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Time commitments for a post grad MSc course?

Hi

Can anyone give me some advice on the amount of time a postgraduate course takes?

How many hours per week teaching would a full time MSc taught course involve?
The course involves 4 15 credit modules in Semester One and four 15 credit modules in semester Two. There is also a 60 credit project to be undertaken between February and September.

There is an option for the course to be taken part time over up to 6 years. Does this mean I can opt to do it over 2 or even 3 years?

For part time courses is there a set structure or is it more along the lines of completing each module as and when I can over the agreed time frame (e.g. over 3 years)? With employment commitments there is no way I could do much more than one day a week in Uni and then perhaps a day self-study.

Thanks to anyone who can help!
Reply 1
If your course allows 'up to 6 years' then it suggests that the uni is very flexible about how many modules you take per year. They will probably allow you to to take more/less in any given year at your discretion. However, they'll probably expect you to complete at least 1 x 15 credit module per semester to stay enrolled (total credits required for a Masters is 180 so that's a minimum of 2 x 15 credit modules per year). You will also have to complete all the modules before beginning your 60 credit project and you can't complete a single module over more than one semester.

I suspect that the minimum you must do will be:

Years 1 through 4: 1 x 15 credit module each semester (usually 2 semesters per year) = 8 modules (120 credits)
Years 5 and 6: 1 x 60 credit project

There may be more flexiblity during years 5 and 6 when you're doing the project but, if you take any time out, you will have to double your study time to make it up at some point during that two-year period.

Effectively, you will have more time pro rata to complete the same amount of work as a full-time student as the project/dissertation must usually be undertaken over only a 4-to-5 month period for a full-timer (looks like you'll have 2 years).

One module per semester is very do-able - even if you're working full-time. You'll probably need to attend the uni for about half a day per week plus a full day of self-study per week. Allow multiples of this for each extra module you take per semester (which doesn't sound feasible from what you say).

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