Sophister Modules FAQ
What term does the course take place in?
When selecting Sophister modules, please note whether the course you are interested in is a Michaelmas term only (MT) course; a yearlong course (YL) or Hilary term only course (HT) and choose accordingly. If you are enrolling as a yearlong or Hilary term student, you must be here for the April-end of May exam period.
How Many Sophister Modules Can I Take?
You can do a maximum of 2 Sophister courses (this restriction applies to yearlong students as well). It is not possible to take half of a yearlong course if you are here for one term only. If you indicated on your application form that you only wanted to take one Sophister module, you will not be able to subsequently add another to your list of chosen modules.
Who Can Take Sophister Modules?
You will only be allowed to take Sophister modules in the School of English if this request has been pre-approved by us in advance of your arrival. Due to pressure on class sizes there can be no exceptions to this restriction.
How can I secure my place on a chosen module?
Please note that places on a particular course cannot be reserved in advance of arrival and are allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis only. It’s a very good idea to have some reserve choices in mind in case your first choice is not available. Updated information for Hilary Term module registration will be available from mid-December 2017.
How Many Places are available on each module?
Each Sophister module usually has two places reserved for Visiting and Erasmus students, but in actuality, most of our courses will have extra spaces available, as you will see below. The extent of the extra capacity depends on how many of our own students have signed up for the course. Once a course has been filled to capacity, registration for that module will close.
The course I am interested in has no module code attached – when will this be rectified?
Modules to which no course code is currently attached will be assigned one over the summer, at which point this page will be updated.
ECTS Credits
The ECTS credit weighting for all Sophister Option modules is as follows:
- Term Long: 10 ECTS
ECTS credit weighting for 'The Book' Sophister course are as follows:
- Year Long: 10 ECTS
- Term Long: 5 ECTS
Please note that 'The Book' is a Sophister course and not a Sophister Option.
When deciding which courses interest you, please note the amount of credits they represent and factor this in to your calculations. You can do no more than 30 ECTS credits per term, or 60 in a year. It is strongly advised that you do this in advance of your arrival.
Can I attend the first session of a Sophister module before making my choice?
Staff members will have their full class list before the first session and will turn away any student who shows up without having been officially registered by Dr Murphy. The ‘sampling’ of Sophister courses is not allowed.
Would contacting the lecturer improve my chances of getting a spot in a course that really interests me?
It will not improve your chances of getting in to a Sophister module if you lobby the lecturer for consideration, as they do not have anything to do with the registration process. Lecturers are also unable to breach the maximum limit of 19 students max for any Sophister Option. Once a Sophister course is full, it’s full.
Can I audit a Sophister Module?
No. It is also not possible to register for a Sophister module and then subsequently decide that you would prefer to audit instead.
Will all of the courses listed below definitely be running in 2017/18?
Please note that this is a provisional listing. The overwhelming majority of these courses will be running next academic year, but it should be noted that very occasionally, for reasons beyond our control, a course has to be cancelled before the start of term. We will endeavour to notify students of any such changes as soon as possible.
Where Can I find Sophister Reading Lists?
Reading lists and schedules for the courses listed will be updated over the summer and can be found here when that process has been completed. You can find reading lists from last year here, which will give you a good idea of the general course content.
Sophister Modules 2018/2019
*Please note only 2 places in Sophister modules can be allocated to Visiting students.