Week 3, Hilary Term

Welcome to (well, the near end) of Week 3, Hilary Term! I hope everyone is safe and well after the crazy snow in New England these past few weeks!

To be honest, there’s not a whole lot that’s new here – now halfway (!) through the school year, it seems most of us international students have found our rhythm; now life in Oxford is just, well, life – normal, messy, sometimes boring, but other times totally incredibly amazing, life. It’s not that nothing special has happened since I last checked in…  But, per usual, we are spending our days studying, writing and reading, fitting formal dinners followed by nights out on the town, pool games, and coffee breaks in between (which I am thoroughly enjoying!). So, in the midst of not having anything über interesting or new to report, I’ve decided to take this opportunity to tell you a little more about what exactly an Oxford degree course entails…

We are currently nearing the halfway point of the second of our three terms (named Michaelmas, Hilary, and Trinity, respectively). I’ve asked loads of people trying to figure out why the terms are named in this way, and have had no luck; just like we wonder why our college bills are called ‘battels’, some questions at Oxford just really have no clear answer (that we know of). My courses this term (which I am absolutely loving!) are (1) Medical Anthropology of the Senses and (2) Gender Theories and Realities: Cross-Cultural Perspectives (essentially, the Anthropology of Gender).

For actual Oxford students it works a little differently, but for us visiting students, it’s pretty simple: each of us takes one primary tutorial, which meets 8 times during the term, and a secondary tutorial, which meets 4 times during the term. These tutorials are quite flexible, and it is up to the student and tutor to figure out a schedule that works for them. Sometimes tutorials meet every week, or every other week; sometimes you may have more than one tutorial for the same course during a particular week, and some tutors like to schedule tutorials on a week-to-week basis… It really just depends. For example, my secondary tutor for my gender course decided to complete our four tutorials during the first four weeks of this term, so after this coming week, I’ll already be finished with that course!

Regardless of the wide variety of student’s unique experiences, the tutorial system is a hallmark of Oxford University’s academic program, and this system being employed at this level of intensity is pretty much unique to Oxford and Cambridge University (GO OXFORD BEAT CAMBRIDGE).

We do get graded, but it is very different from how it works in the United States, and we also don’t take any exams (though our friends who are real Oxford students do). Rather than being graded continuously throughout the course, most tutors simply give you an assessment at the end of the term with a percentage out of 100 (which is then transferred into the classic American A, B, C, D, etc. grading system) based on the quality of your essays, engagement with the topic(s), observed improvement throughout the term, and participation in your tutorials (also, an A here is anything between 70% and 100%… Strange, I know). At first, I found it a little unnerving that I didn’t know the exact guidelines by which I would be graded, as well as the fact that I was not able to check my grades incessantly like I tend to do at HC; but now, I find it really freeing, not worrying about my grades all of the time. It’s a nice break! Personally, I feel after some time here I can trust that if I’m putting in my best effort and proving to my tutors that I am interested and engaged in what we’re learning about, that I will be rewarded accordingly for that (Holy Cross freezing your GPA during study abroad doesn’t hurt, either 🙂 ).

So that’s The Oxford Tutorial System 101! Stay warm, stay safe, and I’ll be back during 5th week to let you know how IWL-D (our second and last time trial before competing in Torpids for rowing) turns out!

Cheers,

HRH

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New Words of the Week: Academic Addition

paper n. – at Oxford, this not only refers to what you turn your essays in on, but also the course(s) you’re studying, i.e. one of the optional papers (courses) for Human Sciences students is Medical Anthropology

reading v. – at Oxford, students don’t only read books, but ‘reading’ also refers to your major subject of study, i.e. one’s bod (ID) card may read ‘Hildie Hoeschen, UNDERGRADUATE reading for Human Sciences’

A* /A-star/ n. – equivalent to an American A+

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