I've noticed, over the last few years of checking, that the Open University maths course, have been reducing in number. I remember about 4yrs ago, that they offered an undergraduate MMath degree, which consisted of 4yrs worth of full time work, with some hefty 3rd year courses.
Now, having studied the current maths courses, particularly at level 3, I notice that options are limited to 3 or 4 either pure or applied courses, and that some of the courses that are offered, are actually science courses in disguise e.g. Wave diffusion...
I have now found out, that some of the 3rd year options such as Complex Analysis, are only running once every two years.
What are the implications for a distance learner such as my self? Well, it's going to be a fine balancing act to ensure that I don't have a year of study that is light on content and. by definition, lengthen the time that it takes to do my degrees.
Looking at one of my possible options of post graduate study, on my way to becoming a theoretical physicist, there is the taught masters in maths, that is offered by the OU. For some strange reason, they seem to have made it even harder to complete it in a short period of time. I personally find that I prefer to cram in lots of study, into perhaps a few years, rather than stretching study out, over 5yrs+. The rules governing the masters course, state that, out of the 180 credits required to complete it, only 30 of those can be taken in year 1, as opposed to the norm which would be 60 per year. The first year course is calculus / advanced calc, so I don't see what is so special about this presentation, that would make studying more difficult.
I am going to seek some answers from the OU, about all of these issues i.e, reducing maths course numbers, excessively long time to study the MSc. Once I have a response, I'll post the reply.
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