The next study week will be held 8 -12 January 2024. Students are expected to attend.
A detailed programme will be distributed in mid-December 2023; the format will be a mix of lectures and small group learning activities running from 9am (UK time) and for the remainder of each day (until around 6pm). Wednesday is typically a free afternoon for local sight-seeing. The study week concludes at 12 noon on Friday 12 January 2024.
Advance Preparation
You will have access to a wide range of electronic resources via your St Andrews IT account. This will include scholarly journals, e-books and other digitised materials provided under license.
A core reading list will be made available. Digital extracts from the core list will be made available to participants once the module is underway. The further extensive list contains items that, in most instances, will be available as e-journals or e-books accessible using your St Andrews IT account. For new entrants this becomes fully active closer to the commencement of the module.
Some reading lists may be available a few weeks before the module commences – but you are not normally expected to do reading in advance.
Accommodation
Participants in the study weeks make their own arrangements for accommodation in local B&Bs or hotels.
Online lists include: https://standrewsbandbs.co.uk/ and there are hotels ranging from budget to five-star. Premier Inn is about 15-20 minutes walk from St Mary’s College. (We do not endorse any particular hotel so this information is solely for your convenience.)
Biography
It greatly helps you to get to know the other students, and they you, if you are willing to provide brief biographical details which are made available to the group upon arrival at St Mary’s College. Just a few words (no more than 60 please) about your family, hobbies, professional context, and reasons for choosing this course may be emailed to the Online Learning Officer ([email protected]) by 3 January 2024.
Registration and Matriculation
If you are a new student you should complete as much of the registration processes as possible before arrival. Full instructions are emailed to you by the Registry shortly before you commence your first module. Although these instructions will ask you to arrange a meeting with your supervisor/tutor in order to finalize your selection of module this is not applicable to our online learning programme. This is handled on your behalf – as we offer only one module each semester – and we hold a matriculation clinic on the first day of the study week to iron out any last minute details.
Social Activities
We include a number of these during the study week. On the Tuesday and Thursday evenings we often go for a meal together – but this wholly voluntary (and at participants’ expense). Sometimes we have arranged a poetry evening. Much depends on the preferences of the group.
On the Sunday evening before the Residential Study Week commences you usually find a number of the students gathering in The Saint Bar and Kitchen a little along the road from the College, at the east end of South Street (not the Cathedral end).
Tutorial
We normally arrange an individual tutorial for each student during the course of the module. This is an opportunity for you to ask questions about studying at postgraduate level, or explore aspects of your progress on the course. These will be conducted by video-call during the semester.