October 8, 2023
A day in my life as a Master student
Are you wondering what a day in the life of a first-year Master student in Science for Sustainable Development looks like at LiU? Look no further!
But first, let me introduce myself, I am Fleur both from the Netherlands and Germany, and this summer I started the Master of Science for Sustainable Development at LiU. That means I have lived in Linköping for a little over seven weeks now, and in those seven weeks, a lot has happened.
My days as a Master’s student are never the same, and often filled with spending a lot of time at university but also with many social activities. One thing I noticed when I came here, is that LiU has a very vibrant student social life. Almost every day, and especially on the weekends, there are activities and parties. So, you never have to be bored! Besides that, I live in a lovely house with 6 other internationals, so there is always someone to talk to there as well.
In my Master’s program, our curriculum consists of four courses per semester, each one is 7.5 credits and they go on for five weeks. We started out the year with a course called “Critical Perspectives on Sustainable Development”, which I finished in mid-September. Now, we are on a course called “Environmental and Resource Use Challenges”. This course is pretty demanding and has a lot of mandatory hours. However, the last week of a course is often “free” so you have time to write your final assignment or exam.
As each day is different, I cannot show you one typical day in my life as a Master’s student, so for now I’ll just tell you what I did last Monday!
So, my Monday started off with being a little too late for class (classes here almost always start at quarter past X, so that Monday I started at 9:15 but I was a few minutes late, as always). First, we had a 45-minute lecture about GIS (Geographic Information System), followed by a two-hour seminar where we tried out the GIS program. What I like about this course is that the lectures are always combined with a seminar. This helps a lot with getting familiar with the course content and it is also interesting to hear how other people view the topic. We are a very international class, so it is always fascinating to hear how other people deal with certain problems in their country. After the seminar, I headed into the city to do some shopping and get my Swedish ID card! The way from Campus Valla to the city is beautiful as you go by Gamla Linköping (an open-air museum) and through VallaSkogen (a really nice forest, right next to Campus). I met up with my roommate in the city, we bought flowers and then I went to the gym (I am currently going to Nordic Wellness, as they gifted me a one-month free pass!). At 15:15 I had another seminar on campus about water resources, which was very interesting. The seminar lasted until 17:00, so this was a pretty long day for me. Usually, I only have 2-3 hours of class a day and not every day of the week. I had a little break at home, and then went to a friend who lives in Ryd, a very popular student accommodation area, to have some pizza and prepare for her Birthday party! Her party had “Barbie” as a theme, so everybody was dressed as Barbie or Ken and everything was pink and glittery in the corridor.
It was definitely not the usual Monday, but it somehow does represent my student life here in Linköping. Most of my days are a mix of attending lectures and seminars, doing some form of sports (either going to the gym, going for a walk or I also love to bike around and explore), and social activity (this can be a party, a movie night with my house, or going into town with friends to have fika and go second-hand shopping). I really enjoy this work-life balance!
I hope you got a bit of a better insight into what a day in the life of a Master’s student can look like, but it of course always depends on your program and what you make of it yourself!
Talk to you soon!
Fleur
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why not continue the conversation with us?
Start with checking out: Our programmes, the application process, webinars, and our Instagram and Facebook account.
Still left wanting more?
Book an appointment with our recruitment coordinator at international.student@liu.se
