Last Updated on June 29, 2015 by
You might be wondering what it’s like to study at a foreign university. I sure did before I went on this trip. After having successfully completed my first session and beginning my second session class, I feel I now have a good grip of the system.
First and foremost, the first day in your new class is going to be a little bit weird. It’s kind of like when you start college and you have to adjust yourself to all of the norms of the institution at which you are now studying.
Tower Bridge
The classes are smaller than I have ever had before. But, most of my classes at home have 150-300 students so that was not surprising. The teachers come from all different backgrounds, countries and walks of life. My professor from Session A is originally from Brazil, works in London and teaches part time.
We had class every day from 9 am to 12 pm with a ten minute break in the middle to get up, stretch your legs, and get some water. The class was taught lecture style, and to break things up we would have debates about the topic at hand or discuss real world examples to understand and reinforce to concepts we learned. Lastly, we would go over case studies of companies that related to what we were studying. So, even though it was a three hour course, the time did go by quite quickly.
For the grading, we had a lot of group work. We had to write a long essay about a chosen topic, and then give a professional (group) presentation on that topic. The work for these two projects was time consuming, but getting to know the people in my group made it all worthwhile. Last but not least, there was the final exam. This consisted of three timed essay questions about the material we covered. I felt well prepared for the exam because our professor gave detailed instructions on her expectations.
Overall, the classes here at Richmond are both rewarding and interesting. I learned a lot in my last class and I love my current class so far. You have the opportunity to learn from world class faculty with students from all around the U.S. It has been a wonderful experience so far! So if you have any fears about taking classes overseas, I hope this calms your nerves. The classes, professors, and students are wonderful and all contribute to an incredible learning environment.
