Open University
Milton Keynes
The physical world (s207)
Having read some of the student reveiws for s207 I'm a tad concerned that some of them say it only teaches physics to a-level standards. I would think that a lvl 2 OU course would teach any subject to a second/third year brick Uni level, if this is the case does that mean that lvl 3 OU courses are only the equvalent of first/ second year brick Uni courses.
I could be way off here as I'm only going on what was said in the reviews section by 1 or 2 students, but as I want to keep my options open and maybe go for a masters then pos phd after my degree, I would like to be sure an OU natural sciences degree specialising in physics and astronomy would be considered as good as a brick uni in applying for masters/phd courses.
Thanks in advance.
I could be way off here as I'm only going on what was said in the reviews section by 1 or 2 students, but as I want to keep my options open and maybe go for a masters then pos phd after my degree, I would like to be sure an OU natural sciences degree specialising in physics and astronomy would be considered as good as a brick uni in applying for masters/phd courses.
Thanks in advance.
The only quote I can see is "This is a broad ranging course that takes the study of physics a long way beyond that of A Level."
S207 is miles past A level.
Can you link these quotes, or post up an extract?
if this is the case does that mean that lvl 3 OU courses are only the equvalent of first/ second year brick Uni courses.
No, it doesn't.
S207 is miles past A level.
Can you link these quotes, or post up an extract?
if this is the case does that mean that lvl 3 OU courses are only the equvalent of first/ second year brick Uni courses.
No, it doesn't.
Open University
Milton Keynes
I think the main concern would be whether the course is accredited by the IoP - if it is then the level of the degree should be fine.
The following document (produced March11) appears to support this and has a list of required modules to be accredited (last page). Though I'd feel happier if someone could confirm this applies to the new natural sciences degree and not just the physics degree...
http://www.iop.org/education/higher_education/accreditation/file_43312.pdf
The following document (produced March11) appears to support this and has a list of required modules to be accredited (last page). Though I'd feel happier if someone could confirm this applies to the new natural sciences degree and not just the physics degree...
http://www.iop.org/education/higher_education/accreditation/file_43312.pdf
OK I obviously misread that lol sorry for the long winded post.
There was one quote a few down from "This is a broad ranging course that takes the study of physics a long way beyond that of A Level." which says and i quote "In terms of difficulty, there wasn't really much of a step up from A-Level Physics; the volume of materials covered, however, presented the challenge." I guess this is a personal opinion thou.
Also a few reviews up someone said "Would it not be better to make MST121 or 221 a pre-requisite for this course and raise the level of maths contained in S207 a bit?"
I'm guessing the more sophisticated maths needed would be covered in MST209?
Sorry again if this all seams long winded but I find Physics and Astronomy extremely exciting and if I have the smarts would like to get into research, I've got a long way to go and I want to make sure I start off on the rite track.
There was one quote a few down from "This is a broad ranging course that takes the study of physics a long way beyond that of A Level." which says and i quote "In terms of difficulty, there wasn't really much of a step up from A-Level Physics; the volume of materials covered, however, presented the challenge." I guess this is a personal opinion thou.
Also a few reviews up someone said "Would it not be better to make MST121 or 221 a pre-requisite for this course and raise the level of maths contained in S207 a bit?"
I'm guessing the more sophisticated maths needed would be covered in MST209?
Sorry again if this all seams long winded but I find Physics and Astronomy extremely exciting and if I have the smarts would like to get into research, I've got a long way to go and I want to make sure I start off on the rite track.
I borrowed the S207 materials a few years back while trying to decide whether to do a maths or physics degree with the OU.
I decided to do maths.
S207 could be heavier on the maths, and I'd also rate it as containing an amalgam of first and second level physics.
In my opinion, the big step up in the OU maths and physics degrees comes in going from level 2 to level 3, and S207 would prepare a student well for it.
MST209 is a great course - when I was thinking of transferring to a brick uni, the admissions tutor confirmed that completing MST209 and M208 (pure maths) covered a large wodge of "brick uni" second year maths.
The only grumble I have from MST209 is that so much stuff was covered that it was difficult to really really get on top of everything so that it was properly learned and stored in your head.
I can confirm that the OU maths degree is sufficient for admission onto MSc financial engineering programmes (subject to certain module choices). I can't comment on the physics but am aware that some students have successfully moved on to MSc programmes at decent unis following an OU physics degree - again, picking the harder complemetary units such as MS324 would improve your chances and maths.
Not sure if that helps, or not and you're right to check whether it's rigorous enough. I've not heard of complaints or shortfalls though.
I decided to do maths.
S207 could be heavier on the maths, and I'd also rate it as containing an amalgam of first and second level physics.
In my opinion, the big step up in the OU maths and physics degrees comes in going from level 2 to level 3, and S207 would prepare a student well for it.
MST209 is a great course - when I was thinking of transferring to a brick uni, the admissions tutor confirmed that completing MST209 and M208 (pure maths) covered a large wodge of "brick uni" second year maths.
The only grumble I have from MST209 is that so much stuff was covered that it was difficult to really really get on top of everything so that it was properly learned and stored in your head.
I can confirm that the OU maths degree is sufficient for admission onto MSc financial engineering programmes (subject to certain module choices). I can't comment on the physics but am aware that some students have successfully moved on to MSc programmes at decent unis following an OU physics degree - again, picking the harder complemetary units such as MS324 would improve your chances and maths.
Not sure if that helps, or not and you're right to check whether it's rigorous enough. I've not heard of complaints or shortfalls though.
You can have a look inside the course textbooks on amazon...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Restless-Universe-Lambourne-R-Bolton/dp/0749219122/ref=pd_sim_b_11
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Restless-Universe-Lambourne-R-Bolton/dp/0749219122/ref=pd_sim_b_11
S207 is a bit of a monster, it covers a wider breadth of topics in more depth than A-Level. Mathematically it's quite simple as the most complicated thing in it is basic differentiation (linear, exponential, trigonometric) however it's conceptually quite hard in places especially the sections on statistical mechanics and quantum physics.
Original post by davidetm
Having read some of the student reveiws for s207 I'm a tad concerned that some of them say it only teaches physics to a-level standards. I would think that a lvl 2 OU course would teach any subject to a second/third year brick Uni level, if this is the case does that mean that lvl 3 OU courses are only the equvalent of first/ second year brick Uni courses.
I could be way off here as I'm only going on what was said in the reviews section by 1 or 2 students, but as I want to keep my options open and maybe go for a masters then pos phd after my degree, I would like to be sure an OU natural sciences degree specialising in physics and astronomy would be considered as good as a brick uni in applying for masters/phd courses.
Thanks in advance.
I could be way off here as I'm only going on what was said in the reviews section by 1 or 2 students, but as I want to keep my options open and maybe go for a masters then pos phd after my degree, I would like to be sure an OU natural sciences degree specialising in physics and astronomy would be considered as good as a brick uni in applying for masters/phd courses.
Thanks in advance.
I'm doing 2+2 Physics with the OU and Lancaster Uni & The lecturer at Lancaster who also teaches with the OU told me when I enter Lancaster studies (year 2) i'll have more physics knowledge than students completing year 1 at lancaster.. so it would appear it's somewhat higher than a-level physics!
Having literally just completed S207 for the 2010/2011 presentation I guess I am well placed to answer! I also did A-Level Physics and Maths in the dim-and-distant past.
OU study is a little different as there are no mandatory entry requirements for any undergraduate courses at all, just suggested prerequisites. Level 1 basically takes you from pre-GCSE to A-Level standard, to get you ready for the 'proper' undergraduate level courses of level 2 and 3 which cover all levels of undergrad study at a bricks-and-mortar. Level 1 doesn't count towards your final degree classification.
S207 is equivalent to half a year full-time study at a bricks-and-mortar Uni, and is basically an overview - fundamental undergrad physics if you like. It has an SCQF level of 9 if that is any help. No physics qualification is suggested as a prerequisite however. The suggested level of maths is one of their short introductory maths courses which is slightly higher level than GCSE but much lower than I remember A-Level maths being. This obviously means that they have to start each topic quite simply, but within a few pages of the course book it gets way past the A-Level stage.
A couple of people in my S207 tutor group were school teachers. It is a course that qualifies teachers to teach Physics to A-Level standard, so it must be fairly high-level.
OU study is a little different as there are no mandatory entry requirements for any undergraduate courses at all, just suggested prerequisites. Level 1 basically takes you from pre-GCSE to A-Level standard, to get you ready for the 'proper' undergraduate level courses of level 2 and 3 which cover all levels of undergrad study at a bricks-and-mortar. Level 1 doesn't count towards your final degree classification.
S207 is equivalent to half a year full-time study at a bricks-and-mortar Uni, and is basically an overview - fundamental undergrad physics if you like. It has an SCQF level of 9 if that is any help. No physics qualification is suggested as a prerequisite however. The suggested level of maths is one of their short introductory maths courses which is slightly higher level than GCSE but much lower than I remember A-Level maths being. This obviously means that they have to start each topic quite simply, but within a few pages of the course book it gets way past the A-Level stage.
A couple of people in my S207 tutor group were school teachers. It is a course that qualifies teachers to teach Physics to A-Level standard, so it must be fairly high-level.
(edited 12 years ago)
I know someone who did this... he thought the exam questions were of approximately A-level difficulty, but the syllabus was broader and not modular, so it was much harder to prepare for than A-level as there was so much more to learn. He also said the TMA questions were much harder than the exam questions and definitely harder than A-level style questions. You don't need very much maths apparently.
Original post by martianfrog
I know someone who did this... he thought the exam questions were of approximately A-level difficulty, but the syllabus was broader and not modular, so it was much harder to prepare for than A-level as there was so much more to learn. He also said the TMA questions were much harder than the exam questions and definitely harder than A-level style questions. You don't need very much maths apparently.
Some of the exam questions are A-level standard (the easier ones) some are beyond A-level (the harder ones).
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