On a full-time course, you will be expected to work about 40 hours per week. Of these, classes (lectures, seminars, etc.) will take up about 8 to 12 hours and the remainder should be set aside for private study (writing essays, doing research, preparing presentations, completing problem sheets, etc.). In general, the more hours you put in, the better you can be expected to do. Of course it’s not just the number of hours you study that is important, it’s also a question of how efficiently and effectively you work. Most universities offer students help in developing effective study methods and you are advised to take advantage of these.
Wednesday afternoons are traditionally sports afternoon. This means there are no lectures or seminars (again, this may not be in every institution) allowing you to take part in a University match, or do some work.
A typical first year timetable:
| am | pm | ||
| Monday |
Micro economics lecture (1 hour) Microeconomics seminar (1 hour) |
Maths for economics lecture (1 hour) | |
| Tuesday |
Maths for economics seminar (1 hour) |
Macroeconomics lecture (2 hours) Macroeconomics seminar (1 hour) |
|
| Wednesday |
Day Off |
Hockey match |
|
| Thursday |
Choice one lecture (1 hour) |
Choice two lecture (1 hour) Applied economics seminar (1 hour) |
|
|
Friday |
Choice one seminar (1 hour) Choice 2 seminar (1 hour) Applied economics lecture (1 hour) |
Afternoon Off |
|
A guide to my eighteen year old self gives some brilliant examples of first year University life, whilst A day in the life of an Economics student gives you an insight into Coco, a fictional Economics student.