Studying as an External student

• Upon successful completion, you are awarded a University of London degree, diploma or certificate of achievement. The certificate states that you have studied as an External student.

• Your work is assessed to exactly the same standard as that of a student who attends in London. No concession in quality or academic rigour is made for the more difficult study circumstances of External students. The following is an extract from the Statutes of the University of London: Statute 66(2) states, ‘Candidates granted degrees and other awards shall have attained the same academic standard irrespective of mode or place of study or examination.’

• Colleges of the University and individual academic staff of the University are directly involved in the External Programme. They develop the syllabuses, write study materials, set examination papers and mark scripts. As a result, high academic standards are maintained.

• Degrees have a ‘Lead’ College which takes responsibility for academic development. The exception is the LLB qualification where a Subject Panel of University Schools of Law are involved.

• The study materials you receive have been written specifically with External students in mind.

• You may work at your own pace and to your own schedule. You are free to choose the place and method of study best suited to your personal circumstances.

• Your period of registration as an undergraduate student is flexible: minimum three years, maximum eight years; Diploma: minimum one year, maximum five years. Access Route: Economics, Management and the Social Sciences are minimum one year, maximum three years.

• Your period of registration as postgraduate student is flexible: normally minimum two years, maximum five years;

• Graduates of the External Programme can often obtain exemptions from related professional examinations.

• There are no quotas for entry. If you meet the University’s entrance requirements, you may register as an External student.

• For most courses there is no requirement to attend classes in London.

• Examinations may be taken at centres all over the world. In any one year, more than 10,000 undergraduate and postgraduate candidates are examined in over 180 countries.

• As an External student you will avoid the expense of travelling to and living in London. Generally you will pay lower fees than a student on a conventional course.

As a distance learner you will need to take responsibility for managing your own learning — organising resources, managing time, setting goals and deadlines and building your own understanding of the subject. In reality this is not very different from what is expected of a University student studying on a campus, apart from the fact that some resources are often more accessible to campus-based students. 

Studying for a university degree involves more than learning the details of your subject. It involves a lot of reading, thinking about what you have read, and then developing your own thoughts and opinions. You are expected to think for yourself, and you will need to develop the confidence and skills to enable you to express your thoughts. 

At the same time you must develop the skills necessary to satisfy the formalities of examinations. You will need to choose which subjects you want to study — based on your interests and possibly on what you want to do in the future. You will also need to balance the demands of your studies with your personal life. It is not always an easy thing to do. 

As an External student you may feel that you will not receive as much support as you would if you were a full-time student at a College campus. Internal students receive help and advice from their fellow students and from their teachers.

Much of the advice and information that tutors usually give to students face to face will however be contained in the distance learning study materials and in other information sent to you by the University. You will need to turn to these materials to sort out questions or problems, so you should make sure that you know what they contain. 

Studying at a distance

Every institution offering programmes by distance learning is different, and has its own unique characteristics. It is important to understand the University's approach to distance learning, the range of opportunities it offers, and the demands these will place on you. This guide to studying at a distance is for students and for those thinking about studying with the External Programme. 

In distance learning systems, teachers and learners are separated by place or time, or both. Instead of studying under the close supervision of a teacher, you study independently, often at home or in your workplace, using a range of learning resources. The University will provide some of these resources, some you will obtain or organise for yourself. 

Distance learning has become a popular study choice in recent years and specialist distance teaching institutions have opened in many countries, as new information and communication technologies have made the process of distance teaching easier to organise. But this style of study is not new. The External Programme of the University of London is one of the earliest examples of university degrees made accessible to students who are not able to register for a conventional course of study. These include people in full time employment, with family commitments, or with a job that requires travel or irregular working hours. Many business people have obtained professional qualifications while still keeping up a demanding schedule of travel and work. Distance learning is ideal also for families who cannot or do not wish to send their children overseas for higher education. 

If you choose to study with the University of London you will join the largest, and one of the oldest Universities in Britain. The Colleges and Institutions of the University have an international reputation for the quality of their research and teaching, and the University of London degree are recognised by employers and educational institutions worldwide. You will also have joined an institution that has been offering distance learning opportunities at degree level for nearly 150 years as The University established its External Programme in 1858 so that students from around the world who could not attend a full-time course at the University could still study for one of its degrees.