Elizabeth, a first year Earth Science student, writes about a typical day,
In Earth Science there is a mix of lectures and practical sessions, the lectures teaching you the theory which is then put to use in the practicals. A typical day will start at 9 with lectures, normally a couple, but the timetable varies day to day. The lectures are usually in a lecture theatre with the seats banked, and the lecturer at the front. Copies of the lecture slides are normally available beforehand so, if you want, you can download everything beforehand. Most lectures are recorded as well meaning you can play them back to help with revision or to re-visit something you didn’t quite get first time round..
After a few lectures it is usually time for lunch. As the campus is so close to the city centre, a lot of people go to buy lunch, but if you want to bring lunch with you, maybe to save a few pennies, then there is a large common room that we use with a mix of tables and comfy seats. This is a great space for chatting with friends but also getting work done.
The afternoons are often for practicals, from field trips to microscope practicals they are all great fun and are very hands on, so if you are a practical learner then they are great. The microscope practicals are pretty cool – we are trusted to use petrological microscopes as these are what professionals actually use. We work in pairs to go through worksheets aimed to get us used to the particular minerals to look for. Don’t worry though, you aren’t expected to be an expert straight off! There is always a lecturer and a few PhD students to help if needed. First year is about getting everyone to the same level of knowing fundamentals, so there will be things that you have learnt before and brand new topics all mixed together. In the practicals tablets can be connected to a camera on the microscope so that what you are looking at is shown on the tablet. This is very useful when it comes to the coursework, as instead of drawing the samples, you can just take a picture to include in your work.
A normal day can finish anytime between 3 and 5, giving you plenty of time to take part in other activities around the University. Overall the days on the Earth Science course are pretty varied, but that is what makes them so good!
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