Our undergraduate degrees are designed to be flexible. So if you want to vary the amount of time you spend studying from year to year, or even take a break for a while, you can.
However, bear in mind that it’s easy to underestimate the time and commitment needed for part-time study by distance-learning methods. It’s a good idea not to take on too much at first. As you become more experienced and confident you can always study more at a time.
How long will it take me to get a degree?
By informing us which qualification you are studying towards and how many credits you wish to study each year we will be able to identify your study intensity which will indicate how long it is likely to take you to achieve your goal.
The table below shows a summary of our undergraduate qualifications.
| Qualification |
Total credits required |
Time required to complete |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Higher Education (Cert HE) | 120 | 1 years full-time study or 2 years part-time study |
| Diploma of Higher Education (Dip HE) | 240 | 2–3 years full-time study or 4 years part-time study |
| Foundation degree | 240 | 2–3 years full-time study or 4 years part-time study |
| Degree without honours | 300 | 3 years full-time study or 5 years part-time study |
| Degree with honours | 360 | 3–4 years full-time study or 6 years part-time study |
| Postgraduate certificate | 60 | 1 year part-time study |
| Postgraduate diploma | 120 | 1 years full-time study or 2 years part-time study |
| Masters degree | 180 | 1½ years full-time study or 3 years part-time study |
*The timings assume full-time study is similar to that of full-time education (120 credits per year), with part-time study at half this rate.
How much of my time will it take to study a module as a standalone course?
We strongly recommend that new students take only one course at a time. Most of our courses are worth either 30 or 60 credits. A 30-credit course will take about seven to eight hours of study a week; a 60-credit course, around sixteen hours a week.
Average time to complete different sorts of courses
|
OU courses |
Number of credits |
Average time to complete a course. |
|---|---|---|
|
Openings course |
10–15 |
Approximately 6 hours a week for up to 20 weeks |
|
Short course |
10–15 |
5–7 hours a week for up to 5 months or 10–15 hours a week for approximately 10 weeks |
|
Residential-school course |
10–15 |
1 week at residential school (plus some study before and after) |
|
30-credit course |
30 |
7–8 hours a week for a 9-month course or 12 hours a week for a 6-month course |
|
60-credit course |
60 |
16 hours a week for 9 months |