Sydney uni rant #238
One of the most disappointing things for me this semester is that I am forced to do Criminology and drop Public International Law. To be honest, I have absolutely no interest in criminology, and very little in jurisprudence in general. It’s not because I’m intellectually opposed to jurisprudential theory. I just don’t have the sociological/philosophical grounding to appreciate it. For me, studying jurisprudence is like a blind man listening to a gallery curator describe a painting. I can hear and understand everything she’s saying about the difference between Modernism and Post-Modernism, but I can’t engage with the painting myself, nor can I try to paint a picture myself. In other words, interesting, but utterly useless.
What makes it worse is that I am forced to drop Public International Law to do Criminology, because the degree structure requires at least one jurisprudence subject – Criminology being one – and I need to do it now if I go on exchange next year. Public International Law is actually interesting to me, and probably the subject I have been most looking forward to in this degree. Now, chances are I won’t ever get to do it.
I understand the rationale behind the Jurisprudence requirement in a law degree. What I don’t understand is why they want to pretend they are offering a comprehensive education when it is anything but. To parrot Howard, it’s about choice, the freedom to choose. If I choose to learn nothing but black letter law with the odd dash of human rights, then I should be free to – just as another person who wants to do six units of jurisprudence is currently able to.
But then, the Sydney law program is much better structured than anything the E+B (Economics and Business) faculty can cough up, a fact of which I was painfully reminded during the investment banking interviews. I realised that, whereas 3 1/2 years of law has given me a reasonably comprehensive understanding of major areas of law, commerce has given me zilch. Up until 3 weeks ago, I had no idea what free cash flow was, or the difference between EV/EBITDA versus P/E, and the haziest idea about weighted average cost of capital. The problem there is that there’s too much choice – and no guidance from the faculty as to how you should make those choices. The problem is exacerbated for double degree students, who are restricted to doing one subject per major in their other degree — so you can’t do both Mergers & Acquisitions and Derivative Securities; and yet you have to do Trading and Dealing – probably the least educational of all finance subjects. The Finance pre-Honours program is even more of a joke. You get taught by a Horrible Creature from Outer Space, who marks on a whim and spends most of the class ranting against successful investment banks. Not a sight to inspire confidence in the honours program.
So kids, don’t be fooled by their so-called “international accreditations”. Do your commerce degree at UNSW.
One thing I hate about the law degree is that the popular subjects have a limit on enrolment numbers (so I hear anyway) – this is another example of it being unfair that some get to do what they want, and others are forced to take something they have no interest in. If Sydney Law School is so prestigious, its students should be allowed every opportunity to make use of the wonderful teaching that there is.
Yep, although the waiting list wasn’t too much of a hassle for me. I enrolled in both Criminology and Public International Law – both oversubscribed waiting list subjects – even though I applied only a couple of days before semester started. The trick is… On second thought I’ll tell you the trick by email
oh, thanks for the tip! Why, I would never have worked out that you needed to give the Law School receptionists red bean rice cakes to get the subjects you wanted!
i HOPE HOPE HOPE that I can do Law and Economics as my jurisprudence subject. It was not offered this year which is worrying.
Frankly I think the B in E+B needs to be spun off into its own business school. A Commerce education has no place at university IMHO :p