University course flexibility ‘working’ for students

A university which has reduced the number of specialised entry courses says the positive response shows it has been a good move for students.

Maynooth University (MU) offers arts students a wider choice of subjects in first year, rather than restricting themselves to very specific paths in their Central Applications Office (CAO) forms.

MU said 58% of the 1,364 students who began arts degrees last autumn chose to pursue a wider range of studies. This allowed them to take up to four different subjects in first year, one more than in the past, before narrowing down to two from second year onward.