I have been an Open University student since 1999 and hope to eventually earn a
BSc (Hons) Geosciences. I already have a Diploma in Earth
Sciences which is like half a degree. If all goes to plan my
graduation ceremony will be in April 2009.
During the years I have been studying the OU has changed a lot - gone
are the exams for Level 1 courses, 10 point "taster" short courses have
been introduced for people not sure they are ready to take the plunge
and Residential Schools are now an optional 10 point extra course
instead of being an integral part of the main course.
For anyone interested in my OU 'career' a full list of courses and
grades follows below, some students seem to tack this on to the end of
every e-mail but I can't see the point in that! I have included
links to the courses where I can but some courses have been
discountinued or re-written since I completed them so in some places I
have substituted a link to the current equivalent course. 2006
was an 'odd' year in that I did a plain physics course (Newton,
Einstein, etc) to gain the credit as there is not quite enough
geosciences (geology) courses for a degree unless you like biology and
do ecology/environmental science - these do relate to the geology
courses as looking at water and soils which are intertwined with the
geological cycle but biology is not really my cup of tea. To get
a named honours degree you need a minimum of 360 points, of which a
minimum of 240 points have to be at Levels 2 & 3 and of those a
minimum of 120 points need to be at Level 3. In addition to this
there are criteria for how many points are required from a choice of
specific courses, the remaining "free choice" points can be made up
from any OU courses whether art or sciences as long as all the criteria
are fulfilled. This explanation makes it sound much simpler than
it really is!
Courses starting SXR are a one-week Residential School.
120 points is equivalent to one year of full-time study at a 'traditional' university.
| Year |
Course
Code |
Course Title |
Points |
Grade |
| 1999 |
S103* |
Discovering Science |
60 |
1 - Distinction |
| 2001 |
S267 |
How the Earth works: the Earth's interior^ |
30 |
2 - Pass |
| 2002 |
S260
SXR260 |
Geology
The geological history of the British Isles |
30
10 |
2 - Pass
Pass** |
| 2003 |
S339
SXR339
|
Understanding the continents
Ancient mountains: practical geology in Scotland |
30
10
|
3 - Pass
3 - Pass
|
| 2004 |
S268 |
Physical resources and environment |
30 |
1 - Distinction |
| 2005 |
S330 |
Oceanography |
30 |
2 - Pass |
| 2006 |
S207
SXR207 |
The physical world
Physics by experiment |
60
10 |
2 - Pass
2 - Pass |
| 2007 |
S369 |
The geological record of environmental change
|
30 |
Waiting for result
|
| 2007-8 |
S186 |
Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunami |
10 |
Starts 13/11/07 |
| 2008 |
SXG390 |
Science Project Course: Geohazards |
30 |
Starts Feb 2008 |
| * |
included a one-week Residential School at Reading University |
| ** |
this was when separate Residential Schools were new and not graded - you were just issued a Pass or Fail |
| ^ |
this course has no current equivalent - it and another course
were cancelled and a new course created which incorporated some aspects
of both |
Grades possible:
1 - Distinction
2 - Pass (above average)
3 - Pass (average)
4 - Pass (below average)
5 - Fail
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