will be ok with German.

I know that history involves a lot of reading and so on, can you tell me (maybe in PM) what kind of questions come in exam situation? European history is really interesting for me and I love modern times (especially WWI and WWII )

Well, I found another interesting subject - Introduction to Physical and Forensic Anthropology (ANAT10030)

ChocolateSauce

SarahChambers wrote: »

Shouldn't people look for interesting electives instead of easy ones? If you enjoy something it becomes easier

Perfect example is GEOG30020 (I think), Geography of Latin America. It's a subject that interested me so I took it, despite having not done geography since the JC. I went to every third lecture, did all the readings once and got a C.

mloc wrote:

I love the standard of UCD students these days.

It should be going up this year, especially in science with that 85 point rise.

To infinity...and beyond!

El Siglo

SarahChambers wrote: »

Shouldn't people look for interesting electives instead of easy ones? If you enjoy something it becomes easier

Yes that logic was good in secondary school but with the way things have gone, people don't care about what they're interested in, it's what can get you a good (or great) degree. It's a ****e state of affairs. Personally, I only ever picked one elective outside of my school and even then it was very similar to the ones I was doing already, fact is; balance easy with interesting and something that is related to what you're doing already.

bnt

There's a thread like this every year. I'm a bit concerned that lecturers etc. are reading these threads and going "O RLY?" It's not in their interest to give any credits away for free, not if UCD's reputation is to be upheld. So I'd echo the advice to try and find something you're interested in, rather than just look for easy electives. It could backfire on you. :eek:

One point some folks seem to be missing here is that this question is all about the electives, the subjects you can do in any field at UCD. When it comes to the core subjects for your degree, you are limited to either a few options, or no choice at all, so it's not as if electives can seriously boost or damage your degree. Depending on the degree you're taking, your programme head may advise you to take certain "in-programme" electives, to go deeper in to the subject rather than look outside the subject. You don't have to follow that advice, but there are advantages to staying "in-programme" when choosing electives: it eliminates the possibility of scheduling clashes with lectures and exams.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

bnt wrote: »

There's a thread like this every year. I'm a bit concerned that lecturers etc. are reading these threads and going "O RLY?" It's not in their interest to give any credits away for free, not if UCD's reputation is to be upheld. So I'd echo the advice to try and find something you're interested in, rather than just look for easy electives. It could backfire on you. :eek:

From what I gather, lecturers may not be too supportive of the elective system.

I'd hazard that the whole Horizons thing was a decision by administration as opposed to by the academics.

Lucet

bnt wrote: »

There's a thread like this every year. I'm a bit concerned that lecturers etc. are reading these threads and going "O RLY?" It's not in their interest to give any credits away for free, not if UCD's reputation is to be upheld. So I'd echo the advice to try and find something you're interested in, rather than just look for easy electives. It could backfire on you. :eek:

One point some folks seem to be missing here is that this question is all about the electives, the subjects you can do in any field at UCD. When it comes to the core subjects for your degree, you are limited to either a few options, or no choice at all, so it's not as if electives can seriously boost or damage your degree. Depending on the degree you're taking, your programme head may advise you to take certain "in-programme" electives, to go deeper in to the subject rather than look outside the subject. You don't have to follow that advice, but there are advantages to staying "in-programme" when choosing electives: it eliminates the possibility of scheduling clashes with lectures and exams.

Exactly, I want to do something that I like and would not have done without Horizons in other uni. I mean like, well, maybe I'll spend several more hours studying for something I will not actually need (who knows?), but at least I'll be interested in it.

Infernon

karmabass wrote: »

Here's an unusual one folks: easy level 2+ electives

I'm not far off using up my allowance of Level 1 modules..

Critical Theory (ENG20400) and Logic:Informal and Formal (PHIL20020) sounds like a piece of cake I'm taking them this semester...

Lisa20

think im going to try german for general purposes 1...sounds good and i love the german language!

just to clarify..i pick electives that are reasonably easy but within my interests so its not as if im looking at an elective and taking it just cos its easy. ovisly if its not something i like im not going to be very motivated. Just to clarify before people start getting all critical!

lizzyvera

If you like maths do a maths elective. Easy A+ when you do the tutorials.
I also enjoyed "physical and forensic anthropology" and "introduction to cognitive science". They were also easy As, as well as being interesting.

Friends of mine do psychology and 1st year languages at every opportunity.

If someone else is allowed to do these easy modules as part of their degrees, then why not let people doing harder degrees get one or two easier modules to allow them to focus more on their cores? I'd be flattened if all my modules were as hard as my hardest ones.

I also don't like this GPA system - you can get 100% in scientific subjects, but it only counts as 80% ish. Eg. I get 40% in one exam and 100% in another. That should average to 70%- a 1.1. In UCD it averages to a GPA of (2+4.2)/2 = 3.1, a 2.2 I think. With all this pitted against me, I will definitely be doing an easy module this coming semester.

Lucet

lizzyvera wrote: »

If you like maths do a maths elective. Easy A+ when you do the tutorials.
I also enjoyed "physical and forensic anthropology" and "introduction to cognitive science". They were also easy As, as well as being interesting.

Friends of mine do psychology and 1st year languages at every opportunity.

If someone else is allowed to do these easy modules as part of their degrees, then why not let people doing harder degrees get one or two easier modules to allow them to focus more on their cores? I'd be flattened if all my modules were as hard as my hardest ones.

I also don't like this GPA system - you can get 100% in scientific subjects, but it only counts as 80% ish. Eg. I get 40% in one exam and 100% in another. That should average to 70%- a 1.1. In UCD it averages to a GPA of (2+4.2)/2 = 3.1, a 2.2 I think. With all this pitted against me, I will definitely be doing an easy module this coming semester.

Can you tell me more about it? My friend was "scaring" me, that it's mostly chemistry, but I don't believe in her :pac:

lizzyvera

It's about human evolution. You learn about all the living and extinct primates, and where they fit in. In labs you just look at skeletons. You have to learn the names of most of our bones, and how to figure out if they are left or right arm bones etc. There is a section on ethics and law, how to deal with human remains etc. There is a small section on geological eras and fossils. The lectures are very enjoyable and the final exam is an MCQ on evolution, although the practical exams are worth more.

I don't recall any chemistry. Maybe there is a course with a similar name. "Forensic" just means applying science to gather information, it is very broad. In this course the "forensic" bit is analysing fossils to gain insight into our evolution.

Lucet

lizzyvera wrote: »

It's about human evolution. You learn about all the living and extinct primates, and where they fit in. In labs you just look at skeletons. You have to learn the names of most of our bones, and how to figure out if they are left or right arm bones etc. There is a section on ethics and law, how to deal with human remains etc. There is a small section on geological eras and fossils. The lectures are very enjoyable and the final exam is an MCQ on evolution, although the practical exams are worth more.

I don't recall any chemistry. Maybe there is a course with a similar name. "Forensic" just means applying science to gather information, it is very broad. In this course the "forensic" bit is analysing fossils to gain insight into our evolution.

Thanks. I thought it's going to be more about crimes and investigating it.. Well, then it's not for me

Thomas_S_Hunterson

lizzyvera wrote: »

I also don't like this GPA system - you can get 100% in scientific subjects, but it only counts as 80% ish. Eg. I get 40% in one exam and 100% in another. That should average to 70%- a 1.1. In UCD it averages to a GPA of (2+4.2)/2 = 3.1, a 2.2 I think. With all this pitted against me, I will definitely be doing an easy module this coming semester.

This is deliberate. A good first student should be good all round.

Gingy

Iancar29 wrote: »

any1 know if theres any photography modules ??????????????

There was last year. I couldn't get into it. It was under architecture and landscape.

Mardy Bum

Infernon wrote: »

Critical Theory (ENG20400) and Logic:Informal and Formal (PHIL20020) sounds like a piece of cake I'm taking them this semester...

You will have a rude awakening if you think any English module especially a core module is easy.

lklklk89

I wish ye could do PE as an elective. itd be so handy

samsamson

Mardy Bum wrote: »

You will have a rude awakening if you think any English module especially a core module is easy.

+1

Choose wisely Infernon!

TheJeanGenie

English modules = Essays!!!

Anyone on boards ever do MDSA10230, Sign Language and Deaf Culture. Ucd website doesn't say much about the exams or work load.

Like A Fox

Any good suggestions for medicine/science people??

ya-ba-da-ba-doo

Theres a first year science module called introduction to calculus. Would i be right in thinking this is pretty easy as for LC we've done a good bit of calculus at honours?

Econoline Van

Ah here. Everything is full! I was moving house yesterday. Going into 2nd year arts. Do options become available again usually?

And why can't I select core modules today????

parker kent

Theresalwaysone wrote: »

Nah Bollox, in this system you go to University to get a degree (any degree) as without one your employment and career opportunities are very limited. N

You also have people coming to college for the experience. There is absolutely nothing wrong with either of those reasons. People shouldnt be made to feel guilty because they choose a reason for college which is outside what you think it should be. The system here is what makes is that way, not the people.

As it stands, UCD are the ones putting these joke electives out there for student to pick. Electives like Information Studies, Return to Learning as well as others. Anyone in their right mind would pick an easy one, to get an A and boost their GPA.

Its a very very smart decision to pick an easy elective. Do you think employers will give a **** if you have one person with a 2.1 and did relatively difficult electives? or one with a 2.1 and took the path of least resistance? They won't. A 2.1 is a 2.1. Same applies to a 1.1, or a pass. Its all the same.

Be wary of so called "joke electives" in Information Studies. I know of many people who have chosen them and treated like a piece of cake only to screw up.