What is it?

Adaptable

Attribute dimension University of Glasgow graduates... 
 Academic Experience multi-disciplinary and/or inter-disciplinary learning in an internationally  renowned institution
 Personal  Respond flexibly and adapt their skills and knowledge to excel in unfamiliar situations
 Transferable  Demonstrate resilience, perseverance and positivity in multi-tasking, dealing with change and meeting new challenges

How will my degree develop it?

How will my degree develop it?

Studying at Glasgow isn’t just about devoting yourself to one discipline. Joint honours students study two. Many students study three or four in the lower years before choosing their speciality.

Even single honours students will find that their field is expanding every day as expertise is brought in from other disciplines to address the increasingly complex problems and issues of the modern world.

We call this cooperative research across subject divides interdisciplinarity.

Glasgow isn’t just an active teaching university. It’s an internationally-renowned research institution staffed by world-leading experts in a whole host of fields, including cross-boundary interdisciplinary research.

The University prides itself on its research-led teaching – integrating cutting-edge discoveries into your lectures to ensure you receive the best education possible – and so interdisciplinary elements will feature in your lectures and tutorials from time to time (and maybe even in your own work).

Studying across subject divides can be demanding. You might have to do background research into complex issues, theories and methodologies you’ve never encountered before, often independently. You may need to make use of unfamiliar equipment, or collaborate with people you’ve never met.

Even studying multiple subjects at the same time has its challenges – it means multiple workloads, resources and deadlines to manage. You need to be organised and prioritise wherever possible.

It’s not always easy. But as time goes on, you’ll become more and more at ease with using your existing skills and knowledge to address unfamiliar situations. And when you leave university, you’ll be able to adapt to meet new challenges head- on – and have the resilience and perseverance to keep going when things get tough.

How else can I develop it?

How else can I develop it?

Adaptability is about being able to turn your existing skills and knowledge to bear upon new challenges. But it’s also about having the confidence in your abilities to feel you can meet these challenges head on – and that self-belief can take time to develop.

Learning to deal with the unknown can be a stressful experience for some, but it is possible to develop techniques for dealing with this:

  • The University's Counselling and Psychological Services have collected some useful podcasts on learning to relax and dealing with stress that you may find helpful

For the naturally adventurous, there’s plenty on offer at Glasgow to test the limits of your comfort zone: