Applied Statistics

Advantages: Flexible study, good communication with other students
Disadvantages: Cost, little tutor support

...and there are study weekends in the first 2 years which gives you a chance to meet them. There's also an 'online community' where you can chat/ plead for help which has been very useful. You study 3 modules each semester (Sept-Jan and Jan-May) with an expectation of 100 hours study for each module. This means that when you're working you really do need to be working very hard, especially as each module has an assignment and/or exam and they are all due at the end of the semester. It does seem very frustrating to then have 4 months where you're not studying at all. If the pace is too much then there is the option of completing over a maximum of 4 years, or you can take a postgraduate certificate/ diploma at the end of Year 1 or Year 2. The course in not funded by any of the research bodies, nor is it Royal Statistical Society accredited, unlike the one... Read review

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Advantages: You get to pretend to be a doctor, eventually be a doctor, get paid lots and party!
Disadvantages: You first get into debt, make mistakes, work hard, have to learn to cope...

...and stereotyping. Meanwhile 'Society' looks at a bit of sociology and social class etc. > Population Perspective (PP): There are lots of statistics, graphs, mathematical models etc. that come into looking at diseases in populations. This is called 'epidemiology' and the first year introduces you to the basics. I didn't do maths A-level, but still found that I was able to get my head round this stuff, even if I didn't enjoy it very much. It's useful to be able to apply the statistics because they pop up in loads of journals, so this part of the course really helps you understand what 'relative risk', 'incidence', 'prevalence' and 'Randomised Controlled Trials' are all about. > Professional and Personal Development (PPD): This covers what it's like to be a health professional. You look at the career structures of people in the NHS, learn about... Read review

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Advantages: Flexible study, good value for money, good tutor support
Disadvantages: can be quite isolated, spare time, what's that?

...of the work!). Having said that, the course text for Elements of Statistics is a recommended text for the MSc I'm studying so it must be good. Applications of Probability contains a lot of Maths so it's useful to have some kind of Applied Maths experience beforehand and the same is true of Linear Statistical Modelling. Fortunately the OU website gives you pretty clear indications of any prerequisites. I find the approach the OU generally uses, with lots of examples and case studies, works really well as it's a lot less dry than pages and pages of numbers. It's only now that I'm doing distance learning not with the OU that I realise just what a well-oiled machine the OU is. Couse materials were always delivered well in advance of the February start date (sometime even before Christmas) and any errors in the material were highlighted early on. I... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Flexible study, good value for money, good tutor support
Disadvantages: can be quite isolated, spare time, what's that?

...of the work!). Having said that, the course text for Elements of Statistics is a recommended text for the MSc I'm studying so it must be good. Applications of Probability contains a lot of Maths so it's useful to have some kind of Applied Maths experience beforehand and the same is true of Linear Statistical Modelling. Fortunately the OU website gives you pretty clear indications of any prerequisites. I find the approach the OU generally uses, with lots of examples and case studies, works really well as it's a lot less dry than pages and pages of numbers. It's only now that I'm doing distance learning not with the OU that I realise just what a well-oiled machine the OU is. Couse materials were always delivered well in advance of the February start date (sometime even before Christmas) and any errors in the material were highlighted early on. I... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Flexible study, good communication with other students
Disadvantages: Cost, little tutor support

...and there are study weekends in the first 2 years which gives you a chance to meet them. There's also an 'online community' where you can chat/ plead for help which has been very useful. You study 3 modules each semester (Sept-Jan and Jan-May) with an expectation of 100 hours study for each module. This means that when you're working you really do need to be working very hard, especially as each module has an assignment and/or exam and they are all due at the end of the semester. It does seem very frustrating to then have 4 months where you're not studying at all. If the pace is too much then there is the option of completing over a maximum of 4 years, or you can take a postgraduate certificate/ diploma at the end of Year 1 or Year 2. The course in not funded by any of the research bodies, nor is it Royal Statistical Society accredited, unlike the one... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: course notes on web; good lecturers; good facilities
Disadvantages: Its a bit too focused on Cognitive Psychology

...I am studying BSc Psychology at Birmingham University... The course has been interesting, the workload is very light and they give you very few hours of timetabled lectures! There is a really strong focus on cognitive psychology - so be aware of that if you aren't too interested in it!! The first year offered the broadest base possible of different areas in psychology, from the basics of learning, to physiological psychology to child psychology. You also have to do Statistics, but it sounds scarier than it is. It's actual very straightforward! Unfortunately for my year, we were unable to choose any option in the second year, although we had been told we would get this chance! It meant we did no applied psychology and our attention was heavily focused on cognitive and physiological psychology. I am now in my fianal year, and am... Read review

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