Undergraduate study

Part-time study can be especially attractive to people who need to combine their study with work or family commitments (and sometimes both) and part-time study is more convenient for people who need this balance. Others may choose part-time study for financial reasons as it allows them to continue working and finance their studies as they go along.

Part-time study is particularly useful if you:

• Want to continue working and study at the same time allowing you to better finance your studies
• Want to combine study with work or family commitments
• Are unemployed and looking to the future
• Wish to use your study to enhance your existing career
• Are looking to change your professional direction
• Have studied at the University previously and want to complete your degree 

 If you are unable to study full-time and would like to study part-time at the University of Glasgow you can study towards either a

• Master of Arts (MA) (Designated)
• Master of Arts (MA) (Honours)

in the College of Arts & Humanities

or 

• Bachelor of Science (BSc) (Designated)

in the College of Science and Engineering. Some BSc degrees will require full-time study in the later stages of the degree.

NB It is not possible to study part-time towards a Master of Arts (Social Sciences) in the College of Social Sciences. This is due to the unprecedented demand for social sciences subjects from our full-time students and in subject areas where our student number targets cannot be exceeded.   

We are unable to offer part-time degrees in the following subjects: Accountancy & Finance, Dentistry, Education, Engineering, Film & Television Studies, Law, Medicine, Nursing, Psychology, Veterinary Biosciences, Veterinary Medicine. OR in any of the Social Sciences MA (SocSci) degrees.

The list of undergraduate courses offered by the University is available at: Degree programmes A‑Z

• An Honours Degree is a specialised degree and provides the opportunity to study a variety of courses for the first half of the degree and to study at a specialist level in one or two of these subjects in the second half of the degree.
• A Designated Degree is shorter and means that at least half of the subjects you study will be from a particular area and that subject will be referred to in the title of the degree.

You do not need to decide at the very start of your studies at the subjects you will take in your degree of whether you want to complete and Honours Degree or Designated Degree.  This can be decided once you are well established in your studies.

To gain entry to the University, it is important you meet our standard published entry requirements. It is expected that applicants to part-time study will meet the same entry requirements that is required for full-time entry.  However there may be the possibility of qualifying for an adjusted offer if you meet certain criteria in line with the University’s widening participation objectives. If you would like us to consider any additional qualification then please Enquire online.

There are also specific entry routes for adults returning to education via an Open Studies or SWAP Access course that are not dependent on the attainment of Scottish Highers or European Qualifications.

To find out if you are eligible for a pre-entry programme and discover what adjusted entry requirements might mean for you, including an overall adjusted offer, visit ACCESS Glasgow.

At Glasgow you will attend the same scheduled daytime classes as full-time students but as a part-time student you will study fewer courses which means you will spend less time attending lectures and tutorials. This gives you more flexibility in your day-to-day life and will also allow you to complete your degree at a slower pace. 

Normally lectures for any one particular course are scheduled for a particular time on three or four (and even maybe five days) of the week, in addition there may be a tutorial to attend or a laboratory session. If you choose two courses as a part-time student then generally speaking you may need to attend the University 10-12 hours per week.

The length of time it takes to complete your degree depends primarily on your availability and the amount of time you can afford to devote to studying part-time. This can be very flexible. However it is necessary to study at least 20 credits per year in order to progress through your degree and most degree regulations stipulate a maximum number of years within which you must complete your studies. The number of courses and credits you choose to study per year will determine the length of time it takes to complete your degree. For example, if you were to study 4 x 20 credit courses per year (80 credits) you would take just over four years to obtain a Designated degree (360 credits). If you wish to obtain an Honours degree worth 480 credits you would take six years.

If your personal circumstances change or if you find you want to commit to more study and complete your degree at a faster rate then you can transfer to full-time study. To do this you will need to apply through the Universities Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) by the UCAS deadline which is 15 January for entry in the forthcoming academic session. 

If you have extraneous circumstances and have a genuine reason for living in Glasgow and you also do not wish to transfer to full-time study it is possible to transfer from your current University to study part-time at Glasgow.  This would be more likely if you are transferring credits from your current degree course to a degree course at Glasgow.