What’s it like to study at the UG?

What’s studying at UG like?

An undergraduate degree from the UG is your passport to a successful international career, with early access to a truly open and academic community and world-class research opportunities. During your time with us, you’ll be in the driving seat of your own education, gaining the knowledge and skills valued by today’s employers.

The Bachelor’s Degree

Ideally, you’ll complete your Bachelor’s degree within three years. In your first year, you’ll follow a compulsory programme that covers the basics of your chosen field and lays the foundation for the scientific method. During your second and third years, you will get the opportunity to specialise by taking elective courses. Most programmes are split into a major and a minor. The major - your actual degree in your chosen field - is a two-and-half-year course. Your minor allows you to choose an area of study that falls outside your specialisation. You can complete your minor in your own faculty, in other faculties or even abroad at other institutions as an exchange. In your final year, you will research and write your bachelor’s thesis, based on what you’ve learned. When you’ve successfully passed all the components of your Bachelor’s degree course, you will receive your Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Law. After this, you can continue on to the next phase of your university education, the master's degree.

Different teaching styles

An academic year is split into two semesters, consisting of two blocks of 10 weeks. You’ll take a certain number of courses during each block, followed by an exam or paper. Your classes may be taught in different styles. So, for instance, you might follow a lecture with a class of 30, 100 or, in the larger courses, 450 other students. During these classes, a lecturer talks about the subject matter and you mostly listen (although questions and remarks are sometimes welcomed). Alternatively, you might also be taught in tutorials. These are given in smaller groups and can seem similar to high school classes. Active participation is required and there’s room to ask questions, have discussions with your fellow students, and solve problems.

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