Family commitments and limited funding options mean there is a growing number of PhD students attempting to keep up from afarI became a distance learning student when a failed PhD funding application ruled out a London university with a 30-minute commute. Instead,I accepted a place at a university 100 miles absent, enticed by funding and my first-choice supervisor. But moving across the country wasn’t practical, and so I decided to study from afar.
The demand for distance learning postgraduate courses has soared in recent years. There are now more than 1500 such master’s programmes in the UK,and 13 of the country’s universities allow students to study for a PhD in this way. These courses are promoted as ideal for those with jobs or family commitments elsewhere; students enjoy access to tailor-made support, interactive assignments and online discussion forums to make up for the lack of a physical student community.
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Source: theguardian.com