Over 80 TSM combinations eliminated under TEP

TSM students may face difficulties repeating a year following course restructure

87 subject combinations previously offered as part of the two-subject moderatorship (TSM) programme will no longer be available next year due to the programme’s restructuring under the Trinity Education Project (TEP).

In place of the TSM course, a Joint Honours (JH) course is to begin next September for the 2019/20 academic year and onwards. The new course will not offer Psychology, World Religions and Theology, or Early Irish in combination with other subjects.

Many subjects will also no longer be available to study alongside modern languages such as French, Italian and German. Subjects including Maths, Geography, and Drama, will all see a significant reduction in the number of subjects they can pair with next year.

According to the TSM office, current Junior Fresh TSM students may encounter difficulty in repeating a year of college as of September 2019, if their current combination is no longer offered under the new scheme.

In an email today to all TSM students, current TSM Administrative Officer Donncha Millane clarified the protocol: “If your TSM combination exists you will be changed to the JH version of that combination; OR if your TSM combination is not available in the JH course, you will be required to move from your current TSM combination to a different JH combination.”

Millane noted that “TSM students who progress from one year to the next will not be affected.” He also reassured students that “while we appreciate that this situation is not ideal, our aim is to ensure that students are not disadvantaged by this change.”

“This issue affects JF students this year but could potentially affect other TSM students in future years until all TSM students have completed the course,” Millane continued.

The TSM Course Office is holding an information session for TSM students in the Edmund Burke Theatre during Reading Week.

A full list of TSM combinations that are ceasing and will not be available in the JH course is available on the TSM website.

The elimination of TSM is one of a number of changes under the remit of TEP, which has seen course assessment semesterised, the replacement of broad curriculum modules with electives, and an increased emphasis on final-year Capstone projects.

Sarah Moran

Sarah Moran is the current Head Copyeditor of Trinity News. She is also a Senior Sophister English Literature student.