Can I change my mind about my course?

Starting university is a fun but sometimes scary experience. Your first few months are often a whirlwind of making new friends, joining sports clubs or societies, and struggling to find the time to complete your first assignment.

However, what happens if you realise you’re not enjoying your course after everyone else has settled in? Perhaps it’s not what you expected, or you’re falling behind your course mates? If this sounds like you, you might wonder if changing courses is a possibility.

If you are not happy with your current course, one option may be to transfer to a different degree course. Another possibility is to transfer from one university to a different one altogether. This is a different process to an internal transfer, and would involve making an application to prospective new institutions and requesting to transfer credits already achieved.

Before you apply to transfer to another programme of study it is essential that you get advice and understand all the implications. You should talk with your supervisor in the first instance, and may also find it helpful to talk with a Student Adviser about the financial implications of transferring.

Things to consider

• Your current academic standing and transfer requirements
• Academic impact
• Timing
• Student finance
• Accommodation.

Repeat study

If you are transferring to a course with similar modules, you will be expected to avoid repeat study, for example, by taking elective modules instead of modules you’ve taken previously. We would suggest that you discuss this with your new department.

Transferring to a different course at the same university or college

It may be possible to transfer to a different course at the same university or college. You should research an alternative course, and reflect on these questions to guide your thought process.

• Are there spaces on the new course?
• Do you meet the entry requirements for the course you want to transfer to?
• Would the departments involved agree to you transferring?
• When can you transfer?

Remember, talking to your supervisor about your thoughts is the most important thing you can do as they will know how to guide you.

Over to you

How important is it to speak to your academic supervisor about your progress at university? How might they be able to help you? In what ways does this help build valuable skills for the workplace later on?