UKC

Is there such a thing as a degree in rock climbing, I heard that someone did a degree in David beckham??..

In reply to herman0055:

http://www.cumbria.ac.uk/Courses/Subjects/ForestryOutdoor/Undergraduate/Out...

This is probably the closest.

In reply to Jack_Lewin: many thanks Jack

In reply to Jack_Lewin: I'm at cumbria uni currently, if anyone is thinking of coming here, don't. It's shit.

In reply to mrj_langley:

Im currently looking at something like that, care to explain why its shit? cheers jack

In reply to herman0055: I imagine there are several out there already.

Things like degrees in david beckham are normally post grad research, so something like david beckham and his influence on modern culture, rather than an undergrad just being realy good at david beckham. In this respect you could do a degree in pretty much anything. Generally they are interesting observations in to society our modern life, however if you edit the daily mail they are also useful for trying to create an illusion that modern degrees are all pointless.

I expect there is a variety of similar climbing research out there, or at least stuff related to rocks and climbing. But it won't necessarily be related to outdoors study courses.

In reply to herman0055:

Stan Lowe was standing in the car park of Ogwen Cottage when Joe Brown dropped in to have a chat. Stan said " you see the kids on the course this week Joe , their doing O level rock climbing, so I suppose that makes me a head teacher". To which Joe said " if your a head teacher Stan , then I'm the professor" . I suppose he's right.

In reply to herman0055: st martins college in Ambleside did a degree in outdoor education BSc. So did Liverpool John Moores but I'm pretty sure that one is finishing.

In reply to herman0055:

When i was learning some early rope work techniques i looked on youtube. a lot of climbing skills videos were submited as part of some sport science degree at bangor university.
Then again i could spot the faults in what some of them were saying so it doesn't shed a good light on it.

In reply to mrj_langley:
Agree! Utter shite. The only good thing was I got to spend three years in the lakes.

In reply to herman0055: Don't got cumbria
Proper shite
Unless you are joining in september which means you get 3 years in ambleside, i have spent the 1st year stuck at penrith (fyi shithole)
The clubs don't really run or are non excesitant, the paddle club is the most "active" but they don't really run many trips and even day ones are a facebook affair, the caving club has only just restarted, with all outdoor course's being run from ambleside for the full 3 years things my actually improve within the uni, but i still would look around before deciding to go to cumbria
planning to see if i can transfer to University of Higlands and Islands to do Adventure Toursim management instead, that would mean being based in fort william although i have no complaints about that what with the amount of climbing and stout rivers in the area

I don't really get these sort of degrees these days. Given the huge amount of debt / living expenses I can't really see what you get out of it that you couldn't obtain elsewhere. If you are passionate for a career in the outdoors, I would have thought getting a job as a lacky at an outdoor centre or doing specific qualifications more practical. You won't come out with a recognised academic degree (i.e. history) nor would you come out with a degree understood by any mainstream employer.

And to the chap whinging about the lack of club activity in Ambleside. This generally isn't a problem at the larger unis. I never did more climbing in my life than when at Aston Uni.

In reply to herman0055:

i'm doing a degree in not having a degree.

Been doing it for 30 years now.

Its quite easy really.

In reply to EeeByGum:

Many of the degrees will be employer lead (including the one that I am currently doing) and become the minimum requirement for entry into the sector. I am a time served tradesman with loads of vocational qualifications, but many job descriptions for roles I am/was qualified for now require a degree. It's just another way of devaluing the system and binning 5000 of the 6000 applications for a job without reading them.

In reply to EeeByGum: I'm currently doing an NC Course in Outdoor Adventure which although doesn't give me a degree and a shit load of debt at the end of it, this course and next years will give me a few NGB's and training in them which will look a bit better when applying for a position at an outdoor center.

To the OP, UHI run an Adventure Tourism Management degree course based in Fort William, and you wouldn't go far wrong with partners and places to climb up this way.

In reply to Martin1978:

+1

In reply to herman0055: In the grand scheme of things the MIA is equivalent to a degree in rock climbing. Much better to spend £27k on gaining the experience to go for that.

In reply to herman0055: I never said i was ambleside based
I said i have been based for my 1st year in Penrith, However i am moving to ambleside in September for my 2nd and 3rd years, the handy thing about the degree is you can use to eventually go into teaching after you have finished

In reply to EeeByGum:

Oh aye, when was that? (01-05)

In reply to DaveN:

Exactly, but the tabloid press seize on this and it becomes common understanding.

A 2 minute Google found this on Wikipedia:

"In 2000, Staffordshire University was mocked as providing 'David Beckham Studies' because it provided a module on the sociological importance of football to students taking sociology, sports science or media studies.[4] A professor for the department stressed that the course would not focus on Beckham, and that the module examines "the rise of football from its folk origins in the 17th century, to the power it's become and the central place it occupies in British culture, and indeed world culture, today."

So a module, not even a whole degree, on the 'sociological importance of football' got twisted into a David Beckham degree.

In reply to yorkshireman: That doesn't give the Daily Sun readers something to complain about though does it...