It may help if someone who has taken an Oxford distance learning course contributes. As opposed to a course on a specific aspect of history such as the Victorian period, on retiring I undertook the Advanced Diploma in Local History. It is in effect a part of a degree course. Specific aspects of history are covered, mostly by reference to Oxfordshire or at least Thames Valley examples but the main foci are on things with a wider application such as the information available in Poor Law, window tax etc records; and on practice in the use of the technical aids such as databases and spreadsheets that help to turn data into intelligence.
Certainly I had fellow students from the US and Australia on the course and it was great to meet them in person at the graduation at the end of the course. By then some were well known in a virtual sense as, in addition to direct contact with a tutor to whom essays were submitted and from whom marks and comments were received, each tutor had a group of students linked such that we could discuss and debate what we were doing or anything that took our fancy on a daily basis. There was a cost differential between UK/EU students and those who did not meet those criteria so the utility of the course compared with others available round the world is a matter of judgement. For my part, I found it stimulating as a challenge, informative as to the detail of the matters that shaped local history over the past four hundred years or so and flexible enough for me not to get corralled into a focus on matters local to Oxford when my interests are with Gaelic Scotland. I hope this helps.
Thanks, Angusm. I have been looking the program over and have decided to go for it. It is a lot more expensive for those of us on this side of the pond, but there is nothing offered at universities here that is comparable. I am going to start with their course on Henry VIII in May, and then either do the Elizabeth I course or the one on Victorian census. Financially, I can't start the Advanced Diploma in Local History until September, 2012. So I thought I'd dabble in other courses just to get back into the swing of things. The University of Dundee also has two courses Beyond the Internet 1 and 2, and then they have a postgraduate certificate in family and local history.
I've always dreamed of going to Oxford, so perhaps this is my chance
I'm sure being able to meet everyone at the end of the course will be fun and most enjoyable. My ancestry goes back to Salford and Manchester. Mom said it would eventually go back to Scotland, but I haven't found that link as of yet, so I have to keep looking.
I saw that the course goes from September to July. When do they hold graduation? I have to plan this all out so that I can save enough money to come to England for that. I wouldn't want to miss it!
Thank you again for letting me know of your experience. It sounds like what I am looking for at this point in my life
Carole
