Length of a degree

[Cozylozy]

Wouldn’t it be more appealing if a degree was condensed to 2 years? Would be doable

www.law.ox.ac.uk/content/course/ba-jurisprudence-senior-status

www.ba.law.cam.ac.uk/studying-law-cambridge/mature-students

That's a conversion course for people who already have a degree One year law conversions also available.

I don’t think that would be doable for most degrees.

Accelerated LLB in 2 years was a thing when I was at Glasgow Uni in the dark ages,
however it was graduate entry.

Yes you already need a degree for Oxford but it's a proper 2 year undergraduate degree.

Queen Mary does one. As does university of law and a few others around the country.

A conversion course offered by say bpp is a very different thing and would not give you a degree.

I am just saying 2 year degrees do exist. They are probably more appropriate for things like law or business that appeal more to mature career changers. (Or Canadian students!)

They need more tutors as there would be more teaching time per student per year. Timetabling might also be difficult due to to finite number of rooms and lots of post grad courses as well as under grad

More assignments per year would mean tutors would need more marking time

No. The 4 year degree structure we have already in Scotland is fine.

My institution currently offers a small number of 2 year BAs which include teaching over the summer. We're getting rid of them because they don't recruit enough students to be cost effective. Numbers have been steadily falling over the last five years. The main reason students give for not wanting the 2 year option is cost: they need the summer to work.

I'm a mature student and just done a degree lasting 4 years, foundation year plus 3 year degree programme.

I think it is probably possible to do the foundation year and 1st year into one year. The foundation year was very useful in developing the skills needed, and first year useful for developing essay writing skills. But the actual content could have been done over 1 year.

But I think students need the first year to settle down, especially younger students. It's a 'grace' period while they adjust and get used to the independent study, not being babied by school, or parents.

Am currently doing an MA which lasts the full academic year and a bit more (30th September to mid August) and it seems a very long year and I'm old! Not sure a younger student would fancy it.

My probation officer degree was 21 months. It was only hell becuase of the full time role you have to do alongside. I think we just have a mindset of it has to be 3 yrs

I did mine in two years back in 1996.
They gave me credits for my RGN qualification so I just did year two and three of a BA (Hons) Health Studies degree. Got a first.

You APEL'd credits over

I did a HNC and could have bumped it up to a degree in 2 years. The undergrads did 3 years. If you come in with a diploma qualification or equivalent that’s still the case for some vocational degrees. It’s clearly not available to 18 year olds. As the 2 year degree at Oxford isn’t!

Other places do the 2 year law degree for non graduates.

Now whether that's the best way to learn for non graduates is to be debated. If you are 18 then probably not. If you are a mature student who has worked for a while and may have done other professional study then it's a good idea.

Why do we need 3 years? To have a practice year which doesn't count? To allow people to learn to live away from home and make friends:socialise in that first year.
To learn x amount of content? (I did 7 modules on the compulsory law topics then 4 others -do I really need 1 more optional module)
A short pre course on "how to study" is probably needed for a 2 year course if it's been a while since you last studied. I just attended the English departments various "how to critically think"
My dad at 75 had to do open university access course as his last degree was 50 years ago. That was a bit Mickey Mouse for him but useful for others. Lots of "reflecting" exercises which seemed pointless.

This.

@burnoutbabe Are any of those degrees for 18 year olds or do they require a HND equivalent as I described above? I suspect they do require a HE qualification, just not a degree. DD could go for a 2 year degree after her Diploma in Interior Design. For those without the diploma, it’s 3 years. My worry is lack of work experience too. My DDs worked and volunteered in holidays. Continual study and MK work isn’t a great cv. Degrees involving employers and year abroad could not, realistically, be 2 years.

They're accelerated programmes and few and far between - their entry requirements are higher than the 3 year course at the same university. Most are aimed at mature students

The university of law 2 year doesn't need more than a levels. Most "better ones" require a degree already.

But other sections could benefit from shorter degrees -mature students who have been working? They don't need long summer holidays (and Easter and Xmas)

So yes they may not fit into a traditional teaching university schedule.

I am wondering if private ones (birbeck?) could be more flexible (probably why university of law is as that started doing professional courses and expanded its range)

Because university is not about being taught. It's about studying.
They are students: they study.
Pupils are taught.

If anything I think England should extend their degrees to 4 years and introduce more breadth in the learning like the rest of the world. Education is not something to be got over as quickly as possible, it should be about equipping you with the skills to be able to continue learning for the rest of your life. The world is changing fast and we need people who are adaptable and flexible to cope with change. You don't get that from memorising facts as quickly as possible, you need to be given the time to push yourself and to fail.

I always say to my students that you read for a degree. Get reading! 😁

Yes I don't think anyone has said there isn't a very small market for them. And they do exist. But they're not suitable, popular, for the vast majority of 18 year olds, nor as a mainstream provider delivery method.

Birkbeck isn't private btw.

As everyone else has said, they exist, students just don't choose them!

I worked for a university that pushed them really hard and they were most popular with mature students who hadn't gone to university first time round. But in the end they had to discontinue them because the demand just wasn't there.