Back to 1.1.3
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Each unit in the module is designed to take 20 hours of study to work through fully. As explained below, this figure is derived straightforwardly from the amount of time that study for a degree in a British university is expected to take.
The module assumes no prior knowledge of either Catholic Social Teaching or the particular subjects addressed in each unit (such as economics in Unit 5 or human rights in Unit 7). If you do have prior knowledge of the material, each unit is likely to take you less than 20 hours.
The total of 20 hours for each unit includes:
- 3-4 hours to work through the text on screen, including time for ‘reflections’ and ‘exercises’
- 10-12 hours to do the readings set in each unit (such as that by Christine Allen on 1.1.1), including taking notes on them; on average, 90-100 pages of reading are set for each.
Within the 20 hours, this leaves some spare time. This is for two purposes:
- to enable you, if you wish, to do at least one or two of the readings which are designated as ‘optional’ (these are not counted in the 90-100 pages just referred to)
- to give you time – at least a couple of hours – for review and discussion of what you have studied when you reach the end of the unit; this can be highly beneficial for digesting material and retaining it for use in assignments or other activities.
Some units have much less than 90-100 pages of reading (especially units 2 and 4) and a couple have more (units 3 and 8).
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Length of time for assignments
If you are studying the module for 15 credits, preparation and writing of the two assignments should take you 30 hours in total, beyond working through six out of the eight units.
If you are studying the module for 20 credits, preparation and writing of the two assignments should take you 40 hours in total, in addition to working through the units. (The word-lengths of assignments are longer if the module is for 20 credits.)
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Further information about timing of study
Below is slightly more technical information about the above lengths of study time.
Read the rest of this screen only if you are interested in understanding how time studying this module relates to the rest of your degree. If you have accessed VPlater for independent study of CST, there is no point in reading what is below. Go straight to the next screen: 1.1.5.
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A 20-credit module at an English university is supposed to take 200 hours of study time. As the above entails, this breaks down as follows:
Eight units @ 20 hours each makes 160 hrs
Two assignments in total 40 hrs
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Total 200 hrs
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A 15-credit module at an English university is supposed to take 150 hours of study time. As figures above entail, this breaks down as follows:
Six units @ 20 hours each makes 120 hrs
Two assignments in total 30 hrs
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Total 150 hrs
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Another way to look at the length of study time is as follows.
If you are doing the module for 20 credits:
Your university/college probably has an annual timetable of three terms.
Assuming a full-time working week of 40 hours, 200 hours is 5 weeks’ work.
Five weeks is typically half a university term. Therefore working through all eight units and doing the assignments will take half a term of full-time study. Overall, you are expected to do six such modules in each year of full time study (6 x 20 = 120 credits).
If you are studying part-time, the module will take a whole term and you are expected to do three such modules each year.
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If you are doing the module for 15 credits:
Your university/college probably has an annual timetable of two semesters.
Assuming a working week of 40 hours, 150 hours = 3.75 weeks’ work.
3.75 weeks is one quarter of a university semester of 15 weeks. Therefore doing six units and the assignments for one module will take one quarter of a semester of full-time study. Overall, you are expected to do eight such modules in each year of full-time study (8 x 15 = 120 credits).
If you are studying part-time, the module will take half a semester and you are expected to do four such modules each year.
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End of 1.1.4
Go to 1.1.5 How to make the most of this study
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