{"id":23099,"date":"2020-11-06T05:00:36","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T05:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/?p=23099"},"modified":"2020-11-06T12:58:38","modified_gmt":"2020-11-06T12:58:38","slug":"the-alternative-to-erasmus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/the-alternative-to-erasmus\/","title":{"rendered":"The Alternative to Erasmus"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Shannon Sweeney.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some of you are doing a degree that includes compulsory Erasmus.<\/p>\n

From day one everyone will tell you it\u2019s one of the most important experiences of university.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, some of you won\u2019t be able to go; life happens, and things don\u2019t always go to plan.<\/p>\n

In my case, it was one of the best things that ever happened.<\/p>\n

I am now an MA student in Community Research plus Journalism and I work in customer support with marketing as well as freelance content writing.<\/p>\n

My undergraduate degree was in psychology and sociology.<\/p>\n

In autumn 2018 I was due to study in Mannheim, Germany.<\/p>\n

There had been a lot going on at home the previous year and it just wasn\u2019t possible for me to go.<\/p>\n

After a short application to the academic committee from my department, it was decided I would stay.<\/p>\n

At UL when you don\u2019t do Erasmus, you choose five modules that you wouldn\u2019t do on your course.<\/p>\n

They may be on the same subject as your degree, but they don\u2019t have to be.<\/p>\n

Whatever you choose is graded on a pass or fail basis and doesn\u2019t impact your QCA.<\/p>\n

Everyone around me, including one of my lecturers advised me to choose subjects I was curious about.<\/p>\n

I chose:<\/p>\n