Books

Will we get a list of books needed? If so, will we be expected to buy them before the first class or does the university provide ebook/pdf versions?

Reply 1

madmirrors

Original post by VerAl1504

Will we get a list of books needed? If so, will we be expected to buy them before the first class or does the university provide ebook/pdf versions?

Lecturers do have reading lists, books are often expensive and students don't need to buy every book. Sometimes Ebooks or PDFs are given that are free to download. In my second and third years of uni we didn't use textbooks and relied on journal articles.

University of York

York

Reply 2

username1230881

Original post by VerAl1504

Will we get a list of books needed? If so, will we be expected to buy them before the first class or does the university provide ebook/pdf versions?

For what course? For something like History or Politics, the resources you need will change week-to-week - there won't be a textbook you're constantly relying on (or if there is, it'll be of secondary importance), but rather different journal articles and books. If something's on the required reading list in that scenario, it'll either be available online or in the library. Occaisionally there's only a few copies of a book that everyone needs though, so if there is a key textbook you might want to buy it.

For a subject like English Literature, they'll expect you to buy the primary texts - the novels and so on - and literary criticism will be available in the library.

For other courses like Maths and Chemistry, they'll probably expect you to buy core textbooks. My housemate who studies Chemistry literally never borrowed a library book in the first two years of her course because they just rely on core textbooks that they bought, and lecture material that was given to them.

If you're unsure, don't worry, as your department will be transparent about it to avoid confusion. You'll get access to the VLE which will make clear what's expected of you.