Welcome to the course

Welcome to University and Your Future: Career Planning and Making the Most of Your Degree.

This course is about how you can make the most of your time at university. Our aim is to help you think positively about the breadth of your whole experience as a university student. In particular, we will show you that being a student is about more than just your degree; it’s about the many things you can do alongside your studies, and how these build a strong foundation for the future. We will encourage you to make the most of these other opportunities, and we will do this in the context of learning about yourself.

During the two weeks of this course, you will learn about your strengths – ones you may already know about, and ones less visible. We will investigate career theories in a practical way, including reflecting on what may have constrained and informed your decisions so far. We will hear from current and recent students about how they used their time at university, and what benefits they gained. We’ll also hear from employers about how your extra-curricular activities really make you stand out. You will also have the chance to create a portfolio, recording your learning and identifying practical steps to help you in career decision-making in the future.

Course learning outcomes

By the end of the course you should be able to:

• Reflect on your own strengths
• Apply some common career theories to your own context
• Evaluate ways to maximise your time before and during university to achieve your career goals
• Describe how a placement year and/or other employability activities can support career success
• Develop your own portfolio of activities to investigate your options for future decisions
• Create an action plan for personal and professional development.

Studying using FutureLearn

If this is the first FutureLearn course you have studied, you might find it useful to refer to the FutureLearn help page.

Communicating online

The course will lead you to reflect on and discuss choices that will be personal to you. It is important that we can do this together in a positive and supportive environment. Please remember to be courteous and to follow FutureLearn’s Code of Conduct.

Now you know more about the course, move to the next step to meet the Lead Educators and introduce yourself.