What is the PDM?

The first-year compulsory module comprises a variety of activities, both Departmental specific and wider activities, with a particular focus on developing academic skills, employability and to broaden your education in Economics. You will be introduced to this module during Induction Week with further details of the activities available.

It is run in conjunction with the Departments of Student Opportunity (Careers Service), IT, Student Support and the Library. They provide a range of sessions to our students as part of this module

Why will it benefit me?

The compulsory and optional activities within the Personal Development Module are designed to:

 Develop your transferable skills

 Enhance your employability

 Broaden your education in economics

Many of the activities have been selected to address specific issues such as academic writing and plagiarism, but more broadly the module has been designed to address areas for development as identified by employers and our students.

How to Pass

There are both compulsory and optional activities within the module. You will need to attend/pass a minimum number of activities, including all of the compulsory activities in order to pass this module. In the academic year 2022-23, students are required to achieve:

• 100 credits to Pass
• 130 credits to Pass with Merit
• 150 credits to Pass with Distinction.

Activities are worth between 5 and 20 credits. 100 credits are compulsory, and you can make up the rest of the credits with optional activities.

If you pass this module, the Personal Development Module will be recorded on your HEAR (Higher Education Achievement Report). The HEAR is issued as an electronic document and gives undergraduate students a fuller record of their achievements whilst at university. It includes information about achievements such as volunteering and prizes awarded as well as information about module marks and the Degree Classification awarded. It is hoped that this additional information will prove useful to both graduates entering the job market and to employers.

Attendance monitoring takes place for all of these activities and students will be able to view their progress for this module. Credits will be updated on the PDM results page following the end of each term, once we have received all the data from the other departments/services with whom we collaborate with. It is the student's responsibility to ensure they take enough credits to pass and that they monitor their progress.

Example of Activities

In the academic year 2022-23, students were required to attend or participate in the following compulsory and optional activities: