Why LANS?
Before stumbling upon the Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences website, I did not know degrees such as LANS existed in the UK. During my application to universities, I thought I was facing an impossible choice, as I enjoyed two of my A-levels equally. The flexibility of LANS offered the answer to my main struggle – instead of narrowing down my interest to a single discipline before even attempting its study on a higher level, I was able to tailor my module choices to my interests by combining modules from different departments and courses.
While selecting the modules, I received incredible support from my personal tutor and other LANS academics. We discussed potential module choices relevant to my major, and how they intertwine with my interests. Everyone has been very friendly and helpful, which made my transition into university a seamless process. The people I met also played a major role in my choice – I cannot recommend going to Open Days more! The excitement and curiosity of students and staff, as well as the openness and inclusivity of the community were visible at a glance.
A few words about LANS majors
What is a major? What is the difference between majoring in a subject while studying LANS, and doing a degree in that subject? Simply put, majoring in a subject means doing a significant proportion of your modules in a single discipline, but not necessarily all of them. A major is your “focus point”, but as a LANS student, you still choose other modules outside your major to complement your studies. This allows you to implore both the breadth of the topics and the in-depth knowledge of your specialty.
Before we jump into my journey, one more note about majors – a LANS student does not have to major in a single discipline. It is also possible to change majors. I just happen to have a well-defined major, so I will tell you a bit more about my specific pathway in LANS.
Double majoring in LANS
I have a double major in Physics and Computer Science, which means my studies are composed of those two disciplines in a roughly equal amount. For instance, I can do laboratory experiments in the morning and attend a tutorial about Artificial Intelligence in the afternoon. Alternatively, I can brainstorm with my Computer Science teammates how to write a game bot or defend a website from hackers, then rush off to a lecture about quantum physics. In the LANS part of my degree, I learn how to use my knowledge by reconciling different disciplinary perspectives and conducting interdisciplinary research. There are many jobs and research topics which lie on the intersection of the two, so I hope to have a future career in one of such fields.
Life as an international student
Before coming to the University of Birmingham, I have never lived in the UK nor spent a substantial amount of time here. Naturally, there was a small culture shock associated with the local university life. Walking for the first time through a large, self-contained campus, hiking on nearby hills, or participating in a pub quiz were all new experiences to me. So was the reduced distance between students and staff – I was amazed how approachable everyone was, and how many activities are catered to all members of the University, undergraduates, graduates, researchers, and lecturers alike. This atmosphere certainly made me feel at home.
Additionally, the UK – especially Birmingham – is much more diverse than my hometown, which creates wonderful opportunities for cultural exchange. I participated in multilingual conversation meetups, ate food from each continent, joined the University Chinese New Year celebrations, and many more.
A few pieces of advice
LANS students all study an interdisciplinary degree. However, our motivations are very diverse! Some of my friends chose LANS because they wanted to explore as many options as possible in their first years. Some, like me, had already identified a few specific areas of interest, and wanted an education combining them all. Lastly, some were somewhat in between – they had one area in mind but wanted to explore beyond it as well.
When applying to different universities and courses, try to write down all the things that interest you – school subjects and hobbies alike, without restricting yourself to particular degree names. Then, try to think about them for a bit. Why do you enjoy them all? What do they have in common? Are they very similar to each other or broadly distributed? Can you find elements of one in another? Can you group them somehow? It is a great exercise before writing your personal statement. Perhaps having done so, you may picture yourself as a LANS student, or come to another important realisation which has never occurred to you before.