I have done MU123 a year ago. I’ve heard how hard the 124 course is. I didn’t do a level maths and not a natural. I wanted a degree to prove myself but now wandering if it’s worth the stress? I hate being rushed and pressured and heard this course is all of that. Thoughts
Turning 23 soon, wanted some way to switch careers (something more academic) without having to leave home or lose my current job.
Open uni seemed like the perfect medium, excited to start my degree in October. Anyone else do their degrees in early 20s?
Are there typically Any politics or international studies modules starting in spring? If anyone has taken them, what was your experience?
Hello people, it’s happening. The nerdiness in me won and I chose Maths over Medicine 🤓🫣😆 I’m already a qualified teacher so will use Maths OU to change the subjects I’ll teach once I’m done.
Now while prepping for Medicine, I did physics, chemistry and biology a levels- there were so many amazing books which were general introductions to these subjects such as Timberlake’s Intro to Chemistry, but I cannot find anything like this about Maths.
Can anyone recommend some books which are more of pleasure reads with some historical aspects or daily applications of mathematics? Something that would complement exercises and more linear approach of MST124/125?
I’ll be starting with MST124 which I’m planing to do together with MST125. I recently sat gcse higher so not sure how to best prepare myself while having a fun summer xxx
All recommendations welcome and may circle theorems be with you xxx 🤓
i am currently enrolled on bsc mathematics at open university and nearly completed year 1
but i recently got into reading a chemistry book (Chemistry³: Introducing inorganic, organic and physical chemistry
by Andrew Burrows (Author), John Holman (Author), Simon Lancaster (Author), Tina Overton (Author), & 3 more )
and now i'm fascinated with the subject (also answering the questions and solving the exercises from the textbook) and now i want to change to bsc natural sciences (chemistry pathway) and now im wondering if it would be difficult to switch and how can i explain it to SST in a convincing manner?
any helpful suggestions would be most appreciated.
Hello everyone, I have been working on M269, Algorithms and Data structures as a part of my BSc IT degree. eTMA03 has aparentlly been marked, but simply says marked on 15th June and awaiting release. I have already succesfully registered on my 3rd year modules and applied for student finance. Does this mean I have passed that module and I just have to wait a little bit to find out what my actual final grade was? Or is it a case of if my grades aren't good enough then I would have to redo my module choices accordingly?
I'm worried that if I haven't passed this module, I will have to cancel my regristration for the year 3 modules and spend a year re-doing M269.
Hi! I just recently graduated high school last month. As an international student, I’m contemplating if I should try out OU with BA Hons in Design and Innovation this October. Due to my school documents not matching my passport name I technically don’t have anything with my passport name to submit my school transcript with.
Since OU follows open admissions my parents are skeptical with “open admission” process and think that there might be a catch or scam but I tried convincing them that it is a genuine institution in the UK.
How is the OU open admissions work and do you just pay the tuition to be able to start studying? I just want to start over with my current passport name to continue my further education and possibly transfer to a brick uni in the UK or US.
Thanks:)
I'm shifting from part-time study to full-time study and I'm not confident that I'll be able to reduce my current job down to part-time so wondered how over full-time students are generating an income?
Considering the MSc in Cyber Security after a BSc in Forensic Psychology – advice?
Hi everyone,
I’ve just finished my BSc in Forensic Psychology with the Open University, and I’m thinking about applying for the MSc in Cyber Security.
It might seem like an unusual switch, but I’ve always had a strong interest in technology and cyber security, and I’m considering a career change. I’m just unsure how difficult the transition would be coming from a psychology background rather than a computing one.
I’m not currently employed as I’m a full-time carer, which means I have plenty of time to dedicate to studying and keeping up with the workload.
Has anyone here made a similar move from a non-computing degree into this master’s?
If so:
How did you find the course?
Did you feel underprepared at the start?
Is there anything you wish you’d learned before beginning?
How manageable was the workload?
Would you recommend it to someone without a computing background?
I’d also appreciate any general advice from people who have completed or are currently studying the MSc in Cyber Security with the OU.
Thanks in advance!
Has anyone experience of switching degrees after studying A111?
I’ve just completed TMA04 and have one left to go. I’m thinking about my degree path and I signed up for a History BA Honours. However, the TMA options I have chosen have all been in philosophy and religious studies. These subjects have really peaked my interest and I’ve enjoyed writing them more than the history options offered.
I’m considering switching to a degree in Religion, Philosophy and Ethics.
Are the history options in A111 a good indicator of what I’ll study later on and the types of TMA I’ll receive during a History degree?
Hi everyone,
I need to find a full-time job as soon as possible because my girlfriend and I want to build a future together and eventually get married.
At the same time, I’ve had a lifelong dream of studying physics. Because I’ll likely need to work while studying, I’m considering doing a Physics degree with the Open University.
Do you think it’s worth it?
The last time I studied was when I briefly enrolled in a Computer Science program in Korea, but I dropped out after only two weeks. Before that, I graduated from high school with grades around the 98th percentile, so I know I was academically capable.
Do you think I could still keep up with university-level physics after such a long break?
Also, my long-term goal is to complete a bachelor’s degree through the Open University and then apply for an on-campus master’s and PhD at a traditional university. Is that a realistic path? Would an Open University degree be respected enough for that?
I’d really appreciate honest opinions, especially from anyone who has taken a similar path. Please don’t sugarcoat it—I want realistic advice.
Hi there, has anyone registered for MST124 for Oct 2026 and can please kindly send the rough schedule/deadlines here? I’m trying to see if I might be able to fit it into my own schedule with other modules.
Thank you!
Hi all,
Currently studying CIPS Level 4- a professional qualification and is a 'diploma'. It's self funded
I work full time.
Born and based in England
I'd like to study business management in October this year.
I worry as the website suggests any higher education means funding might not be granted, but I can't find if this counts, or if it's only official HND, HNC etc which are University based?
I guess professional qualifications are different? there must be people doing AAT that are applying still?
Any help is much appreciated.
Hello all, looking for advice from fellow OU students who may have come across this too. I've completed S111 (60 credits) and MU123 (30 credits). I was meant to do MST124 (30 credits) after S111, but it was too difficult and I switched to MU123.
MU123 hasn't prepared me for MST124 and I know I won't be able to complete it. So does anyone know if I can complete a 60 credit module to finish Stage 1, or does it have to be 30 credits?
*just editing to add, I have contacted SST but wanted to ask here incase anyone had a similar experience.
Anyone applied for the open futures black students scholarship? I’d love to hear from others who have been through the process. Did you hear back before the official deadline or right on the day?
Hi, I’ve applied for an open degree starting in October. I want to do Creative Writing but wanted to be able to pick the ones I want as there are certain arts/writing modules I’m not interested in. To achieve the rest of my credits I decided to look into Geography.
My first question is, if I complete both Creative Writing and Geography/Earth Sciences for my open degree, will I receive a BSc or BA? The OU website states: “Your choice of modules determines whether you graduate with a BA
(Honours) or BSc (Honours) Open degree.”
I haven’t fully researched to see if there are any overlaps for Arts in the Earth Sciences modules but I saw a post mentioning it briefly on this sub where they asked if they should go down a BCs or BA route.
My second question is, I have no idea which path/modules to take to get to a Geography degree. I’m considering choosing Science: Concepts & Practise, Earth Science: Understanding Our Planet, and Earth Processes as I’ve just followed the recommended routes from level 3 backwards. Where there’s been a choice between two recommendations I’ve picked the one that I like the most, but there’s a lot of Earth Science options and I’m not sure which one is most beneficial. For more info, I really like learning about natural disasters so maybe I’m biased towards the modules that include learning about volcanoes?
It might sound silly, but I’m trying to flick between all the modules between stages 1-3 and getting myself turned upside down.
Originally I wanted to learn about Conservation because I studied animal management in college a few years ago, but there don’t seem to be any modules that focus on this enough towards stage 3. If anyone knows a path for Conservation, I’d be grateful for any suggestions.
My final question is, is it actually recommended to try to learn Geography alongside my main focus which will be Creative Writing? I worry that geography will need more modules to fully cover everything I will need to know.
Hi everyone, I don’t have my bac (French A-levels equivalent), is it still possible to enrol anyway? I want to enrol in biology, but I checked the reviews on Google and they were kinda bad.
What has your experience been like at OU? Any regrets so far, and for those who finished the course, what are you doing now?
For those who also didn’t have A-levels or equivalent, how did you find the difficulty of jumping straight into degree-level work without that background?
Sorry for the lot of questions, but it’s expensive for me so I don’t want to waste my money if it’s not worth it.
So, this is a small detail but for me it's part of a bigger problem.
I’m reading module TM256 and it talks about the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI), which sounded like something to protect the everyday person. Me thinking, oh wow that's something I’d love to do as a career. so i google it...
The CPNI was shut down in 2023 to merge with the NPSA.
The module makes no reference to the NPSA or that the CPNI merged with it, so minimum this text is 3 years out of date. Well 3 years out of date in cyber is an eternity.
My question is, if that is out of date, then this text is out of date, so the module could be out of date from which I'm learning about things.
Well what if I'm learning vastly out of date subjects that, when i go into the workplace and start talking about what I’ve learned, what if i have people calling me out on being out of date with subjects.
I'm paying for this course and degree, I shouldn't be learning out of date material.
Like i said, this is one small bit that's out of date but it could be part of more out of date material.
I just thought I’d share that I submitted my final ever EMA last night for my undergraduate degree in Criminology and Law. it’s been a tough three years juggling study with work, but I am buzzing.
just wondering where everyone else is at, and what your plans are?
I’ve accepted a conditional offer to start a masters degree at Edinburgh university part time.
Hi Everyone!
I have signed up to study law with the Open University starting October 2026. I’ve completed registration today and I’m feeling a mixture of nerves and excitement.
I have a couple of questions for previous students. I currently work full time as a Senior Compliance Manager, I already work closely with regulation and law a fair bit although I’m not sure that’s going to help me too much with the degree. I’ve been considering running Criminal Law in October and then overlapping with Civil Law in February. I wondered how feasible this would be? I only plan to do this for the first year. I work from home so I think that’ll help, just wondering if anyone has done it and roughly what hours they studied so I can properly prepare for it.
For any students that have taken these modules recently, do you have any books you recommend? I’ve already read Tom Bingham’s Rule of Law which I thoroughly enjoyed. I’m making my way through Learning the Law by Glanville Williams; although that book is slightly going over my head at the moment, and I have Letters to a law student lined up. If you have any recommendations that’ll relate to the course, I’ll really appreciate it.
Otherwise, I guess I’m just asking for any other advice you have. Especially from anyone that has successfully achieved a First….if you have any tips on what to focus on, etc. I’m aiming for a first because honestly, the pressure will be on once my colleagues find out I’m doing this 😂 so I want to build good habits from day one. Any advice is massively appreciated.
And lastly, if you’re taking law in October, if you know of any communities, chats, etc. that would be awesome!
Thank you in advance ❤️