I just wanted to write my brief take on The University of Luxembourg, where I've been taking my classes now for two months, and U.S. universities since a comparison with the Air Force Academy would never end. For any of you who are curious about the U.S. service academy experience, I would be happy to share- I think I will write a quick blog on that subject soon for friends here who are curious and want to see pictures.
The University of Luxembourg is a relatively young University, established in 2003, and seems to be very well supported by the State in its fledgling stage - which makes it really nice to be a student here a lot of the time. The university has a student population of about 4000 bachelors, masters, and doctoral students, half of whom who are foreign students from all over the world, anywhere from China, to Cameroon, to Hungary, to close neighbors like Germany. The University's offer of coursework in French, German, and English, and offers inexpensive student housing to those in highest priority, which facilitates its highly international character. The university is currently divided into three campuses, Kirchberg for technical subjects like engineering, Walferdange for the arts, Limpertsburg, where I take most of my classes, for economics, law, and the natural sciences. I go to Walferdange twice a week for my French Linguistics class and for first semester Latin (taught in French, which makes things interesting). It's nice to take classes at both campuses- I am grateful to take most of my biology classes with the same small group of Luxembourgers since we've become friends and I feel like I'm getting to know the real Luxembourg better through them, but I also enjoy taking a few classes with the students in medicine and in the arts which tend to be a little more international.
One of the main differences that I've found between European and U.S. universities is the emphasis on specialization in Europe- no basic courses exist that don't pertain to one's major. For instance, the students in biology start out their first semester taking physics, geology, basic and organic chemistry, developmental biology, and cellular and molecular biology. As far as I know, the possibility of double majoring or taking classes in a sub-specialty (e.g. a minor), doesn't exist . In addition, everyone enrolled in a certain year of a certain major is obligated to take the same courses at the same time. At first, I found this strange until I realized that European students must choose an academic orientation in high school, allowing them to take more advanced courses and put a heavier emphasis on courses in "lettres" (humanities) or in "filière scientifique" (scientific field), for instance. This helps explain why a bachelors degree takes only three years to complete, since many students already have what we consider to be "basics" courses out of the way before starting college.
I hope you didn't fall asleep reading this! I'm looking forward to exploring the Marché de Noël (Outdoor Christmas market- which very typical of Europe starting this time of year) in one of the town squares on November 30th, so I hope that will prove to be an interesting read (with pictures!). Please feel free to comment, ask a question, or to suggest a subject that you'd like to hear about!
Take care,
Erica
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