PGT Study

Organising your study

Your course is made up of scheduled contact hours as well as independent study. Your scheduled contact hours are the classes that you’re expected to attend. These might be lectures, seminars, tutorials, labs, studio or field classes, depending on which course you are doing. Independent study is the work you do outside these classes and is essential for completing your course successfully.

Please email both the Module Organiser (MO) and psypgt@sheffield.ac.uk if you are unable to attend a timetabled session. Persistent, unexplained, absence could lead to being 'deemed withdrawn' by the University.

Independent study will include additional reading, reviewing your learning from lectures, tutorials etc, completing set tasks, preparing for and completing assessments. This can be work that you do on your own but also includes work that you do with other students on your course. Your tutors will provide information about essential tasks that you are expected to complete. 

In the early stages of your course you’ll be supported in developing the skills you need to carry out effective independent study.

Studying a full-time degree requires a similar time commitment to a full time job (approximately 40 hours per week). Your tutors will provide guidance on the amount of time you are expected to spend on different aspects of your course. As a rule of thumb on PGT Psychology courses, a 15-credit module will require around 10 hours of work a week. This means that if you are in class for 2 hours, you should do 8 hours of independent study.

This is to provide a guide; in practice, every student studies differently. It’s really important, therefore, to develop time management and prioritisation skills to ensure that you can maintain a healthy balance between your academic work, other activities that you do and other responsibilities that you may have.

If you need to speak to your Supervisor, Personal Tutor, Module Organiser or Lecturer you should set up an appointment by email unless the matter is urgent. Some members of staff publish 'office hours' when they can be seen without an appointment.