Studying

Once you’ve enrolled on your course, you will be given access to the University’s main virtual learning environment. This is an online space where your tutors upload materials for you to work through, such as case studies, presentations, quizzes, videos and other useful resources. You can work through these materials within semester timescales whenever you like – they are there 24/7 so you aren’t restricted.

Depending on the course you choose, you may also have interactive lectures using technology similar to that used for webinars or online conferences. Tutors deliver live classes by using webcams and instant messaging, so you’ll not only see your tutor and other students, but be able to talk to them and ask questions. If you can’t attend a live session, you can access a recording through an archive.

Some of the more practical courses also include videos of guest speakers, video tuition to help demonstrate certain skills (such as counselling techniques for example) and even short summer schools or residentials in the UK or abroad.

Not if you don’t want it to be! Within the virtual learning environment, there are discussion boards (or ‘forums’) in which you can chat to other students and staff at any time, outside of any timetabled interactive lectures. This is a great way of building relationships with other people: sharing experiences and supporting each other.

Your online tutors and our dedicated support team are available to help you (link to ‘Who will help me if I get stuck?’ below) by email, Skype or phone. And inside the virtual learning environment, there’s also an announcements section, where important messages from your tutor or the University will be displayed, so you need never feel out of touch.

Absolutely. You will be issued with the same University of Derby degree award certificate. When you take an online degree with us, you also get direct access to university-standard teaching, facilities and support. We don’t sell other people’s courses – we design and deliver our own online degrees, so you deal directly with the experts, not middlemen. And because we’ve been an established educational institution since 1851, you will receive the same high quality degree you would expect from any UK university.

Because we pride ourselves on offering more personal online courses, we’ve got a whole team of people ready and waiting to help you. So if you have a question about your fees or about the technology or systems for instance, just contact us. Our team is available for a Skype call or a normal phone call during working hours, or otherwise through email and social networks.

And that’s in addition to the support available from your online tutor, who can give you more specific advice on coursework, through email, Skype, phone or discussion boards. IT Services are available to assist you with technical queries and support - +44 (0) 1332 591208.

Monday – Thursday: 8am – 9pm
Friday: 8am – 5pm
Saturday: 10am – 5pm
Sunday: 1pm – 5pm.

(UK GMT times)

Find out more about the support open to you

From talking to online students, graduates and our online tutors, here’s what we think you need to succeed as an online student:

Self-discipline and motivation.
Good organisational skills – so you can plan out study timetables and get into a routine.
A place where you can focus on study. Whether it’s a spare room at home, your office at work, a coffee shop, or the train – a place where you can concentrate is essential.
A computer with an internet connection. More details about the required computer spec.
Confidence using computers, as well as perhaps forums and online chat.

The number of modules you study each year is really up to you – it can be between 2 and 8. To give you an idea of what that means, shorter courses are usually 4-8 modules, whereas a full BA/BSc undergraduate degree is usually 24 modules. It all depends on how much time you have available for studying. For example, a full undergraduate degree can be completed in 3-6 years.

You need to have a PC or Mac with an internet connection. At the very least, you will need one of the following browsers:

Internet Explorer 7 or more recent versions
Firefox 3 or more recent versions
Safari 3 or more recent versionsM

You will also need other software:

Software that can read PDF files (eg Adobe Acrobat Reader)
Microsoft Word (at least Word 2003)
Microsoft Excel (at least Excel 2003)
Microsoft Powerpoint (at least Powerpoint 2003).

For some of the courses you may need additional software and most of these packages are available free to download from the internet. Where you have to buy software to complete the course, we will have mentioned this in the relevant course information.

Most online courses and degrees start in September and January. Some also start in April or May. Check our list of courses for the detail. Although these dates give you more options than traditional ‘on-campus’ courses, it does mean you can’t start a course whenever you want. It needs to be like this so that tutors are available throughout your course, and to help us guarantee there will be other students on your modules at the same time to enhance your student experience.

If your course includes exams (many don’t), you can either take them at our UK campuses in Derby or Buxton, or at a place closer to you. If you choose a location that’s nearer to you, you will need to pay an additional fee of £100 per exam, to cover the organisational and administrative costs.