15 Hardest Degree Subjects (2022)

One of the most significant decisions you will ever make is which degree program to pursue. Your UCAS application is only the beginning of your university experiences, the people you'll meet, and even the job you'll pursue one day.

We'll go over the most difficult degree subjects in this post since it's crucial to have a realistic understanding of how difficult your degree will be before you start it.

If you come into the course with preconceived notions about how simple the subject would be, you may find yourself overwhelmed by it.

However, knowing what to anticipate from your course will allow you to look forward to university with anticipation of the challenges ahead.

What are the hardest degree subjects in 2022 ?

Chemistry

Chemistry is known for being one of the most difficult disciplines ever, thus it's no wonder that pursuing a Chemistry degree is difficult. Just one chemical topic (for example, organic chemistry) is extremely complicated. Organic chemistry has around 15 million molecules and an endless number of organic chemical processes to examine, in addition to requiring a great deal of memorization.

Then there's the fact that, in addition to organic chemistry, chemistry covers a wide range of disciplines, including inorganic chemistry (which entails knowing about molecular orbital theory, acids, and atomic structure) and physical chemistry (which requires you to be a math wiz to comprehend).

Your weekly itinerary might look like this if you were studying Chemistry at a top university like the University of Oxford: There will be 12 hours of laboratories and 10 hours of lectures.

There includes one Chemistry lesson as well as tutorials in Math, Biochemistry, and Physics, all of which will teach you concepts that you may use to Chemistry.

Chemistry is one of those courses where extensive math and physics knowledge is required since these subjects are so intertwined with Chemistry. Chemistry may be the degree to avoid if you have difficulty with arithmetic and reasoning.

In addition, Chemistry requires a lot of hands-on learning, which means that while you're not attempting to understand macromolecules and redox processes, you'll be spending the majority of your time in the lab. This requires a whole new set of abilities, such as drafting lab reports and conducting difficult experiments, in order to put your knowledge into effect.

Medicine

It's no secret that medicine is one of the most difficult degrees to obtain, not least due to the high level of competition in the courses. According to UCAS1 data, 28,690 persons applied to study medicine in the United Kingdom in 2021. The number of applications from the UK's four nations increased by 26% over the previous year.

With admittance rates for Medicine as low as 5% (Aston Medical School, Birmingham) and as high as 12.1 percent (Oxford University), the degree is unquestionably demanding.

To become a doctor, you'll need the ability and dedication to complete a five-year degree in medicine, a two-year foundation course in general training, two to three years of core medical training, and four to seven years of specialist training, depending on what area of medicine you want to work in.

The tremendous amount of medical knowledge you must understand and comprehend in order to be accountable for people's lives is why medicine takes so long to study. You must not only understand the complicated science of medicine and disease and memorize enough medical knowledge to last a lifetime, but you must also develop good clinical skills in order to interact with patients.

Architecture

We wish architecture was one of those degrees that was simple to obtain. Who wouldn't want to walk throughout the city pointing out beautiful structures and proclaiming, "I constructed that"? However, Architecture is highly difficult, and in certain situations, comparable to a medical degree in terms of duration and complexity.

Unfortunately, architecture isn't simply about sketching up fantastic design ideas. To plan out the dimensions, quantities, volumes, and areas of buildings, you must be proficient at arithmetic and have a thorough grasp of geometry, trigonometry, and algebra. Not only that, but four years of architecture school is merely the start of a career as an architect.

Following your bachelor's degree, you'll need to complete a year of practical work experience, two years of full-time university study, such as a BArch, another year of practical training, and a final qualification test. While this may appear difficult, it is well worth the effort if you have a genuine interest in architecture. Even if you don't want to become a fully certified architect, an Architecture degree might help you pursue alternative jobs such as building control surveyor, urban designer, or interior and spatial designer.

Architecture degrees are recognized for having heavy workloads and responsibilities that take a long time to complete. Building physical models and drawing floor plans in time for deadlines is more likely than partying at the student bar. Architectural designs might take several hours to complete, resulting in late-night research. Architecture college students in the United States had the highest sleep deprivation, averaging just 5.28 hours each night2.

"It's hard to perform really well [at Architecture] and hard to pass," says Ben Sweeting, the course supervisor at Brighton University. There are no ideal designs or methods of operation; instead, there are methods of operation that are incorrect. It can also be more personally hard than other arts topics since it requires you to put your creative concept into action."

While Architecture is a creative topic, unlike other creative courses such as English Literature, it does not allow you to earn points by defending a subjective concept. If you're in the field of architecture,

Physics

Physics is an astoundingly rigorous degree. It’s one thing to find the general ideas of Physics interesting (after all, who wouldn’t be interested in a subject which explores the very make-up of the universe, from the mystery of black holes to the waves of the electromagnetic spectrum?). But it is quite another to dive into the mathematical principles, complex formulas and calculations within each area of Physics, and apply them enough to excel in your exams.

There are no shortcuts to understanding Physics, which is what makes it such a hard degree. The truth about STEM subjects like Maths and the Sciences, is that while there is plenty of information, as well as plenty of formulas, to memorise, it’s not enough to know the correct answer to something. 

You need to understand why and how it is the correct answer. While you might just get away with rote learning equations and formulas in A-Level Physics, this won’t fly at degree level. While you might get away with memorizing equations and formulae in A-Level Physics, you won't be able to do so at the university level.

One of the most essential things to remember about a Physics degree is that you're doing something right if you're puzzled! This implies that in order to fully understand Physics (rather than merely knowing the answers to problems without understanding how they are used), you must sit down and sweat it out over those formulae, accepting that the answer will take a long time to arrive. Allow yourself to make mistakes, then go back and figure out how you got there, and your comprehension will gradually improve.

Students may find Physics difficult due to the large quantity of maths involved. When it comes to Physics questions, one mistake calculation can have a huge impact on your final result, so if you're not good at math, this is probably not the course for you.

When you realize that it will take some time to master the material, physics is a very rewarding degree. Researchers can labor in the field for a decade or more and still feel like they're only scratching the surface, which is part of the allure and frustration of this difficult subject.

Biomedical Science

Medicine is deservedly regarded as one of the most difficult degrees ever, but did you realize that Biomedical Science and Medicine share a lot of content? Biomedical Science students, in fact, are expected to know more about medicine than most doctors!

If you studied Biomedical Science at Imperial College London, your degree would have a lot of overlap with medical students. In the first year, you'll share certain modules, and then in the second year, you'll focus on research and spend hours in laboratories. The fourth year of medical students will thereafter overlap with your last year.

You must work extremely hard to understand everything from human physiology, pathology, and microbiology, to haematology, cells and organs, and system function, as Biomedical Science investigates the science behind medical topics. Because of the vastness of your knowledge, you may be forced to study topics you don't care about (for example, knowing all the names of pharmaceutical medications!). since you require a high GPA

As a Biomedical Science student, you must conduct a lot of intensive, independent research in addition to acquiring and interpreting highly technical, medical knowledge. For example, at Imperial College, you'd do an intense research project of your choice as well as extensive individual study to master classroom topics.

If you're interested in science and medicine, however, Biomedical Science can be a very rewarding degree. You'll learn about biomedical science from a variety of perspectives, including research, policy, and business, as well as diseases and ailments that have a substantial influence on the human body.