The introduction of modular schemes and a semesterised academic year are amongst the most fundamental changes ever to occur in UK higher education. There is, however, a notable lack of pedagogic research evidence on the effects upon student learning of course frameworks and the temporal structure of large-scale learning units. In the absence of other evidence, decisions to adopt semesterisation and modular schemes seem to have been made to save money, to increase university income, or simply to follow a management trend. A small study of attitudes to semesterisation across psychology departments is reported that raises questions about the pedagogic benefits of shifts to semesterisation. A larger-scale study carried out within a well-established modular course suggests that some aspects of freedom of choice, such as choice over the number of modules studied concurrently, can have negative effects upon student achievement. It is suggested that these effects of high and fluctuating workload should be controlled through course design and through advice given to students when they are constructing programmes. Attention is drawn to the need for psychologists to contribute to the pedagogic research knowledge base in this domain. (Contains 6 tables and 4 figures.)