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Full-time vs part-time study

We offer the majority of our undergraduate, postgraduate and MPhil/PhD courses for both full-time and part-time evening study. Deciding on the pace of study that’s best for you and fits around your life is important - and we can guide you on every step of the decision-making process. 

Your choice will depend on how intensively you want to study, what your daytime work, family or personal commitments are, and how quickly you want to complete your course. You also need to take into consideration the time commitment for attending classes and undertaking study at home. The best part is that if the choice you make doesn't work for you, you can chance your mind and either accelerate or decelerate your study.

Whether you choose to study full-time or part-time you will receive the same University of London qualification. 

To get help choosing between full-time and part-time study, come along to an Open Evening. 

Number of years by level and mode

  • Undergraduate degrees are available:
    • full-time over three years
    • part-time over four or six years.
  • Postgraduate degrees are available:
    • full-time over one year
    • part-time over two years.
  • MPhil/PhD degrees are available:
    • full-time over two to four years
    • part-time over four to seven years.
    • Our Integrated PhD degrees include a compulsory year of taught modules.

Benefits of part-time study

Balancing study with other commitments

Our courses are designed to help you balance your work or other commitments outside university with your studies, but there is still a lot to consider when choosing which course is right for you and whether to study full-time or part-time.

You should take into account both the time you will need to attend classes, whether they are on-campus or online, and the time you will need for independent study.

Much of your time will be spent on self-directed study at home or in the library, including preparing for classes and following up afterwards. Each class will have required and additional reading, with most lecturers giving a detailed breakdown of readings in advance of each class. Sometimes links to articles will be posted on Moodle, our online learning environment.

NUMBER OF HOURS PER WEEK

Everyone is different, and the study time required varies topic by topic, but as a guide:

  • full-time undergraduate students:
    • are likely to attend between xxx and xxx hours of face-to-face teaching in class
    • will need to schedule around two hours of self-study for each hour of face-to-face teaching in class
  • part-time undergraduate students:
    • are likely to attend between xxx and xxx hours of face-to-face teaching in class
    • should schedule around two hours of self-study for each hour of face-to-face teaching in class
  • full-time postgraduate students:
    • will have around 25-30 hours of organised study per week, although exact hours depend on the programme and your ability
    • should set aside around XX hours of self-study per week
  • part-time postgraduate students: 
    • will have around XX-XX hours of organised study per week, though this will vary by programme and your ability
    • should set aside around XX hours of self-study per week.