Undergraduate Qualifications

Open University modules have associated with them a number of Credit Accreditation and Transfer Scheme  (CATS) credits – usually 30 or 60 – depending on the quantity of the material in the module and a level (1, 2, 3, or 4) corresponding to the complexity, with 120 points roughly equating to the year of study for a full-time student.

The OU offers a large number of undergraduate qualifications, including certificates, diplomas, and Bachelors degrees, based on both level and quantity of study. An OU undergraduate degrees requires 300 (or 360 for honours) CATS credits.

Students generally do not undertake more than 60 credits per year, meaning that an undergraduate degree will take typically six years to complete. With the exception of some degrees in fast moving areas (such as computing) there is generally no limit on the time which a student may take. Students need special permission to take more than 120 points (equivalent to full-time study) at any time; such permission is not usually granted.

Originally the BA was the only undergraduate degree, and it was unnamed. The modern OU grants the BA, the BSc, and LLB undergraduate degrees, and the BA and BSc may be named (following a specified syllabus) or unnamed (constructed of courses chosen by the student).

Many OU faculties have now introduced short modules worth ten credits. Most of these modules are taught online, and start at regular intervals throughout the year. They typically provide an introduction to a broader subject over a period of ten weeks, these are generally timed during vacations at conventional universities in order to take advantage of their facilities. Some science modules, which require only home study, are complemented by residential courses, in order to allow the student to gain practical laboratory experience in that field; typically, an award of degree or diploma will require completion of both.

Different modules are run at different times of the year, but, typically, a 30 or 60 credit module will run either from October to June or from February through to October. Assessment is by both continual assessment (with, normally, between four and eight assignments during the year) and, for most, a final examination or, on some modules, a major assignment.

Degrees

As well as degrees in named subject, the Open University also grants "Open" Bachelor degrees where the syllabus is designed by the students by combining any number of Open University modules up to 300 credits for an Open degree and 360 credits for an Open honours degree – the main restriction on which courses can be included is that there must be at least 60 at level 3 for the "ordinary degree" and 120 at level 3 for honours and in both cases no more than 120 at level 1. The Open degree may be awarded as a Bachelor of Arts Open or a Bachelor of Science Open either with or without honours. Without honours, at least 150 credits at level 1 and above and 60 credits at level 2 and above are required in the field, either art or science, for the Open degree to carry that name. For a degree with honours, no more than 120 credits at level 1, 120 credits at level 2 and above and 120 credits at level 3 and above are required.

Other qualifications

The Open University grants undergraduate Certificates (abbreviated Cert) typically awarded after 60 completed credits at Level 1 or Level 3 (where each credit corresponds to roughly 10 hours of study, therefore 60 credits represent about 600 hours of effort), Diplomas (abbreviated Dip) after 120 credits – typically 60 credits at Level 2 and 60 credits at Level 3, ordinary Bachelor degrees (abbreviated BA, BSc, etc.) after 300 credits, and Bachelor  degrees with honors, (abbreviated BA (Hons), BSc (Hons), etc.) after 360 credits. Open University also awards Foundation degrees,  (abbreviated FdA, FdSc, etc.).

OU also offers a limited number of CertHE  (120 CATS) and DipHE  (240 CATS).