What is the quickest degree you can study for?

[Neverinamonthofsundays]

I am the only one in my family without a degree and that does annoy me. I am hitting 50 and would love to do something part time as I work etc and do not want to retrain as I like the job I do but I would love to just be able to say I have a degree in something.

I finished a business degree this year, PT online through Uni of Essex. Should have taken 4years PT. I took 6 (maternity leave and an injury/surgery set me back a little). There was a one week break between modules and a 2/3 week break over Xmas otherwise you worked through.

so glad I finally got one! (Ages 49). And was vaguely related to my job. I felt that as I had plenty of work experience I could relate to the material more and have examples to draw on throughout

Pick something you can love OP. I did my BA, MA as a mature student with a full time job and started with 3 kids under the age of 6. It was TOUGH, but I loved what I was doing. I also did it 2 nights a week at the uni rather than distance (huge respect for distance learners, because that is motivation).

If you just do something for the sake of it, it will be tougher. It was the best thing I’ve ever done.

Apply! Usual entry requirement is a degree, but strong work experience or professional qualifications may be enough if it's in a related area. Get googling! OU prob a good place to start.

@Neverinamonthofsundays no, I'm just impatient and I wasn't getting any younger!

I know several doctors, old ones, granted, who took an extra year - just the one - to do a psychology degree. They each got firsts.

So students with the very high grade A levels needed for medicine got firsts. In other news the Pope is Catholic.

(Unusual to intercalate to a Psych degree though, probably not even possible these days - only to Biomed or similar)

Depends perhaps on the university but if you have years of experience in your field you can do a Masters without a degree.

If you are 49 it would have been free when you were 18 OP, they didn’t bring fees in until 1998! Anyway, I suppose it depends whether you want part-time of full-time and remember you will be eligible for loans but choose something you find interesting, that’s the most important thing.

It’s called intercalating & is only available to medical students.

Im was raised in Ireland. Always been fees here.

However unusual it was in the ‘70s and ‘80s, them’s the facts.

Anyway, generally, psychology is a largely useless discipline looked down upon by properly qualified medics and, as a degree, ignored by employers.

I think when you do a degree you have to be genuinely interested in the subject as it goes into a lot of depth. So I’d consider more what you’re interested in rather than what is quickest.

Clearly you have no idea what you are talking about.

Here's a list of intercalated degrees available at just one uni. They can all be done in a year. That's the whole point. Are these "made-y uppy" too?

Anyway, generally, psychology is a largely useless discipline looked down upon by properly qualified medics and, as a degree, ignored by employers

You'd better let the NHS know not to bother funding the Psych doctorates it funds then....

And maybe also let all those employers who employ Psych grads they're wasting their time eh?

It’s called intercalating & is only available to medical students.

I know - I was the one that called it intercalating

Sorry @Neverinamonthofsundays for derailing.

If you do choose psychology, just make sure it is BPS accredited to ensure you can use it in the future if you change your mind about your career.

That’s a separate set up - medical students get the option of an intercalated year after two years of studying, in a biomedical science subject. The idea is that they will already have covered most of the first two years as part of their medical training, so can go straight into the final year modules.

I got an immuno biology BSc in a year, many of my colleagues did neuroscience. Hopefully you don’t think either of those are dossy subjects - they aren’t (pharmacology, or “pharma-holiday” was the traditional easy option, just because we’d covered so much of it already).

And maybe also let all those employers who employ Psych grads they're wasting their time eh?

I don’t need to. They already know it. If a psychology grad is employed it won’t be for the degree.

You can do a degree apprenticeship now which is around 2 and a half years and designed to get you a degree whilst working. I’m currently doing one in Business Management at Corndel College London - completely distance learning.

I’m on my phone and meant to quote whilst my dishwasher titchy.

I did my BSc hons in applied human biochemistry in my 50s I loved it and got so much from it. I then did an MSc which was less fun but useful

Go for it but don't expect it to be quick. Or cheap. It took me 6 years to do a part time BSc hons but I managed that and also worked full time and had two babies! So it is possible. I then did a part time MSc whilst working full time which should have taken 2 years but COVID meant it took 3.

Have a Google of Saturday study courses or weekend degrees. There are lots of universities offering them now for the exact reason you want to do one.

So curious to know whether you’ve made any progress in narrowing down your options, @Neverinamonthofsundays …

If you have finance quals and several years of experience, an MBA might be an option.

My best friend was in the same position as you and did a degree in Art History with the OU. You study part-time and at home and there’s lots of support.

If you want a pseudo subject try media studies.