{"id":333647,"date":"2026-03-07T10:54:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T10:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/333647\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T10:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T10:54:09","slug":"is-a-general-arts-degree-still-fit-for-purpose-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/333647\/","title":{"rendered":"Is a general arts degree still fit for purpose? \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI\u2019m convinced that the vast majority of my current students today will do jobs that don\u2019t even exist yet,\u201d says Prof Vittorio Bufacchi of University College Cork<\/a>\u2019s School of Society, Politics and Ethics. <\/p>\n

His comments come after the University of Galway<\/a> asked its academics to reimagine how arts courses are offered<\/a> amid a drop off in enrolment as students seek \u201cdirect routes to employment\u201d.<\/p>\n

Under the proposal, the college\u2019s bachelor of arts degree (GY101), which has 23 subject options, would be potentially replaced with \u201ccontemporary programmes designed to meet the learning needs of students<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Dr Kiran Sarma, vice dean for Education at the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies at the University of Galway, says: \u201cAs with all universities, we continually review and refine our curriculum to ensure our courses evolve alongside the changing needs of our students and society.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Bufacchi believes that to \u201cdiscontinue and replace general arts degrees feels like a drastic, disproportionate, knee-jerk reaction\u201d. <\/p>\n

The professor argues that, rather than pander to the perceived needs of employers, universities should give students a broader humanities foundation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAI<\/a> is in its infancy, and no one knows its full impact on the future labour market, but we expect it to be devastating,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo, the idea that universities should train our students for specific jobs, for the sake of offering \u2018direct routes to employment\u2019, is both absurd and ridiculous. The most important skill we can teach our students is the subtle art of thinking. Whatever they end up doing in their lives, the ability to think creatively and rigorously will stand them in good stead. That\u2019s what arts degrees offer, and that\u2019s why arts degrees are irreplaceable.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his view, the drop off in interest in arts degrees in Ireland is down to the prohibitive cost of study. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as I\u2019m concerned, the problem is not perceived lower occupational return, but perceived impossibility to afford three years at university. University fees in Ireland are very high compared to the rest of the EU<\/a>. In some countries like Germany there are no fees, and in other countries like France and Italy they are very low, only a few hundred euros,” he says. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0The Irish Times view on the future of the arts degree: Not ornamental but essentialOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cSecondly, the housing crisis<\/a>. The cost of student accommodation<\/a> in Ireland is shocking, and prohibitive for many students. Being a student has become a luxury that too many students cannot afford, especially those students not living in urban centres, or coming from large families.” <\/p>\n

Bufacchi concludes: \u201cAn arts degree is invaluable, inestimable and priceless. The humanities form the backbone of any society, and we need arts students more than ever today.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesman for the University of Galway stressed that the university is not proposing to discontinue general arts degrees. \u201cThere will always be a general Arts degree,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe academics in the College, who teach and research in the Arts, have been asked for ideas and options as to how general arts might be provided if it were redesigned.\u201d <\/p>\n

He said that, as part of normal academic planning, a long-term curriculum review has been undertaken in the University\u2019s College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies. \u201cThis is a forward-looking process designed to ensure that Arts education remains intellectually rigorous, relevant, and responsive to evolving student and societal needs. Part of this is an exploration of options to revise Arts programmes to meet changing demand and demographics.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be no changes to any undergraduate Arts programmes before 2028 at the earliest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aoife Burke, based in Galway, who completed a four-year arts degree in English and journalism from University of Galway in 2023 as a mature student at the age of 36, says that she believes it \u201ccould be positive that they are restructuring arts degrees\u201d. <\/p>\n

She is a freelance writer, who has recently completed a Tefl course to teach English as a second language.<\/p>\n

In terms of reimagining the courses, Burke said that greater opportunities for remote learning would be appreciated as she believes the cost of attending college in person is prohibitive for many students.<\/p>\n

\"AoifeAoife Burke with her dog Milo at her home in Galway. Photograph: Joe O”Shaughnessy <\/p>\n

\u201cEven attending the college \u2013 I found the cost of eating there was so expensive. College is expensive as well. There\u2019s this idea of a return on your investment because it\u2019s so expensive,\u201c she says. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou really have to think where you want to be at the end of your course. In the past you could say, \u2018I can decide when I am finished,\u2019 but now you need to know when you start where you want to end up.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can see that in fields relating to Stem [science, technology, engineering and maths] degrees you get paid more, but I think if you are good at teaching or law you should do arts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burke plans to study a master\u2019s in writing in the University of Galway, with hopes to complete a PhD in writing as well. \u201cI think with an arts degree you need to do a master\u2019s of some sort just to specialise because there\u2019s so much competition out there.\u201d <\/p>\n

Mary Gillen, a retired teacher in Staffordshire, England, but originally from Sligo, feels conflicted about the arts degree she was conferred with.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I had my time over, I would not choose to do a general arts degree,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"MaryMary Gillen has some regrets about choosing to do an arts degree <\/p>\n

While Gillen credits her BA International degree in English and German from what was then known as NUIG, as being \u201cvery beneficial\u201d and \u201can advantage in life in terms of being a well-informed individual,\u201d she feels that she made \u201call the wrong choices along the way due to lack of career advice and exposure to possibilities\u201d. <\/p>\n

She studied English, history, German and psychology in first year and said that for \u201cimpulsive reasons\u201d she decided to specialise in English and German. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am very much in favour of language qualifications generally and certainly never regretted achieving my own in German, but I do regret having sacrificed a core part of my degree and the associated career opportunities in history in which I was demonstrating aptitude in order to gain that language qualification. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt would have been more advantageous to have had the option to add a language to a more specific degree by completing an extra year of immersive study in the language rather than giving 50 per cent of the full degree over to the language,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

From a working-class background, Gillen says that, \u201cI believe that a big part of the problem in my time was a lack of good career advice and general support for students from less advantaged backgrounds. I think that overall a more specific course would have served me better \u2013 an English and history degree, or a literature-only degree.\u201d<\/p>\n

After completing her degree in 2000, she worked in hospitality jobs in Germany earning modest wages before eventually returning to complete a master\u2019s degree. \u201cI did go back to university in Galway a decade later, as a single parent, and did really well in a master\u2019s in International Contemporary Literature and Media. I loved the course and was proud to have set that example for my son, but even with the MA under my belt, I was still forced to make the choice for us to emigrate. <\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps the key to success, lies in reimagining rather than replacing,\u201d she suggests.<\/p>\n

Guidance counsellor Donnchadh O\u2019Mahony welcomes the \u201creimagining\u201d of the traditional arts degree. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am an arts graduate myself. I do think arts degrees are employable, but they have to evolve,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

He particularly praises the Maynooth University bachelor of arts degree (MH101), where students can test out as many of the 32 subjects as they want for the first four weeks, before choosing two, three or four subjects to complete in their first year.<\/p>\n

Students also have the option of transferring out of this module to other undergraduate degrees such as law, computer science and business, provided they pass certain modules.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuidance counsellors love it because they love that flexibility,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

In fact, in spite of the perceived sustained decline in interest in arts degrees, the Maynooth degree, according to O\u2019Mahony, is the most popular degree on the Central Applications Office, the organisation responsible for overseeing undergraduate applications third-level institutions in Ireland. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou can see that arts is not the issue,\u201d the guidance counsellor says, citing the 1,750 students who enrolled in the course in 2025.<\/p>\n

\"GuidanceGuidance counsellor Donnchadh O Mahony: ‘There aren\u2019t too many degrees where immediate returns are guaranteed.’ Photograph: Alan Betson <\/p>\n

He also praises the University of Limerick Pathways BA, which requires students to select one of four career-orientated \u201cpathway\u201d options, and 15 transferable skills modules, along with an extended eight-month work placement. <\/p>\n

Another degree he highlights is TU Dublin\u2019s new liberal arts-style degree where students will have 18 months before they declare their major subject. The first year of the degree will welcome students in September 2026. <\/p>\n

O\u2019Mahony, who runs an Instagram page titled @leavingcertguidance<\/a>, suggests that universities should offer an arts degree with as much choice as possible, with a handful of core modules that demonstrate skills for employers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would suggest that Irish universities offer three compulsory modules; maybe one in digital and AI literacy, one in data interpretation and one in sustainability. <\/p>\n

\u201cPreviously, arts graduates would go into employers and say I have communications skills, I have research skills, but none of this was measurable to employers. They were just going on the word of the arts graduate. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut I do think that on the transcript now, they must pick modules with transferable skills that have been tested.\u201d <\/p>\n

He adds that concern about direct employability straight out of an arts degree is misplaced.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere aren\u2019t too many degrees where immediate returns are guaranteed. Even engineering degrees have an integrated master\u2019s, a lot of computer science courses have an integrated masters. If you look at medicine, really you are not qualified when you finish your degree. There\u2019s more years of training and specialisation. You can do a degree in accountancy, but there\u2019s still loads of exams to do after that. Same with actuary. <\/p>\n

\u201cAll of those degrees where you talk about \u2018I know what my career is going to be afterwards\u2019: it doesn\u2019t mean immediate returns. You\u2019ve a step in the right place. Most careers are like that.\u201d<\/p>\n