By agoudsward
This week classes finally began at UCL and it felt almost strange to be back in class after a nearly five month break. Classes here feel pretty familiar, there are many similarities to GW, but something also feels different. Here are a few thoughts about academic culture at UCL and the U.K. more broadly.
First, students here have much more free time than at GW. Classes only meet once a week, one hour for a lecture and one hour for a seminar for larger classes. That means you're not really in classes a whole lot, but be prepared to spend much of that free time reading.
Reading lists for classes, or modules as they're usually referred to, are massive. As a student, you're expected to do much more independent study than in the U.S. There are always several required readings per week, but also an extensive list of optional readings some of which have to be used for papers. It's more about you as a student taking the time to read up and become something of an expert on a topic rather than a professor telling you most of what you need to know.
Your grade is based solely on two essays, one in the middle one at the end. In my classes, I'm not being graded on attendance, participation, exams or anything other than those papers. To me, that's a little terrifying because you don't really have any idea of how well you're doing in the end. And if the paper doesn't turn out well, you really don't have much opportunity to turn it around.
One thing I heard about academic culture here that at least for the first week I haven't really found to be true is that professors here are pretty inaccessible. I was told that they may not be expected to help you or have much interaction with students. However, the professors here seem almost more accessible than many I've had back home. They host the seminars, instead of TAs, and one professor even requested that we call him by his first name because he didn't want there to be "hierarchies" in his classroom.
Those are a few general observations about U.K. academic culture, largely similar to the U.S., but with a few key differences. I'd definitely recommend taking some U.K. or Euro-centered classes for a new perspective. Those are the classes I've found most enjoyable for the first week at least.