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Going back to school
Aug. 22nd, 2020 03:09 pmI've been thinking about studying again for a long time, and with all the things that have happened and changed over the last six months, now seems weirdly like the right time.
I know, middle of a global pandemic and I decide to go back to university. Never let it be said that I make sense.
Signing up for an entire degree for six years feels like a huge step and I'm not even sure about whether I can handle the workload, so I've decided to take a baby step. See how I adjust to studying in general and also get a better feel about how I'll do with humanities studies instead of STEM.
Oxford University Continuing Education department run various short courses. Some of them would usually run with weekly in-person classes, but even those have now moved to a virtual meeting space. But some of them are totally online and always have been, including the one I've decided to do.
So I've signed up and paid my course fee.
For the winter term (i.e. from late Sept to early Dec), I'm going to be doing a history course on the making of modern Britain, from the 18th century to the 21st. It sound really interesting, covering some things I've never learned about (American and French revolutions!), and importantly it's an intro level course so it will cover some of the basics. Such as note taking, essay writing, evaluating historical sources, and other useful thing. It's been almost twenty years since I formally studied history and I feel like I need those skills refreshed.
It should be around ten hours of work a week, with two essays to submit, so it gives me a chance to see how well I do at committing to some regular study time.
If I emerge from it itching to do more and confident that I can manage a slightly higher workload, then I can apply for the February start for the OU's history degree. They've rebuilt the course in the last couple of years and there's a lot of stuff in it that I'm excited about.
If I emerge vowing never to study again, at least I'll know.
So I guess I'm going back to school for a while :D
I know, middle of a global pandemic and I decide to go back to university. Never let it be said that I make sense.
Signing up for an entire degree for six years feels like a huge step and I'm not even sure about whether I can handle the workload, so I've decided to take a baby step. See how I adjust to studying in general and also get a better feel about how I'll do with humanities studies instead of STEM.
Oxford University Continuing Education department run various short courses. Some of them would usually run with weekly in-person classes, but even those have now moved to a virtual meeting space. But some of them are totally online and always have been, including the one I've decided to do.
So I've signed up and paid my course fee.
For the winter term (i.e. from late Sept to early Dec), I'm going to be doing a history course on the making of modern Britain, from the 18th century to the 21st. It sound really interesting, covering some things I've never learned about (American and French revolutions!), and importantly it's an intro level course so it will cover some of the basics. Such as note taking, essay writing, evaluating historical sources, and other useful thing. It's been almost twenty years since I formally studied history and I feel like I need those skills refreshed.
It should be around ten hours of work a week, with two essays to submit, so it gives me a chance to see how well I do at committing to some regular study time.
If I emerge from it itching to do more and confident that I can manage a slightly higher workload, then I can apply for the February start for the OU's history degree. They've rebuilt the course in the last couple of years and there's a lot of stuff in it that I'm excited about.
If I emerge vowing never to study again, at least I'll know.
So I guess I'm going back to school for a while :D
