Kate Bruton - Politics and History

 By the time the CAO applications were being filled out in 6th year, I knew what I was putting down as my top choice. I had gone to many different college Open Days and was trying to find a course that offered me a broad selection of options. UCD was the only college at the time that would let me do History and Politics. I knew from the advice I had gotten during my Leaving Cert that I should choose the subject over the college, and though I had to commute an hour every day to college, UCD and my course have been worth it.

In your first year of the degree, you get an excellent introduction into both programmes, with lectures covering a range of subjects. This introduction helps to narrow down your field of interest for topics you would like to continue in your following years in the University. Another great opportunity is the elective modules that you can take. You can take up topics within your degree or something entirely different. Alternatively, if you want to add to your degree, you can take structured electives in a language, social justice or more. I liked having the freedom to choose electives in subjects that closely reflected my diverse interests.

In the years following first year, you start to specify within your subjects. The lectures begin to get smaller as people narrow in on the topics they are interested in. This means that you can start to develop closer relationships with your lecturers, tutors and fellow students. I like that within both of my subjects, and I was able to start looking globally, studying topics like the American Civil War, Australian History, Political Activism in the Middle East and Latin American Politics. The lecturers in every subject are brilliant as they are up to date with current research within their disciplines. Though you might not like all the modules that you study, they usually are only for a semester and help you to focus further on where your interests lie in the subject field.

Another big part of UCD is social life. While you will make friends in your course, you also can take part in many societies and clubs that are offered. UCD's societies have something for everyone, from Harry Potter to Juggling, UCD Volunteers Abroad to Horse Racing and more. I have enjoyed being a member of the L&H from the start of first year. Every society puts on events during the year, which are usually accompanied by free food, and trips away. Being a member of different societies has helped me to expand my group of friends to include people in all the other programmes throughout UCD. The societies and clubs help to connect the big campus and give a sense of community.

UCD has a lot of facilities to help students along in their journey. Being dyslexic, certain parts of college have been more challenging than others. The UCD Access Centre has been fantastic giving me added supports for exams, such as extra time and a computer. Similarly, the Career Development Centre has been incredibly supportive in helping me think of life after UCD. I signed up for a Mentor Programme and was given a Mentor in the field of work that I want to go into. His advice has been invaluable in helping me decide what I want to do after UCD and ways that I can get there.

As for after UCD, I'm currently planning on going into foreign affairs, possibly looking at a career in Diplomacy. However, I might want to do a masters first, in which case, UCD has plenty of opportunities to offer me. If I decide to study somewhere else, I know that I have an excellent school for my undergraduate degree under my belt. Nevertheless, the exciting thing about my degree and the programmes here in UCD is that I have endless options and opportunities afforded to me, so I don't have to be definite on what I want to do when I grow up just yet.