Before starting university life, it can be really difficult to know what to expect. One of the most common questions we get year after year is how long students can expect to actually be on campus each week.
So - we asked our team of current university students! Here’s what we found. Respondents came from degrees such as Commerce, Education, and Medicine.
On average, how many contact hours (scheduled classes on campus) do you have per week?
The first question we asked our tutors was how long they were typically on campus each week for class. That could include things like lectures, tutorials, seminars, or labs, but not independent, informal time like studying at the library.
Responses ranged from eight hours per week to 40 hours per week, with the majority of responses falling in the 10-25 hour range. Some tutors indicated that their contact hours varied a lot from semester to semester, whilst others said contact hours were typically quite consistent across teaching periods.
When asked if classes were mostly on-campus or online, responses were also varied; some tutors said all their classes were on-campus, others said there was a mixture, and others still said everything was online.
Typically, how long do you spend on uni commitments further to your weekly classes (readings, assignments, projects etc.)?
The university experience is more than just your scheduled classes. You will also need to make time for class preparation, completing assignments, and hitting other key criteria. As such, we asked our tutors how long they typically spend doing this, further to their scheduled classes.
A common theme was that time commitment depended somewhat on the time of semester - it makes sense that students might study more just before exams, for example. But it was also clear that there was a big range of responses, from around five hours per week, to around 35 hours per week.
The key takeaways
This survey had a very small sample size from a limited number of degrees, but the results nevertheless demonstrated great variety in university experiences. The reality is that each degree is different, and each student’s interpretation of and experiences in that degree will differ, too.
If you’re looking for subject-specific reviews and information, you can find heaps of uni subject reviews here. Given each degree is so different, these student-submitted reviews can be really helpful in informing your choices!
