how many lectures do you attend at uni?

verysleepyfrog

how many are you supposed to go to and how many do you actually turn up for - like is it x number per day? week?

Reply 1

StriderHort

It will just depend, I normally had 5 a week maybe and I would attend them all unless I had a very good reason

Reply 2

verysleepyfrog

tyy this is very helpful :smile:

Reply 3

cactus11235813

Original post

by verysleepyfrog

how many are you supposed to go to and how many do you actually turn up for - like is it x number per day? week?

2-3 a day, and I went/go to all of them (mine are recorded, but it's definitely much better to go in person). I think I've missed 3-4 lectures this year, for medical appointments / clashes with a viva, but that's basically it.

If yours aren't recorded, go!!

Reply 4

De Montfort University

Official Rep

Original post

by verysleepyfrog

how many are you supposed to go to and how many do you actually turn up for - like is it x number per day? week?

Hey there 😃

The number of lectures and contact-teaching hours you’ll have depends on your course and year of study. Typically, students follow 4-6 subjects per semester or year, and these can include lectures, workshops, or seminars. In my case, I had around 10-12 hours of contact teaching per week, usually spread over 3 or 4 days.

Each university also has its own attendance policy. In most cases, you need to attend at least 80% of your classes, so if you ever have an emergency, missing a class or two won’t be a problem. That said, I always tried to attend as much as possible because the content covered is super helpful, especially when it comes to exams and assignments. Workshops and seminars are particularly valuable since they focus on practical skills, so attending them regularly is definitely worth it! 🎓

I hope it will be helpful 💪 Feel free to reach out if you have any questions 😉 You can also chat with me or other students directly through The Ambassador Platform.

Take care,

Julia
Psychology student
De Montfort University

Reply 5

University of Bath

Official Rep

Original post

by verysleepyfrog

how many are you supposed to go to and how many do you actually turn up for - like is it x number per day? week?

Hi there,

As others have already said, the number of 'contact hours' you get (i.e. time in lectures and seminars etc) varies course to course. If you do something like Pharmacy or Biochemistry which involve lab sessions etc, you will likely have several days filled up, whereas if like me you do something like Psychology, Sociology or Econ, then you may only get around 9-10 hours of lectures a week.

Here at Bath the earliest lecture you could get is 08.15 and the latest one is 18.15 - they usually last either one or two hours and will not go beyond these hours.

Personally I went to every lecture in person that I could! If you're on campus its a great way to connect with your coursemates and take in the uni atmosphere let alone give you a headstart with assignments and learning your content. A lot of unis also record their lectures and put them on your student platform (such as Moodle) so if you are ill and have to miss one, then you can catch up.

I preferred to take notes on a laptop at lectures due to the speed of lecturers' talking but did revision notes and posters by hand. This again is up to you!

I hope this helps, best wishes!

Holly
University of Bath

Reply 6

Kingston Zhi En

Official Rep

Original post

by verysleepyfrog

how many are you supposed to go to and how many do you actually turn up for - like is it x number per day? week?

Hey there @verysleepyfrog , this really depends on your university, faculty and course timetable 🙂 I am in a course with lots of course work so even though I only have 2 or 3 lectures/ tutorials a week, I have to be in uni everyday to work on my projects 😆 For some academic courses, you may have some pre-recorded lectures but I think it's always best to go in person to make use of the time to cover the content. You may want to check the webpage of the course you are interested in to see the number of contact hours 🙂

Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)

Reply 7

De Montfort University

Official Rep

Original post

by verysleepyfrog

how many are you supposed to go to and how many do you actually turn up for - like is it x number per day? week?

Hi there,

To give some example, I study Cyber Security BSc (Hons) at DMU, and we usually have 9-12 hours per week. Latest timetable I had consisted of three days with 1 lecture and 1 practical session (1-hour lecture, 2 hours for practice). Tuesday and Friday were days off.

Please let me know if you have any questions,
Ilya,
Cyber Security student at De Montfort University

Reply 8

Stiffy Byng

Original post

by StriderHort

It will just depend, I normally had 5 a week maybe and I would attend them all unless I had a very good reason

I didn't go to any lectures. They weren't compulsory. My tutor told me that I'd be better off spending the time in a library. I took his advice.

Reply 9

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

I go to all of them unless I'm sick or something comes up which I need to urgently deal with. That said if I was a full time school leaver age student I wouldn't really have much of anything in the latter category (alas as a mature student, life marches on even during my studies...).

Then again I was doing all language modules this year so I couldn't really get away with missing many (or any). Would take me ages to catch up if I missed a single lecture...

My department only has a 50% attendance policy and it's not really strictly enforced, just vaguely monitored. Obviously international students on certain types of visas need to have a higher attendance as part of their visa requirement as I understand.

That said I think the purpose of going to university is to learn from academic specialists in their field, not merely go through the motions for 3 years, take some exams, and get a piece of paper. Seems a bit besides the point to not bother going to lectures...