University Courses - Anything Goes - Other topics not covered elsewhere - Tartan Army Message Board Jump to content

Recommended Posts

one of the kids has just finished 2nd year at uni (one resit to do...) he was doing mechanical engineering but it looks like he doesnt want to continue this course,can he use this 2 years to transfer to another course even if it is completely different ie Bus studies or something like that.

thanks for any help

Link to comment
Share on other sites

one of the kids has just finished 2nd year at uni (one resit to do...) he was doing mechanical engineering but it looks like he doesnt want to continue this course,can he use this 2 years to transfer to another course even if it is completely different ie Bus studies or something like that.

thanks for any help

The university will have to make a decision on what credits are transferable. If they're compatible they will transfer them across. I don't know what ones would be though, depends on each course.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK cheers ,just have to see what he wants to do first and take it from there ,thanks

Loads of undergraduates switch courses so i imagine the mechanism will be there for it, just a case of doing the red-tape.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why does he want to change? Really needs to think long and hard about it - engineering is a more employable degree than business. Some of the business degrees are absolute crap.

How much you can transfer might be different depending on where he's studying and what degrees are available via which faculty. If desperately wants to do business, some unis offer engineering and business joint degrees.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd suggest they contact their current department and potential new department as soon as possible to see if it's feasible as they'll get better guidance from the university than you will get on here. Though I would also suggest that they work on a justification for why they want to change as they'll need to make a case as to why the new department should accept them and also talk to the current department as a they'll be asked for a reference of sorts.

FYI here's the guidance from Strathclyde University.

Students wishing to transfer should aim to gather as much information as they can about their options, the classes available in other Faculties and the areas covered by these classes. They should make contact with Class Co-ordinators (information on Class Co-ordinators available in Class Catalogue - and Advisers of Studies . It is important to note that the majority of transfer decisions will depend on degree examination performance and will not be finalised until after the August diet of examinations.

Students interested in applying for transfer into a different course within their own Department should liaise with their Adviser and if approved the Department should email the appropriate faculty email box giving the details of the transfer eg new course and session effect from.

Students interested in applying for a transfer into a course outwith their Department or Faculty should contact the Department which offers the course and make initial enquiries as to the acceptability of their qualifications. An can be downloaded or collected from Student Business. This form should be completed and given to the new Department for approval and submitted to Student Business for processing.

Faculty of HASS transfers requests require a further approval by the Faculty but this process will be undertaken by Student Business and the student will be informed of the outcome.

The Student should also notify the relevant Local Education Authority or grant awarding body of the change of course and the student should also contac the Department they are leaving to inform them of the transfer.

And from the Strathclyde Students Association

Internal Course Transfers:
If you want to stay at Strathclyde but change courses you first need to decide what course you’d like to move to. You can get information on other courses from the University’s website. You should probably also speak to a tutor or course coordinator for the class to check that the course is definitely what you’re expecting it be, they might even let you sit in on a couple of classes to get a feel for it. More importantly they will be able to tell you if you have the qualifications to join the class and if there is room for you to join. You may also want to speak to your Advisor of Studies to get their advice on your options.

While internal transfers between departments are not unusual you need to be prepared for the fact that you might have to reapply through UCAS to get a place on your new course. Even if you are deciding to change early on, this may mean having to start the new course the following academic year. This will be increasingly likely, as the number of students applying to University has risen sharply, and courses are often fully subscribed for that year.

If you are given the go ahead to transfer internally then the process is quite simple: you write a letter to the Head of Department requesting to transfer to the course you have decided on (some Faculties use a form instead of a letter); you should then obtain a curriculum change form from Registry, deleting all your old classes and enter all the new ones; finally, you will then have to get the form signed by your new Advisor of Studies and possibly your old one, giving you permission to transfer. A lot of this part of the process will be done by Registry who will also help point you in the right direction to make sure everything gets done.

During this time you may choose to continue studying your old classes until you know for sure you are changing, or you may ask to attend your prospective classes while your transfer is processed so that if it is accepted you won’t have fallen behind. You must keep your funding body up to date with any changes to your studies.

Hope this helps

Edited by Larky Masher
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The maths modules from engineering from first year might transfer depending on the requirement of the business course, some have math modules.

If I think back to the dim and distant past of my engineering degree - electrical rather than mechanical - then the maths was on a par with an applied maths degree. I'm sure it would be way in advance of anything you'd do in a business degree.

Just to clarify. The maths we did was at a maths degree standard but was restricted what was required for the core course, e.g. calculus required for electrical theory and that sort of stuff.

Edited by aaid
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I think back to the dim and distant past of my engineering degree - electrical rather than mechanical - then the maths was on a par with an applied maths degree. I'm sure it would be way in advance of anything you'd do in a business degree.

Depends if it incorporates statistics and/or economics. Economics make use of a lot of matrices... i think. you might be right though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Way in advance of a business degree in terms of the mathematical element, absolutely, but degrees in a business school are far more varied than maths, particularly in years 1-3. Done a finance degree and maths hardly got a look in.

As others have said, speak to the current department, they will have people transfer often, and try to understand common exit paths.

And of course, understand why he wants to leave and what he wants to do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

one of the kids has just finished 2nd year at uni (one resit to do...) he was doing mechanical engineering but it looks like he doesnt want to continue this course,can he use this 2 years to transfer to another course even if it is completely different ie Bus studies or something like that.

thanks for any help

It will depend on the regulations and ordinances of the degree. The degree regs will set out the mandatory modules and you generally can't graduate without competing the mandatory modules. Any credits from the Engineering degree should count towards the overall degree credits meaning that the would count as electives. There is also the issue of prerequisite modules on any other degree programme that he is transferring in to.

He should have an advisor of studies allocated to him. It would be best for him to discuss the options with them and also the relevant student experience\ registry staff.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest flumax

As someone who is a STEM ambassador trying to encourage science, technology, engineering, mathematics study,this is sad to hear.

As others have said, change is possible, depends to what and where.

The big question is why. Too hard? Who's saying something different would be " easier ", not enjoying it? What's saying he would enjoy something more? Job prospects, well see http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/10146038/Graduate-jobs-top-12-degree-subjects-for-getting-a-job.html(note doesn't say what a job is, a receptionist or telesales clerk on minimum wage is a job)

But university is about exploring who you are and learning about life in a soft Environment. If he's paying for it, let him explore his options but talk to careers dept administrators before making the decision. Better to do something you want to do, than bit do it through fear of change." Regret the things you do, not the things you don't do " type of idea

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Engineering is bollocks.

Might be a problem if he is at the end of second year rather than end of first. In my eee at strathclyde they took in loads of fee paying arabs and norwegians for third year and i think swung the axe at home students. I just slipped in but sometimes wish I'd bombed out and done some other pish.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

buiness degrres are too generic - should stick wtith mechanical engineering - better regarded degree

a lot of companies dont judge what you studied - ie KPWG/E&Y etc will recruit people with History/Geography degrees as long as its a good honours, and they will train you

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As someone who is a STEM ambassador trying to encourage science, technology, engineering, mathematics study,this is sad to hear.

As others have said, change is possible, depends to what and where.

The big question is why. Too hard? Who's saying something different would be " easier ", not enjoying it? What's saying he would enjoy something more? Job prospects, well see http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/10146038/Graduate-jobs-top-12-degree-subjects-for-getting-a-job.html(note doesn't say what a job is, a receptionist or telesales clerk on minimum wage is a job)

But university is about exploring who you are and learning about life in a soft Environment. If he's paying for it, let him explore his options but talk to careers dept administrators before making the decision. Better to do something you want to do, than bit do it through fear of change." Regret the things you do, not the things you don't do " type of idea

Thanks for all the advice folks, I mentioned moving to a business degree but only used that as an example,I'm trying to guide him towards something that he can use the 2 years in,ie stay in a technological field,although mech eng is decent enuff he doesn't want to work in Aberdeen which I agree with I've told them all to get the f**k out as soon as they can......I've one other down in Motherwell and he'd rather stay there than come home.....although I think that's because its so close to Glasgow

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...


×
×
  • Create New...