Brunel's Online Psychology Conversion MSc

Hi everyone,
I’m have been accepted onto Brunel University’s Online MSc in Psychological Sciences (Conversion), and I’d love to hear from those who have already taken or are currently taking the course.
• What’s the workload like, especially if balancing it with work or other commitments?
• How interactive and supportive is the online learning environment?
• Are there any tips or things you wish you knew before starting?
Your experiences and advice would mean a lot to me as I am pretty anxious not having studied for 20 years!
Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts!

I’ve had a disappointing experience with this course and personally wouldn’t recommend it. There’s very little opportunity to interact with other students, and the support from staff has been poor. It often feels like they’re either not interested in helping you or just don’t know how to. There aren’t any office hours, so it’s hard to get help when you’re stuck, and messaging doesn’t feel worth it most of the time because responses are usually generic, unhelpful, or so delayed that they’re no longer relevant. The admin staff are also hard to reach, and you can’t contact the main university for help since the course is run almost entirely separately, which is something I didn’t realise before starting.
The marking has also been inconsistent across modules. You’re told to do one thing and then marked down for doing exactly that. Some lecturers barely provide feedback so it’s hard to know what they actually want from you. The teaching materials and reading lists also feel poorly put together. I've ended up having to teach yourself and find my own resources. They say this is just what’s expected at master's level, but honestly, it feels more like laziness. The content is super basic, like how to structure an essay or avoid plagiarism, and then they reuse the same slides across multiple modules.
Overall, I really regret choosing this course. I’m not sure if the problems are because it’s online or just this university, but I feel like an in-person course would’ve been a much better experience.

Hi everyone,
I’m have been accepted onto Brunel University’s Online MSc in Psychological Sciences (Conversion), and I’d love to hear from those who have already taken or are currently taking the course.
• What’s the workload like, especially if balancing it with work or other commitments?
• How interactive and supportive is the online learning environment?
• Are there any tips or things you wish you knew before starting?
Your experiences and advice would mean a lot to me as I am pretty anxious not having studied for 20 years!
Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts!

I’ve had a disappointing experience with this course and personally wouldn’t recommend it. There’s very little opportunity to interact with other students, and the support from staff has been poor. It often feels like they’re either not interested in helping you or just don’t know how to. There aren’t any office hours, so it’s hard to get help when you’re stuck, and messaging doesn’t feel worth it most of the time because responses are usually generic, unhelpful, or so delayed that they’re no longer relevant. The admin staff are also hard to reach, and you can’t contact the main university for help since the course is run almost entirely separately, which is something I didn’t realise before starting.
The marking has also been inconsistent across modules. You’re told to do one thing and then marked down for doing exactly that. Some lecturers barely provide feedback so it’s hard to know what they actually want from you. The teaching materials and reading lists also feel poorly put together. I've ended up having to teach yourself and find my own resources. They say this is just what’s expected at master's level, but honestly, it feels more like laziness. The content is super basic, like how to structure an essay or avoid plagiarism, and then they reuse the same slides across multiple modules.
Overall, I really regret choosing this course. I’m not sure if the problems are because it’s online or just this university, but I feel like an in-person course would’ve been a much better experience.

Goodness that sounds awful. You are paying a lot of money as students and are consumers. University teams need to provide that service whether it’s online or in person course. You should let your student rep or student union know. Or reach out to the course director. Hope it improves for you.

Oh gosh, I’m feeling quite stressed now starting in January after reading this. Is there another university you’ve heard better things about? Are you on the full time or part time course?

Oh gosh, I’m feeling quite stressed now starting in January after reading this. Is there another university you’ve heard better things about? Are you on the full time or part time course?

Hi, I've just been accepted onto the Online Psychology MSc for May 2025 and I was wondering if you could share your experience of the course so far?Thanks so much!

Apologies, I meant to quote you, Claude. There is another thread re this course and Brunel's online offerings. Reviews are not good.