Extended Project Qualification

Course Overview

Boost your CV and enhance your personal statement while carrying out an independent project on a topic you love. The EPQ is equivalent to half an A Level, but it is so much more than an extra qualification. The Extended Project Qualification showcases to employers and universities that you’re an independent learner, able to manage a project, solve problems, organise your time, conduct original research and produce a high-quality product. In fact, this additional qualification is so highly valued that some universities will even lower their grade boundaries for you if you achieve a high EPQ grade!

Independence is key to the EPQ, meaning you get to choose what you’d like to study and how you’d like to study it. The topic can be related to your other subjects or can be something completely different, and you can decide how you present your final product.

Although the EPQ is largely independent study, you’ll have a specialised EPQ tutor to keep you on track and weekly lessons to help you to understand the requirements of the qualification.

Types of Projects

  • Dissertation: A dissertation is an essay of 5000-6000 words, providing an answer to a question and focusing on a topic about which there has been debate.
     
  • Artefact: An artefact is an object produced as a solution to a design brief. It must be based on thorough research, and records must be kept indicating how ideas developed as the project progressed.
     
  • Performance: A performance could be music, drama, dance or sport related. It must take place before an audience, and records must be kept which show the development of skills and techniques.
     
  • Investigation: An investigation is a project – often scientific or psychological – that tests a hypothesis and involves the collection and analysis of data.

 

Key Info

Minimum Entry Requirements

If you decide to carry out the EPQ you’ll start at the end of Year 1 of your Level 3 course, giving you time to think about your goals after Long Road and tailor your EPQ to help achieve these dreams. 

During your Year 1 you will be given instructions on how to apply.

Assessment

  • 100% Coursework
  • Exam Board: Pearson

 

55

Total students

10

Average class size

 

 

 

 

 

 

How much work is involved?

The EPQ should represent at least 120 hours of work. You must:

  • Work consistently throughout the year.
  • Research extensively.
  • Keep a detailed log of the work completed.
  • Attend regular meetings with your tutor.
  • Submit a thorough write-up of your Project and give a short presentation on your Project.

Why choose this course? 

You will enjoy and benefit from the EPQ if you:

  • Want the opportunity to achieve a highly regarded additional qualification
  • Can think of an interesting Project area that would complement your core subjects, or prepare you for a university course or career
  • Work well independently and can meet strict deadlines
  • Want to develop your skills of problem-solving and independent research

Student Work

Recent examples of EPQs include:

Dissertations:

  • A dissertation on the impact of VAR on professional football.
  • A dissertation on whether there should be measures in place to control the global population?
  • A dissertation on the extent to which Jane Austen’s portrayal of women in Pride and Prejudice is a true reflection of female gender roles in the nineteenth century.

Investigations:

  • An investigation into the impact of music on reaction times when driving.
  • An investigation into the effect of phosphoric acid on teeth.
  • An investigation into the effectiveness of methods used to produce graphene and the impact on the quality and yield produced.

Performances:

  • A TED-style talk on the importance of failing well.
  • A lecture on the evolution of Armoured warfare 1916 -1945.
  • The creation of a dance representing women in sport.

Artefacts:

  • The creation of a revision website to help those doing AS level OCR B chemistry. 
  • The design and creation of a portfolio to showcase the skills required to create effective theatrical and media make up.
  • The design and development of a program with the aim of using machine learning to develop AI capabilities within a video game.

When I started the EPQ I lacked confidence in my work. But having finished my project, I am so proud of the amount of research I have completed and of the dissertation I have written. I really enjoyed the process. I was able to study an area I am passionate about, and it has really boosted my confidence and prepared me for study at University

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