Learning and teaching
Timetabled contact hours, which may be made up of lectures, practical sessions, seminars, tutorials, workshops and computer laboratory sessions, vary throughout your course and between courses but are typically around 10 hours a week in your first year.
Our teaching for this course is delivered through in-person learning on campus, supported by high quality online provision. The significant majority of contact hours over the duration of your course will be in person, and this will be enhanced by some online delivery which will constitute a smaller proportion of these contact hours, depending on your programme of study, year of study and chosen optional units. This may be supplemented by additional activities such as a small number of online learning sessions (not live), skills development sessions, and personal tutorials.
The amount of timetabled sessions on campus in later years may vary based on the options you choose, with a greater emphasis on independent learning. Project and dissertation units will generally have fewer scheduled sessions to allow you time for your independent work – this may also mean the number of hours of timetabled sessions each week will vary within a year.
Online consolidation sessions
As well as your contact hours, you will take part in weekly online consolidation sessions. These group sessions are designed to help you reflect on what you've learnt during your other weekly sessions. Online consolidation sessions last 2 hours a week.
Independent learning
In addition to timetabled contact hours, you are expected to undertake independent learning and assessment activities. Typically, this might be around 25 to 30 hours per week in your first year, and include individual research, reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, preparing coursework assignments, presentations, or revising for exams. After your first year, the emphasis on independent learning becomes greater, for example, you may do a final year project in the final year. You’ll be expected to work both on your own and as part of a group.