A Guide for Liberal Arts Freshers (with FAQs) by a Former Fresher

A few words of wisdom from some old, wise souls.

First term. It’s going to feel weird. The Art of Writing? Core Units? Subject pathway? You took this course to have flexibility—so why do you have to do a language? You’re going to have a few questions. And that’s OK. It’s a strange and sometimes confusing course. And these are strange and confusing times. Let us help you through it.

You’re usually thrown into your first core Liberal Arts unit before your other subjects and language and I remember feeling a bit lost to begin with because I hadn’t taken the time to properly understand what the unit actually meant. One thing I would say is, don’t discount it, or ignore it, thinking it’s just a dud subject. One thing you’ll realise is that the bulk of your degree isn’t actually your subject pathway. The bulk of your degree is the core liberal arts units. And, at first, if you’re anything like me, that might annoy you slightly. You might be thinking: I’ve taken this so I can do 3-4 subjects, and I only get to do two? What’s that all about?

Well, that’s where the core units come in. In first term, the Art of Writing is mostly English, but you have Media, Sociology, Gender Studies, Politics and a bit of History thrown in the mix. It gives you a chance to sink your teeth into a bunch of very, very interesting topics. See it more as an advanced unit for the main subject it centres around, and then the degree structure will make sense. I was sad I couldn’t take English and Anthropology in my first year. But I actually could. Because those are what the core Liberal Arts units are. In second year, the three core units are centred around Philosophy, Art History and Numeracy. Which is pretty cool.

So, we do get choice and variety out of this degree, but just not in the way you might expect, because we’re doing a spread of subjects that only liberal arts students get to take. If you think the Art of Writing is just going to teach you how to construct an essay, you’re wrong. Think of it more like a specialist English unit and take it seriously, because it’s well worth it and you’ll learn a lot if you apply yourself and your own knowledge to it.

Another thing it took me an unreasonably long time to realise, is that you can’t just skim the bare minimum of the reading for your lectures and seminars and leave it at that. I always worked to the last minute at A-Level, and I thought I could do the same here.

I definitely got swept away in the city of Bristol because there’s such a vast gap in your days when you’re not in your contact hours. You absolutely should not lock yourself away from 9-5 in the library all day and sacrifice your life for your degree, because Bristol is (in my opinion) one of the best cities in the world, and worth taking the time out to explore.

Having said that, if you want to do well in your degree, you can’t just bounce off your intellectual capability to b*llshit, like I thought you could. Nope. If you want to get 2:1s and Firsts, then you actually have to put a consistent amount of effort in. Not just a sprint finish to do your essays at the end of the term. You should think of your degree as a job, where you are consistently reading, and studying around your subject. 7 hours of work, for 5 days a week. Split that up how you like.

Thursday mornings might be foggy for those of you who enjoy a tipple on sports nights, so write that morning off and put those 3 hours in on a Thursday night. Wednesdays are usually rough if you enjoy a socially distanced boogie at Mr Wolfs Rooftop Terrace (heaven on earth), so it’s worth thinking about where you can shift your schedule to make sure you’re still doing enough work.

At first, I struggled structuring my time, letting everything hit me as it came. I thought I could get good grades despite barely putting the work in. Sadly, I couldn’t. Make sure that you plan your assignments in good time and engage with feedback from your tutors. Essays might seem to loom over you with their complex essay question lists and endless bibliographies; and although they are a key part of your units, don’t treat them like your sole pathway to fulfilment and Nirvana. If you do, you’ll probably get less out of your studies than you deserve. It’s important to plan your time well because student life is about more than assignments alone.

There’s a wide scope to be as creative as you like in your degree. For those of you who are interested in the arts – and may well be taking Liberal Arts at Bristol because you wanted a balance of the artistic and the academic – I would recommend partaking in the Liberal Arts Creatives, a scheme, we – your future selves – created for that very reason. We all have so much to bring to the table, whether that be in the visual arts, music, drama or writing.

We wanted to create a creative outlet for the melting pot of ideas and stimuli we each have within and between us. Films, Zines, Online Exhibitions – you name it – if you want to be involved, just ask at your family socials, any of us personally, or email us at liberalartscreativesUOB@gmail.com. If you want to be involved in helping organise it, then you absolutely can.

Lastly, I hope you enjoy this year. It’s a unique time to be in. But what a wonderful place to indulge in the strangeness of this year. I’m excited for you. 

Confused? Overwhelmed? Lost? Don’t worry!FAQs About Our DegreeSo, what is Liberal Arts? (For when your family members ask)

Liberal Arts is a multidisciplinary degree, a melting pot of the arts, humanities and languages that you pick and choose from to personalise your studies. You’ll be able to dip in and out, test, and experience different topics and studies each year both by choosing your modules/pathway and through the core modules of Lib Arts.

Who am I going to have classes with?

We make life complicated for the university's timetabling team. This is because we pop in and out of classes of different faculties. In your pathway and open units, you’ll find yourself amidst other students you’ve never met. In these units you will interact with those that do the pure degree (e.g. in an English unit, you’ll meet people doing just English, or English and Theatre/Spanish/History etc.) In your Liberal Arts core modules, you’ll meet the people you’ve been chatting with on Facebook! All of you will have different pathways and therefore different perspectives, laying the groundwork for lots of interesting discussions.

What societies should I join? Can I join my pathway’s society too?

You can join as many societies as your little fresher heart can handle. Whether it’s Film Soc or German Soc, you can give it a try either this year or any other year after that. It isn’t strange at all to join your pathway society;  all societies have different things to offer! Just make sure you leave time for yourself to go out there and find your atmosphere.

I want to join the Liberal Arts Creatives committee, can I?

Your committee team will be introduced shortly. Once they are, don’t be afraid to approach us with ideas you have or things you would like to improve. Whether it’s through email, private message or in person, let us know – we’re all ears! We are all learning how to make this society better together and all contributions are very welcome. Committee slots will open again later in the year.

I'm overwhelmed, I just need some guidance.

We’re a small programme, which means it’s very easy to relate to one another and become close. If you want to know more about the course, need to vent frustrations about it, just want to chat about our Committee and/or Liberal Arts in Bristol don’t hesitate to contact us, your Committee team. Don’t forget that your family and friends are also a support network and that the university also has services to help us out (whether it’s approaching your personal tutor or Student Wellbeing)

Written by Stephanie Kelly on behalf of the Liberal Arts Creatives team. Photos taken during a Liberal Arts social by Angela Ugarte.