Studying Psychology part-time

The decade before the pandemic saw a drastic decline in the number of part-time Higher Education students. According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, the number of part-time undergraduates has fallen by almost 50 per cent since 2008/09. However, psychology has defied this trend: over the same period, part-time psychology student numbers rose by 62 per cent.

Research into part-time education tends to focus on graduates from a specific university or type of course, so without further research it's only possibly to speculate why psychology is going against the grain. However, psychology has been growing in popularity with full-time students as well. The number of HE psychology students overall (full and part-time) has increased by 72 per cent since 2008/09. Psychology is growing as a subject, increasingly in the public eye, with books such as Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman being a New York Times bestseller with more than 2.6 million copies sold. As psychology also became widely available as a GCSE subject in 2017, its rise in popularity at university level will likely continue.  

The high proportion of women studying psychology potentially also helps to explain why studying psychology part-time is so popular, as part-time students are more likely to be female. For at least the last 10 years, considerably more women have studied psychology than men. Last year alone (2020/21), over four times the number of females studied psychology at both undergraduate and postgraduate than males. The number of females studying postgraduate psychology courses has more than doubled since 2008/9.

Another factor is that successful part-time study, especially via distance learning, requires well-designed courses, which are increasingly available. I came down with ME when I was 13 and since then, my education has always been part-time in one form or another. When I studied my GCSEs at home with the help of a tutor, there were relatively few resources to draw on. I was left more or less to make my own way. I had to give up a distance learning A-Level in Biology, as the experiment I had to do for coursework did not work repeatedly and the textbook was poor. Studying my psychology degree with the Open University was very different. The materials were written so that a student could understand them on their own without having a teacher there to explain them. In person tutorials were also held several times a year. With the growth of the internet, more resources have become available for those of us who have been unable to have a conventional education, making part-time studying more of an option than ever before.

Studying psychology often involves doing your own research projects. At a college or university you may have a ready participant pool of other students. Conducting experiments when you are distance learning is more difficult and generally relies on the student having willing friends and family. However, advances in technology have made it possible to conduct quite complex research from home using a computer. While studying my degree, I conducted several group projects with other students by working collectively via forums overseen by tutors. This way, each student only needed to find around five participants each and then pooled their data or students could use other students on the course as participants. Blended learning is also becoming increasingly available, with some events catering to both online and in person participants. This has pros and cons, but as technology improves the options for accessible learning will almost certainly improve with it, potentially adding to part-time student numbers.

Open 

The Open University saw an influx of students over the pandemic. I spoke with Jean McAvoy, the Head of Psychology at the Open University, who said: 'Psychology, as with many other areas, saw a significant rise in new starters who are now progressing through their qualifications. This last year (21/22) entry level numbers were closer to pre-pandemic, so it does look like higher numbers were a covid bulge.'

For me, the pandemic has been busier than ever as I make use of resources that were not available previously. Suddenly, I have had access to more training and the academic community in a way that I did not before. Having completed my degree with the OU, I am now studying my PhD with them. I am not alone, as psychology is a popular subject at the OU. In 2019/20 the course 'Investigating Psychology 1', which provides an introduction to psychology, had the largest number of students (6,784) on any OU module, with 'Introducing the social sciences' coming in second (5,908 students). According to HESA, the OU has more than double the number of first-year students than any other provider. It is also the largest provider of higher education for people with disabilities in the UK. A large proportion of its students study part-time (although full-time is also an option). Since I started my own PhD four years ago, more universities are offering the ability to study a PhD largely at a distance or online. No doubt this helps to account for why part-time postgraduate psychology students have nearly doubled since 2008/09.

Other obvious advantages of part-time study are that it allows a greater flexibility than full-time study. It also facilitates those who need to fit around other commitments such as raising a family. This flexibility also makes learning more accessible to students who cannot study in a conventional full-time manner. For example, those with disabilities and long-term health conditions (such as myself). I have studied part-time both on campus and via distance learning. One of the huge advantages of distance study is that you can study anywhere. In 2014 our house in Somerset flooded. A firefighter knocked on our door at 3am and told us we needed to evacuate as the floodwater was rising. We had an hour to pack up. Fortunately, I remembered to take my textbooks, so I was able to continue studying while staying in temporary accommodation over the eight months it took for the flooding to subside and our house to dry out and be renovated.

Dr Jon Rainford studied much of his higher education part-time. He is now a part-time associate lecturer at the Open University and a freelance evaluator and researcher. He runs the blog www.thrivingparttime.com with Dr Kay Guccione and they have a book about part-time studying due to be published later in 2022/23. For Jon, one of the driving factors for studying part-time was control. He says, 'I had a strong idea for a project and wanted to realise that project in the way that I envisioned. This wasn't something I could afford to do by self-funding full-time. Knowing I had control of the project was a huge advantage. One of the other big advantages is the thinking time it provides when you are not necessarily focused on your studying or research. Being full-time puts pressure on to complete in a limited time frame and sometimes ideas and solutions to complex problems do not conform to this. Often being able to switch from focused academic work to other parts of your life helps to make thinking fall into place.'

Another key benefit for Jon was that it enabled him to develop experience in the field at the same time as developing his research. Researching a topic that overlapped with his paid employment enabled him to understand his research in a way that made its findings relevant to current policy and practice challenges. For many students, studying simply would not be possible without doing it part-time.

Staying focused

Part-time study is recognised as a cost-effective way of positively changing the UK economy by broadening learning opportunities beyond traditional full-time provision. Studying part-time also enables students to work at the same time as studying so they have less student debt. Part-time students in general are more likely to be employed, older and live closer to their place of study than full-time students. Of the sciences at least, psychology arguably lends itself the best towards distance studying while working, as subjects like physics and chemistry are more likely to be lab-based or need specialist equipment. Psychology is also a particularly versatile subject that offers many transferable skills. An understanding of human nature is likely to be useful for various professions or job progression.

There are, of course, also disadvantages to studying part-time which are likely to limit student numbers. Even studying a doctorate full-time takes years. As Jon points out, 'Making this longer means there are more chances for life to throw you off course. Staying focused against big life events – for me losing my dad to cancer, and redundancy – can be tough. That said, I am still glad I chose this route and would do it again.'

Jon adds: 'You have to be quite bloody minded. Sadly, there are still some people that see part-time as a lesser route… although we absolutely disagree with that! But full-time, research council funded projects can often be placed on a pedestal within academia. This means you have to be ready to stand up for yourself and be able to articulate your value.

'Developing support networks can often be harder. Having people who understand the journey you are on is important and unlike full-time students, who may have a ready-made lab or community on a campus, often part-times have to build their own "tribes". This is not an insurmountable barrier but does require some work and has been made easier with the increased use of videoconferencing over the past few years'. Creating a support network can be particularly difficult when distance learning, rather than on campus. While the flexibility of distance part-time learning is unparalleled, it is not for everyone. There is a need to be more self-sufficient than more traditional forms of study. If you require any assistance, then you need to be proactive about seeking it, as well as making more of an effort to make contacts and join in with events. 

Research suggests that several factors are particularly central for students to be persistent with their part-time studying. Firstly, support for the student from any source (their spouse, family, friends, supervisor, etc) is of paramount importance, although not essential. Younger students are more likely to drop out than older students and therefore may need more initial support as they become more confident in their abilities. Having tutors who provide support as well as feedback is beneficial. Women tend to be more adept at juggling their other roles. Students need an optimistic (sometimes overly-optimistic) determination to persist and succeed in overcoming crises, such as possible illness, and the ability to study strategically and reflectively.

More options

A significant hinderance for potential part-time students is that funding opportunities are less extensive. A 2011 literature review on part-time undergraduate study noted that 'while part-time study is seen as important for increasing the global competitiveness of the UK economy, expansion of higher education has tended to focus on the young, full-time student; furthermore, part-time study is less generously resourced compared to full-time study.' While part-time study options are on the rise, funded opportunities are less common for part-time students, even though fees for studying a PhD part-time cost the same as doing it full-time.

Hopefully, funding opportunities for part-time doctorates will eventually be more equal, and further advances in technology will make education even more accessible. Due to being particularly at risk if I catch Covid – my ME was originally triggered by catching a virus – I am not able to attend in person events. So as the world slowly returns to normal, after a tantalising glimpse of what an inclusive academic environment could be like, I hope that some features from pandemic times will remain. Someone wanting to study a part-time degree, masters or PhD in psychology should have more options than ever before.

• Katherine Langford is a postgraduate research student at the Open University.

Key sources

Bennion, A., Scesa, A. & Williams, R. (2011) The benefits of part-time undergraduate study and UK higher education policy: a literature review. Higher Education Quarterly, 65(2), 145-163.

Castles, M. J. (2003). Part-time Adult Learners: Modelling factors that influence persistence. PhD thesis, The Open University.

HESA (2022) Where do HE students study? 

UK Parliament (2017) Part-time students: a tale of decline. 

Additional references

Averill, P., Bristow, T. et al (2019) Department for Education: Post 18 choice of part-time study. 

Bennett, M. (2021) Part-time PhD Study. 

Browne Report (2010) Securing a sustainable future for Higher Education: An independent review of higher education funding & student finance. 

The Open University (2022) Facts and Figures. 

The Open University (2022) Facts and Figures 2019/20. 

Willetts, D. (2010) Statement on higher education funding and student finance.