Course structure at LiU

One of the challenges I found when I came to Sweden was figuring out the different educational system. To be honest I’m still getting used to it. But still, I’d like to give you a quick impression of what my university life looks like.

Schedule

The first difference I noticed was in the schedule. Maybe you like me you are used to having 6-8 different courses at the same time with several classes a week and then having a very stressful exam period at the end of the semester. Here at LiU my week looks quite different. I only ever have one course at a time for 4 to 5 weeks with a few classes/lectures a week. Don’t underestimate this. There is still quite some work to do outside of class. After each course there is an immediate examination. For now, all my examinations consisted in written assignments. Not all programmes are designed this way. Many have two different courses for two month and then have two weeks of exams at the end. The exam periods are usually at the end of October and January.

Seminars

The classes I have during a week usually include a seminar which is obligatory as the participation in them forms part of the final grade. Active participation is key here so you need to prepare for this in advance. This could be reading a text in order to be able to discuss it in class, writing a short paper or preparing a presentation together with a group.

Group Work

At LiU a lot of the assignments you have to hand in during the course are group work assignments. Group work can be challenging at times especially when writing a paper together. I found that structuring the work from the beginning and deciding on clear tasks can help avoid unnecessary, redundant work or misunderstandings. Also if your paper will include a lot of sources define which method of refrencing you’ll use. This way it’s much easier to combine the parts at the ends.

Online vs. Campus

Even though Sweden no longer as any Covid restrictions we still have some classes online. Lectures are usually held online via Zoom or Teams depending on the professor. This sometimes works in your favour, for example are you sperate the bike ride to Campus through the rain. Seminars however are on Campus which is nice because you get to leave the house. Of course you also get to meet your classmates and it is also easier to ask questions to your professor. For my seminars we are still split into smaller groups, but this is also because it makes discussions easier.

I hope this gives you a little more insight into student life here at LiU!

All the best,