T2G: Transition to Glasgow
Starting university can be a daunting task. New courses, new study, new friends, new subjects, new ways of learning. This task is even more daunting when coming into a world of ‘online’, ‘blended’, ‘synchronous’, ‘asynchronous’ teaching.
This year, for the first year ever, the University of Glasgow will offer our new, incoming first-year undergraduates a unique course that will help prepare them for starting their studies here with us. This course, called T2G: Transition to Glasgow, will allow our new first years the opportunity to start their studies before they start their studies.
A few weeks before semester starts, all our undergraduates will be able to complete a fully online course. The course has some core modules: students will be taught about some of the fundamentals of study, research and analysis in the Arts and Social Sciences (CoSS) or the underlying principles of scientific investigation, scientific analysis and experimentation for students coming into Science and Engineering (CoSE) or Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences (MVLS).
On top of these core modules, students can pick from a range of optional elective modules. These electives will be the place for students to put into action all the things they’re learning in their core modules.
For the electives, students can pick whatever subjects they’re interested in. The electives have been built, designed and will be taught by researchers and lecturers working in the field.
Whether Arts and Social Science students want to discover more about the American Declaration of Independence, the ways in which Donald Trump’s use of language has changed modern politics, the role of metaphor in understanding how we respond to health, the perception of Joan d’Arc in medieval- and modern-times, film censorship and what it means, or the role of the environment and sustainability in health there’s something for them to pick.
For CoSE and MVLS students, there are electives to investigate and solve murder using laboratory analysis, modern approaches to medical imaging, the health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the psychology of building social robots, an introduction to statistics, and the uses of biotechnology in the modern world.
Students will get to work in large lectures and small group seminars/tutorials. They’ll also have a short essay/report to complete as part of the course. This will allow them to get feedback on their work before their first essays – and it will also mean that they’ve completed the compulsory writing course, AWSP, before their first day of semester!
Outside of the study, students will also be able to take part in a variety of social events and activities. Think of it as a mini trial-run of Freshers’ Week before the full Freshers’ Week hits.
This course has never been run like this before, but we all hope that it’ll be a fantastic way to introduce our new students to what life at Glasgow is like – and to give them the best, most fun start to their studies!
Find out more about T2G on the T2G website.
Written by Dr Andrew Struan, Writing and Study Skills Co-ordinator