A week in the life
Postgraduate Architecture
Student profile:
Course: 2nd year of Architecture MArch (Postgraduate course)
Living status: I currently live with 2 other female students in a shared house
Current timetable:
No. of hours scheduled in lectures per week: 6 hours
No. of hours scheduled in seminars per week: 2-4 hours
No. of hours scheduled in labs/specialist spaces per week: Approx. 4 hours scheduled, plus independent studio time
Approximate amount of hours allocated to independent study per week: 15-20 hours
Monday
The start of the week, here we go!! I begin each morning with a daily devotion, which consists of a quiet time where I read the Bible and listen to a brief sermon that encourages me throughout the day. After this I usually make a list of what needs to be accomplished in the coming week and catch up on any work that wasn't completed over the weekend.
As a student demonstrator at the university, I help teach a module on architectural history and theory to second-year architecture students. After approximately an hour doing this, I went home to join my group on Zoom to discuss and assign tasks for our group project. I spent a couple of hours finishing some coursework, and then prepared dinner before relaxing for the evening.
Tuesday
Now that I’m in my final year, I have fewer contact hours (time spent in lectures). Tuesdays, in contrast to the rest of my week, are quieter and less active due to no lectures or plans.
Today I spent half my day finishing up the preparation for my Friday thesis submission, which is a piece of creative work that combines research, analysis, and design exploration in relation to a particular problem you want to address. The remaining half of my time was spent finishing up a group project and holding a last meeting before submitting it for evaluation.
Wednesday
On Wednesdays, we teach! As part of my responsibility as a student demonstrator, I help in tutorials where I provide hand drawing demonstrations for the first-year architecture students. It's been a few weeks since I started assisting and teaching students, and it's been lovely getting to know them personally and having open chats about both the module and life in general. Following this, I occasionally meet one-on-one with second-year architecture students who want extra help and guidance for their design module. Depending on how many students, this may occasionally last for an hour to two hours (today it lasted two hours). I head home to finish off some work as the day ends.
Thursday
I began the day by attending my first lecture of the week, which generally lasts around two hours. After that, I went home to finish up my presentation for the following day and a few other work bits that must be done. Although I don’t have many lectures as a Master’s student, there is a big responsibility to work independently and manage my own time and workload.
Friday
Today was the big day - I gave my presentation! With work pinned up, handmade models displayed, and designated speaking time handed to me, I had some free time to browse the exhibition. When it was my turn, I presented to my tutors, other students, and guests from architectural firms. To celebrate finishing this part of my course, I went out to a much-needed lunch with a friend.
However, this isn't my usual Friday as an architecture student. This usually involves me spending most of my time in the studio with my tutors and fellow students, where we debate our themes and work on our projects followed by a lecture. Occasionally, towards the end of the day, lectures or one-on-one sessions on your dissertation subject may be offered. Dissertations are written documents that provide proof for a claim or issue via data collecting and research.
Saturday
The weekend! Oh, how I cherished this Saturday. Today was a wonderful, laid-back Saturday. I took this weekend off after submitting my Design Preparation document for my design thesis. Since I normally spend most of my Saturdays focusing on my course and doing work for many hours, the day seemed pleasant. I felt somewhat bad, but I liked it!
Sunday
A favourite day of the week for me. Sundays are a time for reflection, refuelling, and, I suppose, a reset for the new week. I attended church today, and the sermon was fantastic. I use Sundays as a day of rest and meal preparation for the new week as my regular week is so jam-packed and hectic. My Sundays occasionally get frantic with work when there are deadlines and submissions, but this Sunday was calm and enjoyable. In all honesty, today was spent just enjoying myself and unwinding. I guess that explains why I like Sundays!
What do you hope to move onto when you graduate?
With graduation in a few months, I'm looking forward to travelling and visiting other areas of the world before seeking for work. After six years of alternating between university and my career path, the idea of finishing my academic career thrills me to begin a new phase of my life. I want to advance in my career as an architect and ideally enjoy each day as it comes.
