Differences between Spanish and UK universities

Tons of American series against the backdrop of higher education have shaped the way about how universities in English-speaking countries would be like. I even stumbled upon some British series that fell into this narrative, just sowing the very same seeds in the audience’s minds.

What follows is a bit of a culture shock: the life you envisaged before moving to the UK has nothing to do with what’s actually going on.

I put together a list of facts along with some key differentiators between Spain and the UK in the hope that your Erasmus placement won’t catch you off guard :)

1. THE LEARNING PROCESS

In the UK you are expected to study and do most of the work on your own. Lectures are held just to give you a brief overview of the topic, the rest is up to you. Professors won’t be ranting on and giving you all the information on a silver platter. You are responsible for your own learning, so you’ll have to do your research.

There are seminars with the aim of helping you retain the information you’ve looked up and where students have discussions and debates. Have a flick through the reading material posted on Learning Central before going to the seminars. Your professor will take for granted that you’d read them and they will ask you questions to test your knowledge and develop your ideas.

For example, in one of my subjects, I had to do lots of autonomous work to catch up with the level my professors set and I couldn’t just memorise the lecture materials (that’d be the same as signing my own death warrant). I had to read in-depth about the topic, rehearse some seminar questions and spend hours doing my research. The same goes for the exams. I found them quite daunting because I didn’t know if what I studied was enough or if I got a comprehensive list of sources.

Moreover, lectures are recorded so that you can revise at home before exams. Videos of the lessons are a real life-saver if you want to get a refresher of what the lecturer went over or if you missed a class (or even if you slept through your alarm).

On the other side of the coin, professors drone on and on in Spain. Basically, lessons consist of students sitting down and taking notes while the professor is lecturing for what seems like an eternity.

If you prefer a bit of hand-holding and chivvying, you’d be better off in Spain. I like the UK way better though, even if it was difficult to get to grips with at the beginning. I’d rather be in charge of what I learn and polish up my independent thinking than memorise large amounts of information for a one-shot exam. But to each their own.

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2. CONTACT HOURS

Since independent learning is encouraged in UK universities, there are fewer contact hours and they last LESS time (about 50 minutes/one hour). That doesn’t necessarily mean that you have more free time, you are expected to make the most of your study time and hit the books.

The other way around for Spanish universities: there are MORE contact hours for each module and they last MORE time (hours).

Whereas I found myself with just one or two modules a day in the UK, in Spain I used to be locked up in a classroom because I could easily have up to five modules a day.

3. EXAMS

You can’t sit them in a usual classroom. Instead, there is a vast array of venues where the exams are to be taken. Check the student Intranet to find the location and think ahead about how much time it will take you to get there: it might be far away.

The venues tend to be huge places where hundreds of students from different degrees go to sit their exams. One of mine was in a sports centre and another one was on the outskirts of Cardiff (so charged up your phone because you might need to use Google Maps).

The moment you arrive, you have to find your name on a list and the number of your assigned table. Switch off your phone and don’t bring any of your belongings (except for pens and your student ID), because you might be penalised.

Here’s a video in case you also need a visual representation :)

Don’t be nervous about your exams! If you know the place beforehand, what you need to bring and the time, you’ve got half the work done. Just bear in mind that in the exam you need to show that you had done your research and that you had studied beyond your lecture notes.

Being Spanish, I find this a bit over-the-top because I’m used to doing my exams in my classroom and making sure that I got my phone turned off and my ID with me. It’s not like in the UK at all.

4. ACADEMIC WORK

Essay writing is essential in the UK. It’s the most common form of assessment for students in both courseworks and exams. With this assignment, professors are able to test a wide range of academic skills such as critical reading and thinking, coherence, appropriate writing style, accuracy, understanding of the topic…

This goes without saying but try to avoid plagiarism at all costs when writing an essay. In the UK this is severely punished, meaning you can fail the subject or get kicked out.

In Spain, essays are not that popular. I thought I became familiar already with essay writing thanks to my degree, but I realised that I hadn’t done “proper” essays until I studied in the UK. Rather than essays or courseworks, exams are commonplace in Spain.

5. READING WEEK

In the UK, provided that you are NOT a science student, you will have a full week without classes named “Reading Week”, which is meant for studying, revising or… on a more realistic note, for binge-watching series on Netflix; )

6. SOCIETIES, CLUBS AND THE STUDENTS’ UNION

If you’re looking to get involved or enrol in a society, the students’ unionis just the place for you. There are gazillions of different societies that you can choose from: cooking, anime, fashion, film, sports, you name it. The students’ union is a must-go place if you study in the UK.

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It’s a shame that we don’t have one in Spain, or at least at my university :( though I’m pretty sure that you will be spoilt for choice if you get to study in a cosmopolitan Spanish city such as Madrid, Barcelona or Valencia, because their universities offer a range of activities to get involved in. Smaller towns might not hold a candle in this, but they are more economical to live and I think you can surround yourself in a more close-knit community. Depending on what your priorities are, some universities will be more to your liking, so that choice is up to you to make :)

All in all, these are the key differences that I wanted to point out in terms of university life between Spain and the UK. I hope I’ve cleared a couple of things up.

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