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Workload
Part-time or full-time study?
Most people are studying with us part-time, and some courses only accept students on a part-time basis. See the course information for the qualification you are interested in for more information.
Here are some of the ways you can study with Open Polytechnic:
Work full-time, study part-time
Most of our students work full-time and study part-time. This flexible route to earning a qualification allows you to do as much or as little study as you can fit in with your job and family commitments. Building your experience and qualifications while working shows employers how committed you are.
Typically, an undergraduate degree will take 6 or 7 years to complete.
Work part-time, study part-time
If you want or need to work part-time, this route is the ideal way to balance study with work. Work that ties in with your qualification can give you relevant work experience that can help put you ahead when it comes to getting a full-time job.
If you’re aiming for a degree, you’d expect to complete it in about 6 years. Certificates and diplomas can take as little as 1 year or up to 3 years.
Study full-time
If you are keen to reach your goal faster and you can manage full-time study, this option may suit you best.
Typically, if you are aiming for a degree, you should be able to finish in 3–4 years. We do suggest you take it a bit slower in your first year while you are getting used to studying by distance.
How much time do I need?
Managing your study time is important. To make sure you have the time to meet your study commitments as well as manage the rest of your life, you need to think about how many hours you can devote to study.
To work out how much time you will need, check the course information. All our courses have a credit value. For each credit, allow about 10 hours of learning.
Open courses
Our open courses are open for admission throughout the year and each course starts on the first Monday of the month you choose for enrolment.
All our open courses have a credit value. For each credit, allow about 10 hours of learning. For example, for a 15 credit course, you should allow 150 hours of learning in total. For a four credit course you should allow for 40 hours of learning in total.
Trimester courses
If you are studying a 20 credit course over a trimester (17 weeks), you will need to do between 10–12 hours of study per week.