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Original poster

Is this just a Mickey Mouse degree? (OU course)

110 replies

DESGUSTANG · 16/02/2021 21:17

Name changed. God only knows why, though.

Considering doing an Arts & Humanities degree - Philosophy and English Lit specifically with the OU.

Can't get out of my head that it's a Mickey Mouse degree (thanks, middle class education system!) but I'm really interested in the subject matter. Anyone have any experience in the OU, Philosophy degrees or general life advice?

(FWIW, I'm in Scotland so I think tuition would be free with SAAS, if I'm not mistaken).

OP posts:
bridgetreilly · 16/02/2021 23:44

Huh? Why would you think a degree from a well-respected, long-established university, in two solidly academic subjects is a Mickey Mouse degree?

It's not 'football studies' or 'golf course management' or whatever.

BoomBoomsCousin · 16/02/2021 23:45

I did philosophy with the OU as part of a Politics, Philosophy and Economics degree and I thought they did it really poorly.

It felt pretty mickey mouse - not because the subject is mickey mouse, but the course was. It was easy to do (I got a first, despite despising it), it was obvious what they wanted you to write for the essays, you could pretty much guess which questions were going to come up on the exam. There was no real investigation of the subject matter it was all pretty superficial and there was next to no formal logic nor any content on abstraction or rigour in developing argument, so you didn't even develop those transferable skills well from the course (obviously, you can do that yourself, but then why waste time and money on the OU course?). It wasn't far off sitting at the pub with a bunch of reasonably well read friends. I also found the areas covered to be a bit tired with way to much emphasis on religion for me (I'm just not interested in that aspect of philosophy).

The other subjects in my degree - economics and politics - were really well handled. But I wouldn't recommend philosophy with the OU.

bridgetreilly · 16/02/2021 23:46

In a way it's a 'Mickey Mouse' degree in as much as it's not something with a clear career path/marketable skill.

That is not what a Mickey Mouse degree means. Most degrees do not lead to career paths or marketable skills. Indeed, most so-called Mickey Mouse degrees are much more vocational in outlook than traditional academic subjects.

slashlover · 16/02/2021 23:47

Even if your course doesn't relate to your area of work it still teaches timekeeping, critical thinking, writing clearly and concisely, computer skills, taking effective notes, communication and probably some skills specific to that course (screw you inferential statistics).

EugenesAxe · 16/02/2021 23:49

I would consider neither to be 'Mickey Mouse' subjects and as you are interested in them both, who cares if people judge? They shouldn't though.

Newnameagain111 · 16/02/2021 23:52

Incidentally, I think Media Studies gets such a bad rep for no reason.

I did English Lit, it was great but what bearing does it have on my daily life? Not much.
Media on the other hand- constantly affecting me day in day out and shaping the wod as we know it. Media is the new Literature if you ask me.

Lalliella · 16/02/2021 23:57

Definitely not a Mickey Mouse degree OP, far from it! Sounds really interesting and challenging, and I totally admire anyone clever enough to study just one of those subjects let alone both. DS is just applying to uni (he might also be including philosophy in a joint degree) and I’ve been watching talks about options with him, and I’m sure that one of them said something like 70% of employers don’t care what subjects your degree is in anyway, they just want people who’ve got one. Good luck OP 😊

safariboot · 16/02/2021 23:59

Not "Mickey Mouse" remotely. Both have been studied for centuries.

Not particularly relevant to most careers, but then degrees shouldn't have to be. Education can and should be about so much more than merely making us better wage earners.

TaraR2020 · 17/02/2021 00:12

@Newnameagain111 - agree with your point about media studies but even within the industry its considered a poor substitute for a traditionally academic subject.

Reinventinganna · 17/02/2021 00:13

It sounds really interesting!

SoulofanAggron · 17/02/2021 00:49

My mum did an Arts and Humanities degree with the OU by the way years ago and really enjoyed.

I don't think it helped her career as she was already a social worker and stayed one, but she valued the experience.

In a way it's a 'Mickey Mouse' degree in as much as it's not something with a clear career path/marketable skill.

That is not what a Mickey Mouse degree means. Most degrees do not lead to career paths or marketable skills. Indeed, most so-called Mickey Mouse degrees are much more vocational in outlook than traditional academic subjects.

@bridgetreilly According to Wikipedia Smile, a Mickey Mouse degree is a degree considered worthless or irrelevant. My Classical Civilization degree, as a subject, left me with no specific marketable skills in and of itself, so nowadays I consider having done it pretty worthless and irrelevant. A lot of people share this opinion when I say what I studied, too. I guess having a degree at all looks good on the CV though (but so many people have one nowadays) and I could maybe write/compile information/study in a way people who didn't do a degree might not be as practiced at doing when entering a job.

But if I were to advise anyone thinking of doing a degree who intended to have any sort of working life in future, I'd advise them to do a degree that gives a clear marketable ability at the end. It just would feel to me that you're getting more for your money/time that way.

Of course, if it's just for fun or a sense of achievement, that's different.

Mally2020 · 17/02/2021 02:01

I think it's more about what are your intentions after the degree? But I wish I was more like you and had do a course I was genuinely interested in rather than academic and peer pressure, I started doing biomed but hated it eventually switched to biology and computing to work in environmental studies

Mally2020 · 17/02/2021 02:02

done a course*

Lonecatwithkitten · 17/02/2021 02:08

Definitely not Mickey Mouse my DP was a mechanic then did an engineering degree with OU and is now one of the most senior engineers in the world of motorsport.

lottiegarbanzo · 17/02/2021 08:20

How long ago was that @BoomBoomsCousin ?

I know they revise their course content every few years.

TheJerkStore · 17/02/2021 08:48

Not particularly relevant to most careers, but then degrees shouldn't have to be

Lots of degrees don't train you for a particular job but many graduate employers like that!
The top accountancy firms target history graduates because they value the skills developed as part of studying that subject.

imperialqueen · 17/02/2021 10:09

My friend has just completed a degree with the OU in Scotland (on a part time basis) and SAAS funded her fully. She didn't have any other qualifications so hadn't used SAAS funding previously.

imperialqueen · 17/02/2021 10:10

Oh and meant to say my friend loved it and can't rate the O.U. highly enough. She did her in psychology.

twoshedsjackson · 17/02/2021 10:55

It used to be possible to do some courses as stand-alone units; I did just that, (Reading Development) and found it useful and relevant. The materials are used by other institutions, which they wouldn't do if it were "Mickey Mouse". Any application of academic rigour will stand you in good stead; disregard the Gradgrinds!

TrialOfStyle · 17/02/2021 11:20

I have a Philosophy degree (and did some subsidiaries in English Lit). I haven't done anything in that field, but the research and critical thinking are incredibly useful going forward.

TrialOfStyle · 17/02/2021 11:22

My degree was from a Russell Group, but if I was considering a post-grad I would certainly consider OU as I've heard really good things about them.

Hazelnutlatteplease · 17/02/2021 11:28

I dont think you'll find much reference to Mickey mouse in a philosophy and English course...

TrialOfStyle · 17/02/2021 11:30

@Hazelnutlatteplease

I dont think you'll find much reference to Mickey mouse in a philosophy and English course...
Well, unless you decide to do your dissertation on the moral ambiguities of Children's literature.
FolkyFoxFace · 17/02/2021 11:43

I lecture English Lit, and a lot of my course revolves around Philosophy. A lot of my students do the combined degree - definitely not a Mickey Mouse subject! It's fascinating, in-depth, and hard work (in a good way!)!

I also don't think there's a problem at all with the OU.

Nothing Mickey Mouse about any of it, whatsoever. I hope you enjoy it if you go ahead!

mayandjuniper · 17/02/2021 11:46

I have an OU degree and it's always been seen as a good thing by my employers. I'm a teacher- always walked in to the jobs I've applied for so can't be that much of a Micky Mouse degree. Mine is in English Lit and Humanities.

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