Joint degrees give students headstart

STUDENTS are finding a new way to get the education they want without being forced to adapt to a course that does not meet their needs: they have opted for joint degrees (bi-licences) or double degrees (double cursus), which give a wider scope and more marketable skills.

Joint courses, such as law and language or business and language, marry two complementary subjects and create a cohesive timetable that gives students flexibility as well as a breathing space in which to decide their future career direction.

So far, 30 joint degrees are being offered across France in 12 universities and they have proved popular.

Students have said that the selection process is very harsh, but, with 4,500 sitting the language test at Paris X Nanterre for the law-language joint degree and only 80-120 getting through depending on the chosen language, it is an in-demand combination.

The joint degree can bring massive benefits, with law firms desperate for lawyers who know Russian or German law and are bilingual.

Students who opt for the double cursus have to be sure they can cope with the double workload that it involves, but the benefit is that, at the end of their time at university, they have two degrees – and many different directions for their careers.

Paris-X and Paris-I universities pioneered the moves and Paris-X-Nanterre head of studies Cornelius Crowley, told Le Figaro they were just catching up with other countries, where the joint or double degree was relatively common.

Paris-I (Panthéon-Sorbonne) president Jean-Claude Colliard said the entrance requirements were strict because the courses were difficult and only the brightest and most motivated of students could get through.