Arts students STILL work harder than law students, latest stats suggest

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By Thomas Connelly on

Leading education think tank sparked outrage among wannabe lawyers last year after claiming they don’t work as hard as their counterparts in other disciplines

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For the second year running a leading education think tank has suggested arts students work harder than law students.

The Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) has released the findings of its latest ‘Student Academic Experience Survey’ — and wannabe lawyers are bound to have a few things to say about it.

The in-depth survey — which received over 15,000 student responses — has, not for the first time, suggested that creative arts students have a greater workload than their counterparts studying law.

Examining contact hours, independent study hours and work undertaken outside the course, the number crunchers at the HEPI suggest your average law student is clocking up 29 hours study each week. In comparison, the study suggests aspiring artists are clocking up 34 hours, a full five more a week.

According to the report the average university-goer is putting in 33 hours of study. This would mean law students — who often tell anyone who will listen how tough they have it — actually have a below-average workload compared to students on other subjects.

Total workload hours by subject

workload

Aspiring teachers (42), architects (40), vets (37) and engineers (31) all have a longer working week, according to the data. For the second year running medicine and dentistry came out on top with an average working week consisting of 47 hours.

However, law did see off the likes of business studies (27), social studies (27) and linguistics (27). Once again those studying mass communications had it easiest, with an average working week consisting of just 25 hours (anyone for a career in journalism?)

But this isn’t the first time the HEPI has suggested that law students have it easy.

Last summer Legal Cheek reported on the findings of the think tank’s 2015 survey. As with this year’s, it suggested arts students put in more hours of study than wannabe lawyers. Attracting over 130,000 views and 107,000 social media shares, the controversial findings triggered a heated debate between students below the line.

Let the argument commence (again).