Least/most time consuming courses for the BA in Social Sciences?

Hi people, im currently seeking out the best sequence of courses for the Bachelors in Social Science degree. Im not looking for the easiest way out but rather the most productive combination in the sense of time/work managment. I would therefore like to ask all those with experience which courses have been the least/most time consuming (level 2 and 3 only). Your answers would much appreciated...

Peace

Reply 1

lupinpooter

Hi again

Which soc sci subjects interest you most? (I see from your other thread that you're doing DD205, so I'm guessing geography is in there?)

In my experience, the workload and difficulty level - quite rightly - does not vary hugely between courses at the same level. Obviously if you pick courses which you find interesting then you'll feel more motivated and the workload will seem less onerous. Another obvious point: pick courses which play to your strengths (eg if you hate exams, pick level 3 courses which have an ECA instead).

Every year the OU publish a (partial) list of course results from the previous year (you'll need to download this PDF - http://www3.open.ac.uk/events/3/2009922_43263_o1.pdf - and look at page 22). Have a look at the "D" courses (ie the social science ones) on the table and those which have the highest percentage achieving Pass 1 (a distinction). It might be argued that a course in which 18.6% achieve a distinction (eg DD200) is 'easier' than one in which only 3.5% achieve the same grade (eg DA204).

Reading the course reviews on the OU's website can be helpful for getting the view from the inside. Once you have access to the OU's online forums, you can also lurk in course-related forums and ask questions there. I've always found fellow OU students to be exceptionally helpful with answering queries and on occasion emailing PDFs of the course materials.

Of the courses I have done - DD100; DXR220 (no longer available); DD201; D318 (no longer available); AA310; DD308; DA204 (on its final presentation) - the 'easiest' was AA310. This is the Film and Television History level 3 course which is part of the soon-to-be-withdrawn media studies strand. It's light on theory and the exam is highly predictable. On the other hand, DD201 (Sociology) involved a huge amount of reading, a lot of difficult theory to get your head around and an unpredictable exam. Much tougher than the Film level 3!