Another nice change in education from the States, our classes don’t require textbooks. I have “reading lists” which usually contain articles that must be read weekly for my classes. My graduate class requires a lot of reading each week from scientific journals that are required for our final research paper and to understand class discussions. Professors recommend some books but the main concepts of the classes don’t require large textbooks. This decreases the cost of taking papers (courses) a lot.
The most startling difference in classes here is the formality of the lecturers. One of my professors wears a Vodafone tracksuit to class each week and another wears a Hawaiian shirt. It makes the atmosphere much more relaxed and makes the professors more approachable. It also goes along with the island vibes that are ubiquitous here. One of my professors even sent me an email about avoiding sun burns in New Zealand because he knew I was from the Northern Hemisphere. Other than this, the teaching styles are similar. I have a lot of larger classes (60-100 students) where the lecturer projects a slideshow and presents for the hour-long class period. I have a less rigorous class schedule than a lot of my peers because I’m enrolled in classes without labs or tutorials. Also, one of my classes is a one-time 3-day lecture period during our mid-semester break. During breaks, I spend most of my time as I did at Northeastern, finding comfy study spaces and getting lunch with friends.
The assignments here are much larger (worth 20%-30% of your grade) and there are usually only 1 or 2 assignments during the semester and then a final exam, which is worth 50% of your grade. It requires a lot more planning ahead since the projects are a lot of work but the pace is definitely slower on a day-to-day basis.
Another notable difference and challenge is applying to co-op during study abroad. The time difference makes it difficult (most interviews happen before 9 AM) and students here don’t have co-op. Back at Northeastern, professors and piers understand the rigor of co-op interviews and scheduling but here they don’t have the same sympathy. It makes focusing on co-op and planning a little more difficult. Although not impossible, landing a co-op while abroad definitely requires more attention to the process and keeping up with emails and employers.
