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How will my degree develop it?

Studying for a degree is all about developing intellectual curiosity. The average undergraduate degree lasting four years, it is long journey requiring resilience, and everyone who graduates can consider themselves as engaging in the pursuit of new knowledge to have kept pushing for new areas in your subject to dive into.  

The excellent and experienced body of academic staff and lecturers at the University of Glasgow will encourage you to pursue new avenues of interest in your subject. Their various specialisms will inspire you to dive deeper into more specific areas of your field.  

Over the course of your degree, you will read thousands of words worth of secondary literature, research and work done on your subject. As you progress, you will learn how to synthesise and analyse this quickly and effectively for the specific purpose of your task.  

Degrees in the field of Science have the clear investigative element of lab work, where you will regularly carry out experiments. In Social Sciences and Arts, the degree builds up to the main task in which you will develop the investigative attribute, which is the dissertation. Here, you will have to identify an area you want to carry out your independent research, and add something new to the academic discussion.  

In addition, many degrees and dissertation work involve carrying out surveys or interviewing members of the public in order to collect evidence, showing an ability to be investigative and find ways to find the information you are looking for.  

How else can I develop it?

There are many clubs and societies on offer at the University of Glasgow focused on particular areas of research which can provide an outlet for you to pursue further research interests and follow your curiosity. The following are good examples: 

• FemEng society is a network of female students of engineering at the University. They host workshops with industry professionals, allowing members to become investigative through considering new avenues in engineering, and even have a trip planned to Kenya through a partnership with female engineers at the University of Nairobi.
• The Game Development Society allows students interested in designing games to develop their coding skills with workshops and opportunities for creative and investigative spaces for students to develop their own ideas and style in the industry.
• Student media is also a great way to become investigative. The Glasgow Guardian has an investigative section and regularly holds the University to account through its award winning investigations, several of which have been picked up by national newspapers.

Why is this attribute valuable to me?

In order for a business to keep developing, it needs graduates working for it who are investigative and innovative, seeking new avenues to take it in and considering new areas of the field which more established members of staff may not have thought about. That is why being investigative is such a valuable graduate attribute.