Study schedule

Thibaut talks about his study schedule and the balance between time in class and independent study.

Video transcript

Thibaut:

"I’m Thibaut, Thibaut Clamart. I’m a Franco-Czech student. I’m undertaking an MSc in Art in the Global Middle Ages in the department of History of Art. In my programme we had to undertake three courses per term and then on top of that you could audit anything and I’ve chosen also to undertake a work placement.

"My assessment is composed of coursework and a dissertation. The dissertation is a major piece of work: it is research and 15,000 words. You have to write it over the summer, once you’re done with the coursework component of the masters. It’s a lot of work. It demands a lot of preparation, a lot of individual learning and studying. You need to prepare the course.

"You need to read a lot; you need to not just read it, you need to understand it, because you’re going to discuss everything during the course. If you don’t do your independent work you will fall behind, and that is challenging for students not ready to undertake independent work. You have to keep up and you have to make sure that you manage your time, and that is challenging, but it is also a skill that will make you a better graduate and you will definitely use in other settings.

"It’s also very important to do things that are not compulsory, to go the multiple and various and numerous lectures happening in this University. There are also a lot of weekly graduate research seminars that are very interesting to attend because you will hear scholars from outside the University.

"So, really make sure that you manage your time properly, that you do your independent research, that you also are not just, let’s say, not just completely forgetting the rest of the world while doing it."