Hi Tony,

No problem about asking lots of questions after all it is your future you are enquiring about. I did the same when I started my quest to achieve "Masters status".

The course was 12 months long in total start to finish, started 21st April 2002 and completed 28th April 2003.

It is possible to complete in one year but only with total dedication and commitment from yourself. By that I mean completing the assignments in time for submission and to the best of your ability. And between 18 to 25 hours for 3 to 6 months when you are doing your dissertation.

The amount of hours you would spend on your projects of which we had 4 main ones depends on yourself and how fast you work.

The qualification is absolutely a first class one, and is well recognised.

With regards to your lack of hands on experience, there were many people on the course of the same age group, to be honest as long as you have good literature you will be ok.

Weekend lectures excellent, first class, really tiring sometimes 10 hours a day studying but much more worthwhile and beneficial than regular lessons over a one year period, you get all your study material and lecturers in one go which I preferred.

Grades are 40% plus for a pass quite achievable really.

I am not sure of the pass rate as I am the first to submit, Frances can tell you about previous years.

Finally, YES I would more than recommend this course, it was an excellent journey to achieve this degree.

Good luck I hope you decide to go with this course.

Jan Benton MCIPS
Buyer

also click here for the Lloyds/TSB experience so far

"Support and guidance that I have received from University has been very good. The weekends were very informative and fun!"
Hayley Yule, Product Manager, Schwarz Pharma

"The MSc course to date has been well organised, challenging, and extremely enjoyable. Both the staff at MDC and the tutors from Glamorgan University have gone out of their way to be helpful. The support from others on the course has been really motivating and encouraging."
Carole Carlow, Senior Commissioning Editor, NFER-Nelson

"As for the academic content..the delivery of material is done at a pace which is very different to the past exposure of mass content and becoming lost in a Kotler or Porter matrix. The presenters are able to offer some useful insights and provocative if not at times controversial opinions on the various topics which stimulate group interaction.
Materials for the course are well prepared and in sufficient quantity where one can review most of the 3 days in a flight from Heathrow to Frankfurt. As for the electronic stuff..some hiccups, but to be expected. "Geoff Whitehead, General Manager, Novo Nordisk Pharma, Korea

"It's 21 years since I did the Diploma so you can imagine my trepidation at joining the MSc course. I'm not sure that there is anything which can allay those sort of fears.
However, at the first weekend, I was really impressed with the whole set up. The other course members were good fun and I really enjoyed the time I spent with them. The aspects of learning about other people's markets and business issues was quite fascinating and very enjoyable.
I enjoyed the social aspects and thought the facilities were excellent.
The course tutors, especially Robin, were first class and paced the weekends well. I actually enjoyed the weekends. The course content is very valid for my work life and helps me to keep ahead.
So far the assignments have been quite difficult, but that has more to do with the concept of academic references and the way of writing, compared with the normal board reports which are done here.
The e-group link is really useful and I've made good use of it (although admittedly more as a lurker!)
All in all I am really glad I did consider this course."
Stephan Phillips, Director of Advertisement Sales, Eastern Counties Newspapers Ltd.

and here's a follow-up from Stephan (27th Jan 02)

Yes, I've stopped lurking for a minute.
How have I got on?  Well it's been tough, and there was a time in November when I looked all around me and reflected on my success to date (however limited!) without an MSc, and thought, well do I really need this study thing?
And then I saw my 15 year old daughter studying for her GCSE's, putting more effort into her modules than I had put into my MSc work and then I had a re-appraisal.

I completed the lit review and methodology quite quickly (for me). In the weeks before Christmas when everyone was thinking of good cheer (and I was thinking of good beer) I was standing in the street, accosting complete strangers whilst I recruited  24 people for 4 focus groups. These focus groups where most revealing and I became very interested in the subject, which was a huge spur..........

During the whole process lurking on the yahoogroup has given me a lot of encouragement, and Lynn, my tutor has been really excellent, using just the right skills to help me  and coach me to achieve the next stage. Without her support it would not have happened.

I did  hit a block and nearly gave up, but am through it now, and looking forward to getting the project completed, whatever the outcome.

A colleague at work is 3/4 way through a PhD, and has stopped for 4 months. He's hit a block, and I'm busy trying to persuade him to keep going. He doesn't have the support mechanism that this group gave me, so thanks for all the encouragement, because without it I would not have gone as far as I have.

I think you can't do this type of study in total isolation. You need people who know what you are going through, or at least a knowledge that other people are going through what you are!

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again, hopefully with those funny hats and coats. (at the graduation ceremony - editor)

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Tony Snowdon:

"The first weekend was very good, but the experience of then being thrown straight into an assignment was traumatic; not having a semester to work up to it. Having said that I should have expected it !
Come the second weekend, I think I was shell shocked, and poorly prepared having spent so much stressful and perhaps poorly directed effort on the first assignment. Perhaps a week between handing in and the next residential might have been in order.
Having said all that, ''I am now 'into' the second assignment and a lot more focused and organised, and really enjoying it''. The residential weekends are great, if a little frenetic, and I feel that we have a great group - students and lecturers, not forgetting all at MDC.
Networking is starting, I sense that the support will be brilliant, and potentially even better than seeing one's tutor once a month for half an hour !  I have perhaps been cynical about distance learning in the past, feeling that I might feel too remote and not too motivated, but things just seem to be warming up.
If you (MDC) offered another residential weekend, I think that I would be the first to accept. I think that the communication aspect is crucial, to help pull everyone along, and if anyone struggles for short periods, it is important that they can share experiences with the rest of the group, to help get them back on track."
Tony Snowdon, Marketing Director, FTL Seals Technology

Marcus, who joined the course in April, was looking for a coursework-based programme that allowed him flexibility in his study time and did not call for too much time spent on a university campus. The MDC course, which uses two intensive study weekends, along with an online support network, to deliver the programme, was recommended to Marcus by his boss, who had completed an MA with the company a few years ago.

Marcus says: "The important thing for me was to get through the MSc as quickly as possible – I didn’t want to spend my evenings or weekends at a local college or complete loads of assignments and sit exams".

The MDC programme, which is completed by 90% of students within 12 months, is assessed via 3 assignments and a dissertation, allowing students to manage their own time and fit in study around their jobs. The final dissertation is even a company-based research project, so students never lose focus in their work, and companies receive a valuable consultancy project into the deal.

Lloyds TSB, holders of Investors in People, now have three more employees on the course. Gary Lapthorn, RouteMap Development Manager, who attended the latest residential weekend, states; "It’s a great environment to meet and learn from interesting people and the quality of tuition seems great".