Open university courses

Hi guys I am looking to commence a psychology course as a mature student (I’m 27) but I’m assuming open uni is the most appropriate thing? Would be good to get advice and also I wouldn’t want to disadvantage myself, is open uni less credible? Thanks

Hi Dilemmb,

It's great that you're considering Psychology! Is it a Psychology degree you're planning on doing with the Open University or is it psychology short course? I guess that also leads in to questions about what you want to do with your qualification - is it personal development? Do you want to become some form of Psychologist eventually? Are you hoping to broaden your job prospects in a certain sector?

If you're hoping to get a degree, you're best of looking for a degree that is accredited by the BPS (British Psychological Society). It will enable you to go directly on to most postgraduate psychology courses. If you don't do a BPS degree course, you can always do a conversion master's course which will then allow you to become a graduate member of the BPS and move on to any BPS accredited courses. It's worth double checking this with Open U.

In terms of Open U being the most appropriate thing, what do you mean by that? If you're asking if it's the most appropriate thing because of you're age then I'd say don't shy away from looking at all of your University options just because you're a mature student! You'd be surprised how many mature students there are at university, especially on courses such as Psychology. I'd say around 1/3 to half of my course were mature students.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions about what I've said☺️
- Rebecca, 3rd Year Psychology Student

Hi!

I did my BSc in Psychology with Counselling with the OU, starting when I was 25. I really enjoyed the course and it fit well around full-time work and travel (I was teaching English in China during some of the course). It is just as credible as any other university and they do have BPS-accredited Psychology courses (as mine was).

I've since gone on to do an MSc, train as a counsellor, and now work as an Assistant Psychologist.

Personally, I highly recommend it. Of course, you do need to be self-motivated as it is almost all independent distance learning, though they do have face-to-face tutorials every now and again around the country (not mandatory, but a great way to meet people doing the same course).

Dilemmb
Hello! I've just finished an online Psychology course at the age of 35 so I know how exciting and intimidating the idea can be at first.

Organisations like Arden University and the Open University specialise in online learning with specially designed virtual learning environments; Arden have an option of 100% online or blended learning with campus sessions available at a number of locations like Manchester, London, Leeds etc.

For any provider I would go with an impartial view and check their report with the QAA (a bit like Ofsted) and also their score in the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) report; both readily available online.

The key thing with the course is that it is linked to the BPS, both Arden and Open University are

Marc
Arden University Student Ambassador