How many hours each week do you spend in lectures?

This question is mainly for psychology students (at uni) as that is what I'm going to be studying but all replies are welcome.

I've recently been told by a current student at the uni I'm going to that I'll only have about 4 hours of lectures a week and 5 hours of tutorials... Is that normal?

During my law degree I had about 5 hours of lectures and 5 hours of semianr each week.

Amateur.

After third year, no lectures. Some seminars.

Amateur.

After third year, no lectures. Some seminars.

What is it learning like in seminars? My course is entirely lecture/tutorial/self-study driven. Am curious to know the set up and how things are done in contrast to lectures from somebody who's had both.

I found lectures - generally - to be dull and uninspiring. There's no reading so you can't prepare for any new concepts being introduced. I also found it very irritating that I would always be writing frantically to try and keep up in lectures. Finally, I always felt that I wanted nothing more than to be allowed to leave. If you were trying to define hate, a photograph of me staring down a student asking an additional question at the end would be a reasonable approximation.

Conversely I really enjoyed seminars, there was more debate, it was easier to prepare and (showing I'm a terrible student) they tended to be later in the day. Also, as they come later in the "University experience", if you will, they're more specialised so if you have an interest in the subject you can go into it much more, rather than the very broad view you get in lectures.

Sorry - I noticed you're more interested in the difference between tutorials and seminars - the difference I would identify is that in theory people are better informed. There's a lot of reading to do and as it's in later years people take it more seriously.

If you were trying to define hate, a photograph of me staring down a student asking an additional question at the end would be a reasonable approximation.

no-no, it actually was the lecture/seminar difference I wanted So essentially seminars there is work set (reading or otherwise) beforehand for you to do, and then you turn up and build on it further with peers on your course; whereas lectures served more as an opening for topics and you had to do the reading and building up on the topic afterwards?

This made me chuckle...

I wish I was even half joking!

hey, does anyone know about medicine courses?

That was how it was for me. I imagine it would be the same for most other degrees.

For UCL first year it has been around 20 hrs/week

But the amount of lecture hours you have will depend on the medschool's course structure and delivery (I'm assuming you know of the different types available).

Which uni are you going too ?


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