It has sparked fierce debate on university campuses for decades: which degree subjects require the most work? But now researchers have conclusively proved what many have suspected for years – students of media studies, business and social studies do much less work than other undergraduates, reported by Sarah Cassidy in the Independent.
Scientists, engineers and medics spend all day in the laboratory while historians and philosophers have less than half the number of lectures of an engineer.
Arts and humanities students have always argued that they make up for their lack of lectures by putting in long hours in the library doing private study. However, researchers from the Higher Education Policy Institute found that this is not usually true. Overall, taking into account both teaching and private study, the humanities and social sciences required less effort than other subjects.
Students of mass communications, which includes media studies, get away with an average of less than 20 hours of total study a week, with business studies undergraduates putting in only slightly more work.
By contrast, students of medicine and dentistry spend an average of 35.2 hours a week studying, followed by trainee vets, who work 33.2 hours a week.