A message from Dr Edward Herring, Dean of The College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies:
“Arts graduates acquire a unique and flexible blend of skills that equip them for a variety of exciting careers. Let our graduates tell you how the BA put them on the path to success.”
Sinéad D’Arcy, Jameson Graduate Programme Manager – speaking about NUI Galway graduates:
“For the Jameson International Brand Ambassador Programme we look for graduates who are creative and innovative. Graduates who have a positive can-do attitude and an entrepreneurial spirit. Graduates of Arts degrees, such as that in NUI Galway, have this open-mindedness that lends itself naturally to creativity and innovation. The BA International is a particularly good fit for our International Brand Ambassador Programme as it offers students the opportunity to gain international experience through an overseas placement and also supports the development of students international language skills.”
Katie Finnegan – Radio Producer, Galway Bay FM
Degree: BA (Psychology and Information Technology)
“I am a producer on a three hour current affairs programme. This involves finding between 15/20 guests every day. It covers a broad range of local and national issues which affect the people of Galway. There is a broad mix of politics, live music and human interest stories, as well as the weekly regular contributors.
My BA gave me several useful skills that I can apply in my current job. To some people, my subject choice seemed like an odd one, Psychology and IT don’t exactly go hand-in-hand. However, much of my current work involves dealing with people and being someone for them to talk to. Almost every day, a sensitive issue will come to me and require sympathetic and discreet attention. Having taken Psychology this definitely prepared me for the issues I encounter on a daily basis. Information Technology was something that I really enjoyed and knew I wanted to take further. I learned how to build websites, create databases, learned about moral issues surrounding the internet, programming and much more. As well as being a producer I also look after the online content for Galway Bay FM. The undergraduate course in IT and subsequent studies in IT at a Masters level has been invaluable.”
Clodagh McDonagh, French teacher & Career Guidance Teacher, Wicklow – VEC
Degree: BA (French, Economics)
“I decided to study Arts in NUI Galway simply because they had the best offering in the country at the time in terms of subjects. There were a few careers I was interested in pursuing at the time but before I committed to one I wanted to study a few of the related disciplines at a broad level before I fully decided.
Even though schools are highly structured my own job is not and requires a lot of flexibility and patience and demands that you often change whatever plans you might make the day before sometimes at a minute’s notice if a child or large issue emerges. I work in a large community school with 645 students. I am the only Guidance Counsellor so it is busy but I really enjoy the pace and diversity of the role and I never notice the time passing. I teach most seniors from TY to 6th year. I will meet all of the students in the school at some or many stages of their school days. Issues I come across range from self harm, depression, eating disorders, students who want to leave school and we look at alternative provisions. I mainly link with parents, school management, teachers, students, colleges and psychological and counselling services on a daily basis. My degree was broad enough to lead me into social work, law, education and business so if I felt the need to move on to something entirely different thanks to my BA degree I am able to do so. It has been a passport for me in a lot of respects.”
Graduate Post 1: John Connolly, Primary School Teacher
BA (Economics, Sociology and Politics)
“I always wanted to attend NUI Galway. When I applied to do Arts at NUI Galway I wasn’t clear about which career path I might choose from the options available to me. Some people might say how did someone who studied Economics, Sociology and Politics come to be in a primary school classroom, but during my degree I started doing some volunteer work with really young children, particularly through sport, and I realised that I really enjoyed it.
The Arts degree was a solid foundation for me to be able to progress to postgraduate study in primary teaching. I felt strongly that my Arts degree had prepared me for a career working with people. In a day’s work, there is so much variety in the national school curriculum. An Arts degree is the perfect preparation for primary teaching. I think any Arts graduate who has studied any variety of Arts subjects and who wants to have a career in primary teaching will acquire all the skills and attributes necessary to become a teacher. Very often, Principals are looking for teachers who have a real variety of interests, qualifications and backgrounds. It takes all types of people to make a school function. Anyone coming out of University with an Arts degree has the transferable skills – self-motivation, collaborating on projects, and so on. These are skills that can be easily transferred into a teaching career.”
