I was thinking of doing a masters in social science with the O.U. Has anybody ever studied with them before, and what is it like, both in terms of workload and the general process of distant learning and support from O.U. I would be very grateful for your comments.
Open University Masters in Social Science
- Thread starter elainem
- Start date
Well I am currently studying Social Science with the OU. but not a masters. There is a Masters foundation course which I believe is mainly teaching how to do research, with Tutor support, which people seem to start off with.There is plenty of help available. You will be given access to first class conferencing on the OU website and your own home page where you can be in contact with the other students on your course. You will have a tutor for marking your essays. For the Rep.of Ireland, Belfast is your regional centre.I wouldn't know about the workload on the Masters but being part time it would be like any other course I suppose. I dont see OU as distance learning, as everything is here on tap and you are not isolated by any means.I have been studying part-time for 6 years and am nearly finished. (Unless I decide to do the Masters).
I am just starting the final year of the three year MA in Education course with the OU. I have found the OU excellent. I have not been able to attend any face to face conferences but have had access to tutors online. Course materials are excellent. Obviously finding the time to study and do very taxing assignments is difficult, it certainly cuts into your social life! It is hard work but then at this level it should be!
Good Luck with your studies
Carmel
Good Luck with your studies
Carmel
I enrolled for the social science postgrad foundation course last year, with a view to completing a Masters in Cultural and Media Studies, but dropped out at Christmas.
I found the course notes to be excellent, the set book on the philosophy of the social sciences very good, the 'research methods' materials less so and the audiovisual ones a bit pointless. The course was interesting and well constructed and the tutor more than helpful. Unlike many of my past full-time college courses, there was a lot of emphasis on engaging with the course materials rather than just regurgitating them. I didn’t find the workload to be particularly high. However, after a while it became obvious that the OU way of doing things just didn't suit me.
Most of the assignments were quite short by postgrad standards (800, 1200 and 2000 words) and came with a lot of contradictory and rather confusing ‘instructions’ about issues to be discussed. I’m not the most concise of writers and after coming from writing a 60,000 word thesis I found it impossible to stay within these limits. My tutor emphasised the importance of referencing the audiovisual materials and I felt like we were expected to do this almost to prove we had watched or listened to them, regardless of their relevance or quality.
After a while, it became evident that the social science courses I had chosen are assessed on knowledge of course materials only and students are discouraged from including any outside readings in assignments. We had access to excellent online journal and database resources, but there was zero emphasis on using them, prior to the dissertation module. (I understand that this is different in the postgrad humanities courses, where there is more emphasis on library research.) I found this very frustrating, especially as many of the readings included in the set books were a bit overedited, to say the least.
There is little editing in the later courses (materials were kindly loaned to me by the OU to assess) and the course descriptions emphasised the importance of reading widely and including material from your reading in assignments. However, when I asked student services to double check this with the course leaders for me, I was told once again that students are examined on course materials only and that the marking scheme reflected this. I realise that I’m in a minority here, but this would really kill the degree for me, especially as some of the later courses are up to a decade old, with no updating of materials since their inception. This is a bit unfortunate in a Cultural and Media Studies degree! As it turned out the degree itself is being withdrawn.
On the whole, I would say that most of the course materials I saw were of a high quality, even if some were a bit dated. I did learn a lot from the postgrad foundation course, even though I didn’t complete it. I’m sure many students would be more than happy to work solely with the materials they were given, but after doing a research degree I found it a bit restrictive.
I found the course notes to be excellent, the set book on the philosophy of the social sciences very good, the 'research methods' materials less so and the audiovisual ones a bit pointless. The course was interesting and well constructed and the tutor more than helpful. Unlike many of my past full-time college courses, there was a lot of emphasis on engaging with the course materials rather than just regurgitating them. I didn’t find the workload to be particularly high. However, after a while it became obvious that the OU way of doing things just didn't suit me.
Most of the assignments were quite short by postgrad standards (800, 1200 and 2000 words) and came with a lot of contradictory and rather confusing ‘instructions’ about issues to be discussed. I’m not the most concise of writers and after coming from writing a 60,000 word thesis I found it impossible to stay within these limits. My tutor emphasised the importance of referencing the audiovisual materials and I felt like we were expected to do this almost to prove we had watched or listened to them, regardless of their relevance or quality.
After a while, it became evident that the social science courses I had chosen are assessed on knowledge of course materials only and students are discouraged from including any outside readings in assignments. We had access to excellent online journal and database resources, but there was zero emphasis on using them, prior to the dissertation module. (I understand that this is different in the postgrad humanities courses, where there is more emphasis on library research.) I found this very frustrating, especially as many of the readings included in the set books were a bit overedited, to say the least.
There is little editing in the later courses (materials were kindly loaned to me by the OU to assess) and the course descriptions emphasised the importance of reading widely and including material from your reading in assignments. However, when I asked student services to double check this with the course leaders for me, I was told once again that students are examined on course materials only and that the marking scheme reflected this. I realise that I’m in a minority here, but this would really kill the degree for me, especially as some of the later courses are up to a decade old, with no updating of materials since their inception. This is a bit unfortunate in a Cultural and Media Studies degree! As it turned out the degree itself is being withdrawn.
On the whole, I would say that most of the course materials I saw were of a high quality, even if some were a bit dated. I did learn a lot from the postgrad foundation course, even though I didn’t complete it. I’m sure many students would be more than happy to work solely with the materials they were given, but after doing a research degree I found it a bit restrictive.
Last edited:
Hi everyone, thanks for your replies. I think I will go ahead and do the course. Aquila, you said you had done a research degree before. I have just completed an MPhil in Women's Studies, so I hope I won't find the O.U. too restrictive. However, I was wondering what opportunities were out there once you completed a research degree. I feel that I will be studying for ever (at least while my children are so young) and that there might not be that many opportunities out there once I have completed my studies. I am a psychiatrich nurse, with a B.A. Health Studies, and hopefully now an MPhil. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Hi elainem,
In my case my thesis helped me secure a public sector job in a relevant area, while I was still doing it. Unfortunately, the further on I went, the more I realised that I should really be doing something else, both academically and careerwise. I later worked in an area unrelated to my degree and am now a carer.
A lot depends on your subject and the kind of work you want to do, so I couldn't really generalise. However, in most cases outside of academia and scientific research a research degree (i.e. by thesis only) won't in itself qualify you for a specific job. There may be some opportunities for social researchers in public sector/voluntary organisations etc., but I've been out of the job market for a while and don't have any current knowledge about that area. Anyhow, good luck with your MPhil and OU studies.
In my case my thesis helped me secure a public sector job in a relevant area, while I was still doing it. Unfortunately, the further on I went, the more I realised that I should really be doing something else, both academically and careerwise. I later worked in an area unrelated to my degree and am now a carer.
A lot depends on your subject and the kind of work you want to do, so I couldn't really generalise. However, in most cases outside of academia and scientific research a research degree (i.e. by thesis only) won't in itself qualify you for a specific job. There may be some opportunities for social researchers in public sector/voluntary organisations etc., but I've been out of the job market for a while and don't have any current knowledge about that area. Anyhow, good luck with your MPhil and OU studies.