Education in England

The most intriguing and important part of studying abroad is, of course, the ‘studying’ part. Coming to a whole new country also means being introduced to a whole new education system. I have undoubtedly been challenged, confused, but also infused with excitement to retain all of this new information in a different format.

My main course of studies at the University of Essex, in Colchester, England, are Performance and Communications, so under this umbrella I took one theatre class, Models of Practice, a literature and drama class, Origins and Transformations of Literature and Drama, and a media class, Approaches to Film and Media. As a mental health advocate, I also wanted to venture into the mental health views in England, and I also purely wanted to learn more about it, so I took a psychology class, Emotion.

The structures England has for education, at least the part of England the University of Essex is in, is based on a very independent learning style. There is significantly less coursework, and no strategic attendance policy. The general term for the class as a whole is a “module.”

The module is set up into two different halves: one is a lecture, of which, every other lecture a different professor will be presenting their area of expertise, and the other half is called a “class,” which is very similar to our general teaching/learning style: one professor, and 30 or less students in a more laid-back, personalized session. A student generally has one lecture and one class every week, but as aforementioned, attendance is not as eminent as it is in most of the Uni’s here in the States.

Some professors can, however, count attendance as a percentage of the module, most likely if it's a class like Theatre, where participation is imperatively necessary. Further on, when attending the class, the student has to “tap in,” which means to wave their student ID card on a black sensor in the room to track their attendance.

Lastly, just to share some fun facts about the finals week here in England: We have almost no quizzes/tests throughout the semester, just one approximately 10 page research essay, and a two-hour exam during their finals week. Again, professors can add a test or coursework here and there, but it's only one to two times within the semester, for revision purposes … and that’s another positively intriguing thing: they don’t say “study” here, they say “revise” like “I have so much revision to do for exams” etc!

In totality, I have found this way of education to be so lovely and refreshing, but also very stressful. I felt as if I had so much more time on my hands, with how their scheduling was and the less coursework/attention to attendance, but I also felt very behind in my studying mostly because this independent way of education is very self-management heavy. I relentlessly learned how to stop procrastinating more (but not completely, of course, I’m still the average college student), and how to put more pride and enjoyment into what I am learning.

England has honestly been so encouraging to not merely remember material, but to actually retain it and believe in, or even challenge, what is being taught.

— Emel Rasim, a junior theatre arts major, is studying abroad this fall at the University of Essex in Colchester, England. #HuskyAbroad #ProfessionalU