A week in the life of a sociology student
First year BSc (Hons) Sociology student Hannah Jelbart tells us a bit about what it’s like to study at Surrey – from her typical timetable, to the best ways to socialise on campus.
A typical week
Monday
"To start my Monday morning, I attend 24Fit Surrey Bootcamp from 7:30-8:30am. This is an external company that come in and do fitness sessions with University students. After bootcamp, I then go to my lecture on the sociology of contemporary societies (from 11am until 1pm), before having lunch and writing up my lecture notes. I finish my day with a shift at my part-time job from 4:15pm for four hours.
Tuesday
My first lecture of the day is at 9am and is about making sense of everyday life, exploring the mundane everyday actions of people in society. After my lecture, I write up my notes and spend a couple of hours doing any readings needed for my upcoming lessons. I then generally have lunch at 12:30pm and attend my popular culture lecture from 1pm until 2pm, followed by two seminars at 2pm and 3pm. After my lectures and seminars, I typically write up all my notes and develop my understanding of the content – I do this from roughly 4pm onwards.
Wednesday
On Wednesday mornings I have another shift at my part-time job from 7am to 11:30am. Typically, I will then go home, have lunch and relax after my shift for a few hours. If I have any assignments due or lecture content that I still need to revise, I will do this then, either in my flat or at the library. In the evening, I will normally socialise due to it being student night either at the Students’ Union or in Guildford town.
Thursday
I start my Thursday mornings with some downtime either catching up with friends or watching TV until around 12:20pm. I then attend my hour-long lecture in qualitative field methods from 1pm, before eating lunch and heading home to do chores, from washing my clothes to cleaning my flat. After I have finished my chores, I will write up my lecture notes from the morning and then socialise with my flatmates.
Friday
I start my Friday mornings with another bootcamp session from 7:30am to 8:30am, before attending my seminar in qualitative field methods from 9am until 10am. After my seminar, I usually do some revision and type up lecture notes for a few hours. I then have lunch at around 2pm, followed by some downtime where I either socialise and see friends, or sometimes go into town to shop or get drinks in the evening."
"In the evening, I will normally socialise due to it being student night either at the Students’ Union or in Guildford town."
Choosing Surrey
"On Surrey’s BSc (Hons) Sociology course, we study the everyday goings on of the world and society, questioning general actions and events that you might normally ignore. All my lectures so far have been really interesting, covering a wide range of topics from research methods to learning about specific sociological thinkers. One of the unique things about studying sociology is that you can bring in contemporary examples to your essays – all current events are a talking point in sociology, from Brexit to the refugee crisis.
As Surrey is a campus university, it feels a lot less isolating than being in a city as you can get to know more people because everything is in the same place. The Students’ Union is a good place to meet up with friends and see people you know; it has a big community feel. Being near London is also beneficial for travelling and for nights out as it gives you even more choice of things to do outside of Guildford, including music gigs which are always fun. In general, Guildford is a very safe and quaint place to live – there are loads of different shops which is great for shopping, including a nice range of restaurants and cafes."
Discover more about life at Surrey and our courses in sociology.