Master's Degrees - A Guide to Studying Online
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Master’s Degrees - A Guide to Studying Online
Why Study With the Flexible Learning to Fit Your Life
University of Liverpool?
Your life as a working professional is already busy
A s postgraduate degrees become increasingly
necessary for career advancement, employees
are becoming far more discerning about the qualifi-
enough. Watching the clock so you leave the office in
time for an evening class on campus, missing a class be-
cause of work or personal commitments, limited inter-
cations held by prospective employees. Just having a action time with your instructors and other students, or
postgraduate degree is no longer enough. Where you sacrificing your valuable vacation time for residential
studied is becoming increasingly important to stay courses is going to make studying far more difficult
ahead of the competition and achieve the best career and stressful than it needs to be.
opportunities. Although any qualification worth having is going to
require hard work, our flexible online learning format
The University of Liverpool has existed for over 120 puts you in control of your studies.
years. A member of the Russell Group which consists of
twenty of the United Kingdom’s top research universi- Study any time of the day – the online classroom is
ties, we are recognised as one of the best universities available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
in the UK. This and the reputation we have gained
as a world-class university from our ground-breaking No geographical restrictions – with a 100% online
research and expert academic staff (including Nobel programme you can study whenever you want,
Prize winners) makes a graduate from the University wherever you are in the world
of Liverpool standout from the crowd.
Not only do we offer you a degree from one of the
best universities in the UK, we offer you a postgradu-
ate programme that fits into your work and personal
commitments.2
Our students come from over 180 different
High Levels of Support countries, lending the classroom a unique global
perspective and exposing you to a wide range of
With over ten years of experience in providing post- international experiences.
graduate education online, we have developed pro-
gramme structures and support systems that help you This brochure will give more information about why
achieve academic success from your time and commit- the University of Liverpool offers you a smarter way
ment during your studies. Online study often gives the to study, how you can apply, and how we help you
impressions of studying alone. However in our online succeed.
classrooms, students have greater interaction with
their instructors and fellow classmates than in a typi-
cal face-to-face classroom environment. As an online
student with the University of Liverpool, you should Applying to Study
expect:
During this phase of your contact with the University, we
To participate in classes with an average of 18 will assign you an Enrolment Advisor. Your Enrolment
students – therefore you can expect to receive de- Advisor will discuss what you want to achieve with
tailed, weekly feedback on your work from your your studies and will give you advice about which of
doctoral tutor and can easily contact them when our programmes will best help you to reach your goals.
you need their guidance They will assess your suitability for the programme and
help you to prepare an application.
High levels of interaction with other students in When applying you will have to submit documents
online discussions several times a week (for example, copies of your identification documents
(ID) and educational certificates) as requested by your
Support from a team of specialists who are on- Enrolment Advisor, complete an online application
hand to give you the advice and assistance you form, and make an initial payment.
need. After you submit your application, the Board of
Admissions will examine it. If you meet the require-
ments of the programme, they will recommend that
the Faculty accept your application. The Faculty will
A Global Classroom for normally confirm your acceptance within five working
Experienced Professionals days.
Once your acceptance is confirmed and you complete
Our online programmes offer unique opportunities any remaining requirements for admission, you will be
that campus programmes find hard to replicate. admitted as a student to the University of Liverpool.
The flexibility of our programmes makes them
more suitable for professionals who are mid-ca-
reer and unable to take time off to study
The average age and level of experience of our
students is higher than many equivalent campus
programmes, leading to an enriched classroom
experience3
Before You Start Studying Starting Your Studies
Before you start studying we make sure you can access The first three weeks of your studies are designed
the University’s e-learning platform, have the required to incorporate foundation elements (such as academic
textbooks, and know how to use the online classroom writing skills and citation and referencing) alongside
and any other important information you will need as the academic content of your chosen programme. This
a student. Your Enrolment Advisor remains available ensures that whatever your previous experience of
to offer you any advice or assistance, but you are also higher education, you have the skills you require to
given access to a website that will guide you through get off to a good start.
this process.
Five weeks before the start of your programme For those without previous experience of higher
you take the Student Readiness Orientation module. education, the foundation elements are of obvious
Students admitted to the University less than five importance. For other students, they will refresh skills
weeks before the start of their studies will take the that they have used in the past. Even if you have fol-
Student Readiness Orientation within a few days of lowed a higher education programme before, the
admission. The Student Readiness Orientation is an on- foundation elements ensure that you are familiar with
line, self-study preparatory module that helps you ori- the expectations of the University in areas such as cita-
entate the online classroom so you know how it works tion and referencing, which may differ in detail from
and where to find information before your classes where you studied previously.
begin. This module takes about ten hours to complete
including a short final assessment. You would normally During the first three weeks of your programme, our
spread this time over two or three days. This module team of Student Advisors will monitor your progress in
must be completed before you start your programme, submitting assignments and participating in class dis-
however it is non-credit bearing and does not count cussions, and reach out to you if it looks like you are
towards your degree grade. experiencing difficulties.
Although support will never be more than a phone
call or an email away, this enhanced level of support in
the first few weeks means you get assistance or guid-
ance as soon as possible, so you do not fall behind with
your studies.
Due to the extra foundation elements incorporated
into the first module, it is ten weeks long, two weeks
longer than the rest of the modules that make up your
programme.4
Summary of Application Process
Application Acceptance
Your Enrolment Advisor will advise you The Faculty will consider your applica-
about the programme that best meets tion; this normally takes around five
your requirements, assess your suitability working days.
and help you prepare your application. If successful, you will be accepted on
to the programme by the University.
What you need to do: You will receive an email from the
Provide documents Registrar with a letter confirming your
acceptance.
Complete Application Form
Discuss your potential start date
Make initial payment
Admission
After being accepted on to your pro-
Recommendation gramme you must complete any final
requirements before being admitted to
Your Enrolment Advisor will present the University as a student.
your completed application to the Board To be admitted you must:
of Admissions.
If you meet the admission require- Be accepted by the University
ments, you will be recommended to the Sign and return a Student Agreement
relevant University Faculty for admission.
Select a payment plan for the costs of
tuition
Make all initial payments
Confirm your start date5 Enrolment After being admitted you take the Student Readiness Orientation module. This does not count carry credit to- wards your degree. However, it must be completed before you can be enrolled and your start date confirmed. The Student Readiness Orientation teaches you how to use the online class- room. Starting your Studies The first few weeks of your studies feature foundation elements to help you get off to a good start. We will also monitor your progress in this period and reach out to you, if it looks like you are experiencing difficulties, to offer support and guidance.
6
The E-Learning Platform Weekly Assignments
The e-learning platform consists of four main parts: A study week starts on a Thursday and ends on a
Wednesday
my.ohecampus.com is where you log-in to the
University’s online classroom. From this page you Every Thursday your instructor will make the lec-
can access your grades, other administrative infor- ture notes, reading list and assignments for the
mation, the other parts of the online University week available in the online classroom
and your Student Support Manager*
Each week you will normally need to either com-
eCampus is where you access your study email plete a written assignment, or work on a project
and meet students from other classes and pro- that you submit at the end of the module. Each
grammes in discussion boards - these are known assignment must be completed by a deadline.
as ‘Student Lounges’
Blackboard is the name of the online classroom.
This is where you receive and submit assignments, Interaction with Other Students
and interact with your instructor and the other
students in your class In addition to the assignments described above, your
instructor will also ask you one or two discussion ques-
The Online Library gives you access to thousands tions each week. Your answers to these will not be
of books, magazines and journal articles to use in long, maybe a few hundred words. You can read all
your studies. the answers to these questions by other students in
the online classroom and they can read your answers.
All parts of the e-learning platform are easy to use. If You are expected to respond to other students’ an-
you can surf the internet and send an email you will swers by making comments and asking questions, and
have no problems getting to grips with our e-learning to reply to any questions or comments they have for
platform. Most computers (PC or Mac with compatible you. This allows you to demonstrate your understand-
Microsoft software) manufactured within the last five ing of the subject to the instructor, to learn from other
years will have a high enough specification to use the professionals’ experience, and to let them learn from
e-learning platform, but we can provide detailed tech- yours.
nical requirements if you need them. You will of course The quality, not quantity of your responses is what is
need a reliable internet connection – and although important. You are normally expected to make about
broadband (cable/ASDL) will enhance the speed at six responses (exact requirements vary) each week, in
which you can access the e-learning platform, it is still addition to your initial answers to the instructor’s ques-
possible to study if you only have a dial-up connection. tions.
* see below for details of the Student Support Manager and the other You will study each module with a class of around
members of the University staff. 18 other students. Although you may work with some
students in more than one module, normally the com-
position of each class varies, allowing you to interact
with different people over the course of your studies.
Our postgraduate students come from all over the
world. The online discussions give you the opportunity7
to gain insights from a variety of countries, cultures, Write an assignment (c. 700 words) OR work on
industries, viewpoints and experiences. They can form a project requiring around the same amount of
the beginning of an invaluable global network and work
wonderful relationships, which you will benefit from
long after you have finished studying. Write one or two short answers (a few hundred
words) to discussion questions set by your instruc-
tor
Flexible Study Participate in the online discussion board at least
three out of seven days, responding to what other
You must complete each assignment by the deadline students have written around six times (substan-
set. You must also spread your participation in the tial, relevant contributions, not just a few sen-
online discussions over at least three days each week. tences)
Other than this, you are free to study whenever is most
convenient for you. The online classroom is available Reflect on what you have learned.
24 hours a day, seven days a week. Your interaction
with other students is asynchronous; you do not have This list should enable you to make a good estimate
to be online at the same time as them. You can read of the required study time in a typical week, but on
and respond to what other students have written at average our students find they spend approximately
any time - it is just like checking your email. 20 hours per week studying.
How Many Hours per Week? Academic Integrity
Our online programmes are part-time programmes, You submit all your work through the online class-
structured so that busy professionals with full-time room. When you submit an assignment it is compared
jobs and family commitments can successfully complete with a vast database of printed publications, websites
them. You may find that you have to sacrifice your free and assignments that have already been submitted to
time in the evenings and at weekends, but the work- other universities around the world. Instructors can see
load is realistic for full-time professionals. the amount of material in a student’s work that has
The exact amount of time you will spend studying already appeared elsewhere. This allows them to check
each week is hard to predict. People absorb written you are correctly citing and referencing any material
information and complete assignments at different you have quoted in your assignments. It also ensures
speeds. Although the assignments set vary between the University of Liverpool’s standards of academic in-
programmes and the week of the module you are in, tegrity are maintained and that students only receive
the below list gives a good example of a typical week: credit for work that they have done themselves.
Plan when you will do your assignments and do
any preparatory work
Read sections of your textbook/s and other as-
signed reading from the online library and other
sources8
Weekly Assessment Duration of studies
All work undertaken is graded on a weekly basis. Each The programme takes on average 2½ years to com-
week you will receive grades and feedback from your plete with a few weeks’ break in between modules.
instructor for the work you did the previous week. At Should students need to alter their study path due to
the end of a module we use these weekly grades to work or family commitments they can do so in consul-
give you an overall grade for the module. Two-thirds tation with a Student Support Manager.
of your final grade for a master’s degree comes from
the final grades of your eight modules. The remaining
third comes from your dissertation.
You will receive feedback, positive and/or negative Dissertation
from your instructor about your work, and be given
advice about how to improve grades. After successfully completing eight modules you will
Continuous assessment tests your knowledge and be ready to start your dissertation. We prepare you for
your understanding of what you are studying in a more your dissertation just as we prepare you for the start
meaningful way than exams, which can often be a test of your studies.
of memory. You will be enrolled into a dissertation class taken
by a General Dissertation Instructor. In this eight-week
long class you will be taught any skills you need to
complete your dissertation, finalise your dissertation
Modular Structure topic and be appointed a Dissertation Advisor.
Your Dissertation Advisor will then advise and guide
Your studies are broken into modules; each module your progress as you write your dissertation. Your dis-
focuses on a particular area of the subject you are sertation will explore in-depth a subject of your choice
studying. Each of your credit-bearing modules lasts that is relevant to your programme of study and of
eight weeks. interest to yourself. Dissertations average 20,000 words
A full master’s degree consists of eight modules fol- in length and normally take seven months to complete,
lowed by a dissertation. excluding the eight-week long dissertation class.
Some programmes only have compulsory modules.
Other programmes have core modules you must
complete, and a number of specialist and/or elective
modules you can choose. Please see the relevant pro- Support
gramme brochure for details.
An instructor who is expert in the relevant subject Throughout your studies you will have dedicated sup-
area teaches each module. All our instructors hold port specialists you can turn to for advice and assist-
advanced degrees with over 60% holding doctoral ance.
degrees. In addition to extensive previous experience A personal Enrolment Advisor will help you with
as educators many have decades of experience in in- your initial enquiry and the application process. After
dustry. you are admitted to the University they will make sure
you are ready to start your studies on the date you
have selected.
During your studies you will be assigned a Student
Support Manager. They will normally stay with you9 throughout your studies, and will provide you with any non-academic guidance or support you need. In Graduation addition to the advice you can get from your Student Support Managers we have a team of Student Advisors All of our online degrees follow the same high academ- who contact students who are falling behind with their ic standards as our on-campus equivalent degrees, and studies to see what we can do to help. meet the academic and quality standards you would You will also benefit from access to an Online expect from one of the leading research universities in Librarian to assist you in finding research material, the UK. Therefore upon successful completion of your and technical support for the e-learning platform 24 degree, you are welcome to attend your graduation hours a day. ceremony in Liverpool alongside other students of our If students find their study skills are holding them online programmes and students who have studied on back from doing their best in their studies, we offer campus. If you are unable to travel to the UK, we will a number of academic skills modules. These modules arrange for the secure delivery of your degree. allow students to improve their study skills in spe- cific areas (Citing and Referencing, English, Academic Writing, and Research).
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