Getting used to a Swedish University (Courses, Studying, Teachers…)

Today, I want to give you an insight of what it is like to study at a Swedish university and how your everyday life would look like as a student here. Even though I am from Germany which is not too far away from Sweden geographically as well as culture wise, I still noticed some differences. As you probably know Sweden is famous for its education system and therefore those differences all surprised me positively. Nevertheless, I think it is still nice to know what to expect to be prepared and not as surprised by some things as I was.

Teachers

The first different thing to me was the way students and teachers interact in Sweden. Everything happens on a first name basis with every teacher, which basically already describes the interaction quite well. It is not formal but of course still very respectful. Compared to Germany it is way more relaxed and at eye level. You are therefore able to address all your questions and also concerns to your teachers without worrying it will impact your grade. The interaction between students and teachers at eye level flattens the hierarchy and it enables a more honest discussions in my experience. Nevertheless, it can be still challenging if you are not used to this as I was. But you will get used to this quite quick I assume, and I think both the teachers and students benefit from this honest interaction.

Courses

As I’ve mentioned in one of my previous blogs, here at LiU courses are always one by one. You will have one course for 4 or 5 weeks and finish it with an exam or final paper at the end. Afterwards you start directly into the new course. This bears the advantage of truly diving deeper into the topic of your courses since you don’t get distracted by another course at the same time. In my program the courses consist of lectures and seminars of 90 minutes. I was really surprised to learn that it is common to take breaks in between these 90 minutes. This could be a 5 to 15 minutes break and teachers even give you the chance to decide for how long you need a break. That would’ve not happened in my home university where the one-and-a-half-hour lecture or seminar always happened uninterrupted.

Studying

Due to the one course at a time system and not too many lectures and seminars per week in my program, I am left with a lot of studying that I am doing and organising on my own. Since we have exams/papers every few weeks there is always something to do. In Germany I was used to one long examination period at the end of every semester but here you keep working throughout the semester, which can be tiring but avoids putting all the stress on one period. If you finish a course every few weeks, it is also very satisfying to know you have actually finished something and have gotten one step closer to the degree.

LiU offers a lot of different places to study. My favourite and the biggest by far is Studenthuset. It is the library of the university and at the same time it provides endless study places. Since there are very different tables and chairs to study at there is one nice place for everyone. Other than you might be used to, here at LiU you are allowed to talk and eat in the library. There are however quiet areas for those who need that to focus. Besides that, you can also study in the other buildings of the university, where you will find study places in nearly every corridor. I really enjoy the many possibilities because it enables you to change your surroundings from time to time. You can also book rooms all over the campus easily via Time Edit to study with your friends or do group work.