Putting the Study in Study Abroad

Academics in England are very different from my previous college experience. I am currently taking three classes, and a month and a half in, I still haven’t had any graded assignments. At MLC, our grades are made up of numerous small daily assignments and projects, as well as a midterm and a final. This means that I have at least a couple of hours of homework per day. In the UK and most of Europe, grades are calculated based on only a few assignments. Sometimes there is only one: a final exam. Because I am taking all literature classes, I have one big essay due at the end of the semester for each class. The only daily assignments I have are assigned readings, and we are expected to do our own supplementary readings to be ready to discuss in class.

So far, I am very much enjoying this format. As a study abroad student, I don’t want to spend a lot of time doing homework, so I am fine with not having so many daily assignments. There is also a lot of freedom in what I can focus on with my reading. Besides the core text, I can read critical sources that I am interested in and take it where I want it to go.

UK students that I have spoken to seem to find it strange that American universities require so many more daily assignments. From their point of view, college students are adults, and they shouldn’t need to be babied and monitored as much as high schoolers would. For the most part, I agree. However, I can see how some students find it really hard to be motivated when there is so little structure.

Another difference is my class schedule. Fortunately, my classes are almost entirely in person. Unlike my classes in the US, which met twice or three times per week for fifty minutes, my classes here meet only once per week. My classes last two or three hours. It was definitely an adjustment! We usually get a coffee break in the middle, but by the end, it can get a little hard to focus.

My three classes are Victorian Literature, Classical Children’s Literature, and Shakespeare. My favorite is definitely my Shakespeare class because it includes outings to live performances of the plays we are studying. We discuss the staging, costumes, and creative choices as well as the text itself. It feels like a theatre class mixed with a literature class.

I always get the question: Which is harder? US or UK college? It’s hard to compare the two because they are so different, but I think that US college is harder. However, this doesn’t mean that it is better or I learn more. Time management is definitely harder and the workload is much heavier. But I am astounded by how much I have learned already in my UK classes even with the lack of daily work.

A happy coincidence is that seeing such a different system has opened my eyes and given me lots of ideas for my future classroom. Each person has their own structure that they prefer, but learning can happen either way.