Faizal Ariff  Samul Hamid  MSc Gerontology (Distance Learning)

Dental Practictioner

Hi, I'm Faizal Ariff Samul Hamid and I studied MSc Gerontology (Distance Learning) within Social Sciences: Ageing/Gerontology at the University of Southampton.

Initially I was highly deficient and rather sceptical about writing but one of the main reasons I wanted to study gerontology was that I thought this programme would expose me and make me do a lot of writing. I am very happy with what I have achieved.

Q: Why did you choose to undertake your studies at the University of Southampton?

I have been a dental practitioner for 10 years and as part of my work a significant proportion of patients are older. I was faced with difficulties to provide the best possible care for them so I thought about starting something to make myself better, so I undertook a program at diploma level but found this was not enough and did not enable me to address their needs exactly which led me to do this masters in gerontology.

Q: How did you find the distance learning as a whole?

Long distance is definitely the most effective way to study for people like me working full time, having a private practice additional to this and a family of my own. Distance learning allows me to be more flexible, where I can chose to study at my own place and decide with way to go forward otherwise it wouldn’t have been possible at all.

Q: How did you find the support from the staff?

Support from the University has been quite excellent, I had several questions and they have been lenient letting us start at our own pace with flexible deadlines. The materials I have received were also quite excellent; which was something that my diploma course lacked.

Q: What have you achieved as a result of studying at the University of Southampton?

It has greatly improved my writing skills as well as clinical skills but I really wanted to become a better academic writer. Initially I was highly deficient and rather sceptical about writing but one of the main reasons I wanted to study gerontology was that I thought this programme would expose me and make me do a lot of writing. I am very happy with what I have achieved.