Why study for the Access to HE Diploma: Humanities and Social Science at City Lit?

Q&A with City Lit graduate Heather

Are you thinking of studying for a degree in a Humanities-based subject but don’t quite have the qualifications that you need? Our online Access to Higher Education Diploma: Humanities and Social Science is an accessible stepping stone to university. 

City Lit graduate Heather completed the Access to HE Diploma course in 2023. When we spoke to her about her experience, she explained how the course allowed her to follow her lifelong dream of studying for a BA in Archaeology.

Video: Heather talks about studying Access to HE diploma at City Lit

I had an empty nest and I wanted to restart my life. I'd worked in the city for 20 years and I'd given up my career to take care of my children. I wanted to kickstart a new career. I have always been very passionate about archaeology and wanted to apply for a BA in the subject but really needed the right skills and qualifications. That’s why I decided to join the Access to HE Diploma course at City Lit. It was very important for me to develop my study skills because I hadn't actually done a lot of writing in my job, especially academic writing. For me, those skills were fundamental.

It’s an online evening course that covers three fundamental humanities subjects: history, sociology, and English literature. History was the one that was interesting to me because my plan was to study archaeology. If you just want to go on to higher education and you don't know what you want to pursue, it's a terrific way of trying out three different subjects. The course was a challenging experience but it was also an interesting time to get back into education. I had three amazing tutors that made coming back a very smooth process and they were very supportive. One of the interesting things about the course was that my mind completely changed, it really opened up a part of my brain that I had never really thought about.

What I enjoyed most was that the course pushed me out of my comfort zone. It also gave me a safe space, there was a structure and I found that incredibly helpful. Only now, a year later, do I realise how helpful that was.

Absolutely! The person who started this course a year and a half ago is not the same person who's sitting here today. Nothing really scares me anymore, whereas I was terrified for the first assignment. But that's what the course gives you, it gives you a skillset. And not just in academics, in anything.

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Following the completion of my diploma at City Lit, I started an archaeology degree at UCL in September. I remember looking at UCL, the Institute of Archaeology, when I was 18 and yearning to attend. I'm now having the time of my life and that's something that I keep telling everyone. If you have something in the back of your head that you've always wanted to do, just do it. I was doing it to fill a gap in my life. But it’s done so much more — I have realised that I enjoy every single lecture and every single tutorial.

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Study Access to HE Diploma at City Lit

The Access to Higher Education Diploma (Humanities and Social Science) is a qualification designed for anyone who has left school without the usual qualifications (GCSEs or A-levels) and wishes to study at university. It is a highly intensive, fast-track route to higher education, where you will complete the equivalent of 3 A-Levels in one year, and requires attendance ONLINE via ZOOM two nights per week (on Tuesdays and Thursdays), as well as online tutorials every two to three weeks and substantial private study.