Description
This qualification is only available until 31 December 2017.
To claim this qualification, you must complete the required 240 credits by this date.
If you have any questions about your eligibility for this qualification, please contact the Centre for Qualifications and Ceremonies on +44 (0)1908 653003 or by email.
This Foundation Degree in Materials Fabrication and Engineering brings together qualifications offered by The Welding Institute (TWI) – the world centre for materials joining technology – with engineering and mathematics modules from The Open University. If you’ve recently been awarded a TWI Diploma at Technologist level, or expect to complete one shortly, you can count it towards our foundation degree. You’ll be awarded 90 credits for your TWI qualification, and you’ll study an additional 150 credits from Open University modules to complete the foundation degree – giving you the intermediate technical and professional skills that are in demand from employers.
The programme of study for this Foundation degree is also offered as the Diploma of Higher Education in Materials Fabrication and Engineering (E56). The Diploma of Higher Education might be of particular interest to those living and working in Scotland.
Planning your studies
We recommend that you start with a module at Level 1 and that you complete your Level 1 study before going on to Level 2. For this qualification we recommend you start with Essential mathematics 1 (MST124) (30). If you have studied mathematics as part of a previous qualification, you can take Engineering the future (T174) instead (now discontinued).
Either in parallel with your first module or as soon as possible after you have begun study, you should register on Engineering at work 1 (T198), the first of your work-based learning modules for this foundation degree.
Having completed your study at Level 1, you can continue to Engineering: mechanics, materials, design (T207). We suggest you take the second work-based learning module – Change, strategy and projects at work (T227) – as your final module.
There is a time limit for completing this foundation degree. You must obtain the required credits within eight years and by 31 December 2017. If your first module for the foundation degree is an OU module, the time will start from the start date of that module and you will need to complete the TWI study and other OU study within eight years. If you have already completed the required TWI study before studying any of the OU modules that count towards the foundation degree, then the start date will be the date that you successfully completed the TWI (Welding Institute) Diploma at Technologist level.
You should note that the University’s unique study rule applies to this qualification. This means that you must include at least 80 credits from OU modules that have not been counted in any other OU qualification that has previously been awarded to you. Before being awarded any intermediate qualifications, we advise you to check that you’ll have sufficient new credits to qualify for your foundation degree.
Career relevance and employability
If you’re working at a technical level in welding and joining, have certified expertise and want to climb further up the career ladder, the Foundation Degree in Materials Fabrication and Engineering is for you. It combines traditional academic skills with the needs of your workplace, and can be a route to gaining additional responsibilities or promotion at work.
The foundation degree includes two work-based modules which will guide you through activities and projects that are closely linked to your workplace. There’s a strong focus on professional development planning, and you’ll also be well prepared for further study at Level 3 should you wish to progress to a full honours degree with our Top-up Bachelor of Engineering with Honours (Q78). (Progression to our Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (B65) is still possible but only if you are able to complete your BEng studies by 31 December 2017.)
You’ll develop a wide range of transferable skills, with particular emphasis on:
- information handling and numeracy
- IT and communication
- analysing and solving problems
- team working
- planning and organising.
Careers and Employability Services have more information on how OU study can improve your employability.
Modules
For this 240-credit foundation degree you require:
30 credits from the following optional modules:
| Level 1 optional modules |
Credits |
Next start |
- Essential mathematics 1 (MST124)
|
30 |
|
- The discontinued 30-credit module T174
|
30 |
$ |
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued modules MST121, T173
And 120 credits from the following compulsory modules:
| Level 1 compulsory module |
Credits |
Next start |
- Engineering at work 1 (T198)
|
30 |
|
| Level 2 compulsory modules |
Credits |
Next start |
- Engineering: mechanics, materials, design (T207)
|
60 |
|
- Change, strategy and projects at work (T227)
|
30 |
|
And 90 credits from credit transferred from your completed TWI (Welding Institute) Diploma at Technologist level. This can be completed at any stage before or during study towards the foundation degree, bearing in mind the eight-year time limit for obtaining the total credits required.
Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes of this qualification are described in four areas:
- Knowledge and understanding
- Cognitive skills
- Practical and professional skills
- Key skills
Read more detailed information about the learning outcomes, and how they are acquired through teaching, learning and assessment methods.
Credit for previous study elsewhere
A total of 60 credits at Level 1 and 30 credits at Level 2 will be from transferred credit for a TWI Technologist qualification. This may be completed at any stage before or during study towards the foundation degree. You will need to claim credit for your TWI Technologist Diploma: please find further information on our Credit Transfer site. Please read the Essential Information notes and complete and return the credit transfer claim form, which you will find in the How to apply section of this website.
On completion
On successful completion of the required modules, you will be awarded a Foundation Degree in Materials Fabrication and Engineering and will be entitled to use the letters FD (Open) after your name.
Regulations
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the qualification-specific regulations below and the academic regulations that are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
How to register
If you want to study for this qualification, read the description and check you meet any specific requirements (for example, some of
our qualifications, require you to be working in a particular environment, or be sponsored by your employer). Then select the
module you wish to study first and ensure it is suitable for you before following the registration procedure for that module.
During the registration procedure you will be asked to declare which qualification you are studying towards.
See a full list of modules available for this qualification