I have not written in a good while, for which I apologize. I have been occupied with several things, but the number of posts should increase now that I am free for the summer.

Free for the summer!… But have I really been “un-free” this past academic year in Sweden? The answer: eh, not really.

Let me start by reassuring you that I am registered as a full-time graduate student at Stockholm University. I attend every lecture, every seminar, every excursion, and every meeting scheduled for my program. Moreover, I am always sufficiently (if not overly) prepared for class, I participate in class discussions and activities, and I complete and turn in all of my assignments and projects by the deadlines. Given the structure and requirements of my program, however, this is not a difficult track record to achieve.

Full-time studies (for both undergraduate and advanced degrees) in Sweden are supposed to require a student to devote 40 hours per week to school-related activities. These 40 hours include attending class, reading course literature, doing assignments, studying for examinations, and making additional efforts to comprehend and master the content of the course. Unfortunately, in my experience, the reality of full-time studies does not remotely resemble this ideal.

This year, I took four classes: two each semester, but only one course at a time. Each course had its own (erratic) schedule for lectures and seminars, but the average time I spent in the classroom was about four to five hours a week. Some weeks I only had one class meeting scheduled, other weeks I was at the university for three days in a row. The random scheduling of class time is an issue that requires an entire article of its own, but for my purposes in this entry, it is important to note that I did not spend much time in either lectures or seminars.

There are several reasons for this. First of all, I’ve been told that the departments have limited funds for lecture hours. Secondly, students are expected to be primarily “teach themselves” by following the course material independently, rather than have a professor “hold them by the hand” in academic matters.

I can accept that most of the work is supposed to be done outside of class, and it really isn’t a new concept for me. What I find odd is that the professors, course designers, and coordinators of my program actually think there is enough to do outside of class to fill up ten, forty-hour weeks.

My first course, which was an introductory class for the program, had six text books and several academic articles which were required. However, we were only expected to read specific selections from most of the texts, rather than the works in their entirety. The second course, which was a physical science class, had only two books, and a few select articles, associated with the it. The third course was based upon articles and one textbook, with two other books used as reference sources for the final project. The final course had three texts, one of which was supposed to be used as a handbook and style resource, and the other two were rather short.

Clearly, the reading of texts and articles for class is not enough to fill ten weeks of full-time studies. What about assignments, then? Weekly assignments ranged from preparing a five minute presentation of course material, to handing in a page of notes from the reading, to one page reflections written with a partner, to (usually) nothing.

My colleges and I were not close to being sufficiently busy with school work until final examinations of each course were coming due. Even while were were working on these big assignments or studying for tests, working for 40 hours a week was generally not required to fulfill the requirements of the course.

I have a friend who is following another program in the same department. She spends significantly more time than I do both in the classroom and working independently on long-term projects. Perhaps her studies are full-time work. But my conversations with other university students indicates that they, too, have a lot of downtime outside of class. My experience is not the exception, it is the rule.

Its not that I feel that my educational experience in Sweden is not worthwhile. On the contrary, I think that I have been mentally stimulated and challenged at my university. But frankly, I find the way the system is set up to be rather ridiculous. Classes seem to be something I have to take to “pay my dues” and fill up the two years necessary to earn my graduate degree. I am comforted, however, by the fact that my thesis work will, and should, be the most important part of my degree. The quality and time involved in the work will entirely rest upon my shoulders.

It is the pretense of “full-time, 40 hours a week” studies that bothers me, not necessarily the structure itself. I would find it more acceptable if they considered “full-time” as something else, even if it is an arbitrary definition (such as full-time = two classes a semester). As of now, this supposed “40 hours a week” requirement is used as an excuse by administration when course structure or teacher involvement are lacking. Additionally, students, both individually and collectively in unions, use the “40 hours a week” definition of full-time studies to prove that students are incapable of holding any type of employment while enrolled in university. It becomes an excuse to get more grant and loan money from tax payers (in addition to tuition-free education).