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Author Topic: What's a module?  (Read 2054 times)
lampard
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« on: November 27, 2011, 11:01:50 PM »

Hiya, I'm from the U.S. and trying to translate course syllabi from University X in the UK where I'm interviewing soonish. Can't quite work out the weight of a module vs. credits, etc.
Is there a UK-standard understanding of what module means? I imagine it means some kind of focused study on a topic for a brief period of time, but it's not clear.

Where I am now, 30 credits would be a typical undergrad year; where I'm looking, students take > 100 credits per year.

Can anybody clarify?
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expatinuk
Has spent over 1000 pounds but now holds a Brit passport!
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« Reply #1 on: November 27, 2011, 11:04:28 PM »

module=class
course=major

120 credits a year in the UK = 30 credits a year in the US

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Expatinuk seems to be a Soviet Satellite in stationary orbit over the UK

It is what it is.
chaosbydesign
"I like to lyse bacteria. Did you know I'm utterly insane?"
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« Reply #2 on: November 27, 2011, 11:05:32 PM »

A module is what you would call a class in the US. A 30 credit module is most probably the equivalent of a 2 to 3 credit hour class in the US.

I did my undergrad in the UK. At my U, we took 120 credits per year, which was three 20 credit classes (modules) per semester.
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Seriously, I tried to lick my own face.

Ah. Typical ivory tower pedanticalness.
expatinuk
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Posts: 6,653

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« Reply #3 on: November 27, 2011, 11:10:28 PM »

Oh... another thing...

In a module handbook (class syllabus) students are told how much CONTACT time they receive and how much time they are expected to spend in independent study. For a 15 credit module this is usually 2-3 hours per week of contact and 7-8 hours per week of independent study for a total time of 10 hours per week for the 12 weeks of teaching.

Contact time is further broken down into: Lecture; Workshop; Seminar; Tutorial

The point is to be transparent to a student how s/he will spend contact time.
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Expatinuk seems to be a Soviet Satellite in stationary orbit over the UK

It is what it is.
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