Studying While Working
As the Foundation Certificate in African History is a part-time course, the majority of our students maintain full- or part-time jobs, or are raising young families, while also completing the course.
As a result we have a lot of experience advising students on how to prepare to study part-time while managing their other commitments.
- Speak with your Employer
- Dedicated Study Area
- Time Management
- Use your holiday time well
- Lectures, Tutorials and Tutor Support
- Find out more
Speak with your Employer
If you are employed, it is great where possible to let your employer know that you are taking a part-time course. You may want to tell them that this means you may be studying for some or part of your lunchbreaks (for students in the Caribbean/Americas) or may need to leave the office on time (for students in Africa/Europe/Middle East) once or twice a week to be able to attend the lectures and tutorials. We are able to provide official student enrolment letters to help with such conversations. Even though your studies shouldn’t affect your work, if you have a good employer they can provide a lot of much needed moral support if they know that you are studying, which will make your progress through the course smoother.
Dedicated Study Area
It is important to have a dedicated study area where you know you can always buckle down and work. If you have space at home you should set up your desk and computer so you are always ready to go. As lectures and tutorials will take place online, you may want to invest in some headphones. If you don’t have space at home you can use cafés and libraries but it is important to check out this locations first, try to figure out when they are less busy and which ones have reliable wifi connections. In this case, you should invest in a good bag in which you can store your laptop, notebook and stationery so you can quickly grab these and head out without much delay.
Related Article: Admissions Requirements
Time Management
It is important to timetable not only you actual lectures and tutorials but also reading time and writing time. As your progress through the course your reading speed is likely to increase and writing extended pieces should become easier. It is important to make specific allowance for all of these things so you can keep up with your studies. Though the Foundation Certificate is a part-time course, it is taught at university level so is academically rigorous. You will need to make time to not only read but to understand the concepts and think critically about them.
Use your holiday time well
There are four major submissions as part of the Foundation Certificate, which are the essays you will submit for each of the courses you take. These need to be carefully researched and fully referenced, showing evidence of critical thinking. In order to finalise these, you may want to take one or two days off ahead of a submission to allow you to prepare. Alternatively, if there are specific books that you want to reference, you may want to use some of your holiday time to visit a bigger library in your area to take photocopies or scans of all of the documents you need.
Lectures, Tutorials and Tutor Support
Your tutor will always be on hand to help you plan your studies and break down the tasks into manageable steps. Lectures and Tutorials are critical elements of the time management framework as they allow you to stay engaged with the content, help you to break into the readings, and give you a chance to flesh out your ideas. All of this is important when you are studying part-time to ensure that you are thinking deeply about the content and gaining confidence in sharing your thoughts with others.
Find out more
We run a number of Information Sessions throughout the year at which you can speak directly with tutors about balancing work and study. If you would like some more information about the Foundation Certificate in African History please don’t hesitate to send us a message to info@africanhistoryproject.org or using the form below.
You may also like
Admission Requirements
