PGT Online Research Course
Introduction
Congratulations! You are now a university student studying mission. By admitting you to this programme, Cliff College has assessed, and the University of Manchester has agreed, that you are of sufficient academic standard to be successful at postgraduate level. Whether you feel confident or not at this stage, both Cliff College and the University of Manchester are confident of your ability. I hope that gives you confidence as you approach your course.
While most students are successful, not all are. That is part of what makes a postgraduate qualification such a prized item – it is not easily achieved. There are a number of reasons, unrelated to the study itself, as to why a student may not be successful. These might be related to changing personal circumstances, financial situation and one's desire to succeed. You will find Cliff College a very supportive environment in which to study, but we are realistic that there are some areas over which we can have no influence. However, everything to do with the academic side of your course is our interest, and these pages are intended to help maximise your academic opportunities while you study with us.
You are required to go through the online course on your own in three distinct stages. Over the course of your MA studies you will work through the relevant aspects of the website with other students and cover all the material. The online training is supplemented by a two-day research conference in the autumn (usually in November). The conference includes lectures and workshops on study skills to explore issues raised in this online course further, to help prepare students for developing their dissertation and aid them in the writing of it. Those who are initially enrolled at Postgraduate Certificate or Diploma level, but who hope to complete to MA, should attend the annual autumn conference wherever possible.
Rather than waiting for the conference to come around, however, you should go ahead and begin working through the material in the online course now. Although much of the material relating to the dissertation can wait until after your first study block and may be completed after your first assignment has been written, it is essential that you work though Part I already, at the very beginning of your studies.
In order to have been accepted onto this programme, you have already demonstrated that you can study successfully. Do not assume, however, that you already study in the most effective way. You may have a few habits which cause you to spend more time than needed on your studies, or which prevent you from being more successful. Now is the opportunity to reconsider your study techniques. Also, take the opportunity to look around the other study and research materials. Many of the issues relating to the dissertation (such as literature review) are also applicable to assignments.
I hope that you will find the online course and other study skills support material useful. By constant referral to these resources you will be able to study in the most effective way, and thus be enabled to gain the maximum from your course of study, academically. By working effectively you will also have more opportunities to engage fully with the material at a spiritual level and in relation to the practice of mission.
Steve Emery-Wright
2011
