Are you experiencing difficulty getting your work done? Do you see fellow students who are involved in multiple activities and find yourself wondering how they do it and succeed in their classes? College can be an overwhelming experience, especially as a first-year student. To make this experience more manageable and fulfilling, it is important to spend time clearly defining your educational goals and developing a plan to achieve these goals. Follow the tips on this page to learn how to make long-term plans and develop a time management plan for each semester.
This is your education. You choose your major, your minor, and the classes you want to take to fulfill all the LSA Degree Requirements. In order to get the most out of your choices, it is important to plan out what classes you will take and when you will take them. Your first step is to solidify your understanding of the requirements for your degree. This includes prerequisites and requirements for your majors and all the LSA degree requirements.
Once you understand all of these requirements, you can move on to planning your long-term and semester schedules.
The first step to success is understanding the overall expectations for completing your degree. This starts with knowing all the requirements for completing your LSA degree including your major, your minor if you choose one, and the LSA Degree Requirements.
Your LSA Degree Requirements
You are responsible for knowing and meeting the LSA degree requirements. You can find the degree requirements in your copy of the LSA Bulletin or by using the handy-dandy search bar at the LSA Academics and Requirements webpage, http://www.lsa.umich.edu/students/academicsrequirements/. Remember that you graduate under the requirements in place the year you started, so if there is any change to degree requirements while you are here, they do not apply to you. If you have any questions about the degree requirements, ask your Academic Advisor.
Remember that if a class meets an LSA requirement, it will be designated as such in the Course Guide.
Do not assume that because a class seems like a Humanities class or even seems like a class you previously took that counted for Humanities that it will count for Humanities. Just because a class has
the words race or ethnicity in the title does not mean that it fulfills the Race & Ethnicity requirement.
Only classes designated as fulfilling a requirement can be used for distribution. Also keep in mind that some classes do not fulfill any LSA requirement beyond counting for the 120 credits you need to graduate.
Your Major Requirements
The first step to choosing a major is taking the prerequisites. The prerequisites for each major are listed in the LSA Bulletin and on the departments’ websites. After choosing a major, you will meet with a major advisor, who will outline the requirements for completing the major. These major requirements are also listed in the LSA Bulletin and on the department’s website.
Your Minor Requirements
The first step to choosing a minor is taking the prerequisites. The prerequisites for each minor are listed in the LSA Bulletin, at the LSA Academics and Requirements webpage,
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/students/academicsrequirements/, and on the departments’ websites. After choosing a minor, you will meet with an advisor in the department, who will outline the requirements for completing the minor. These minor requirements are also listed in the LSA Bulletin and on the
department’s website. While most minors are less intensive versions of the majors, there are some that differ significantly in focus from the major in the same department. In addition, there are many
interdisciplinary minors that are not related to any major. It is your responsibility to know the requirements for your minor.
Focus first on your major
If you have chosen a major, select your classes for your major and build your schedule around these. You should plan semesters ahead of time, because some classes are only taught once a year. If you are planning to take classes in a spring or summer term, remember that fewer courses are offered. In this case, you might need to look ahead at the spring/summer course offerings when planning your winter classes.
If you have not chosen a major, focus on taking prerequisites for any majors you are exploring. You can find the prerequisites for each major on the LSA Academics and Requirements webpage,
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/students/academicsrequirements/. You want to use your time to explore subjects that might lead to long term interest. You will have plenty of time later to take classes specifically to meet LSA requirements.
If you are pursuing two majors, make sure that you understand the requirements for both. Some of the classes that you take might count for both majors. It is a good idea to pick one of the majors as your primary focus and center your planning on completing it for certain. That way, if something changes and you cannot complete both majors, you will complete one for certain.
What Else Should I take?
Your major, including prerequisites, will only take up about a quarter of the credit hours of the 120 credit hours you need to graduate. Therefore, you have a number of other choices to make when making your long-term plans and choosing classes each semester.
Fulfilling LSA Degree Requirements
Be purposeful but do not stress out about fulfilling the LSA requirements. Most students find that they complete most of requirements just by taking classes that they find interesting. Then, after a couple of years, students might need to take one or two classes to complete distribution.
You get to choose which classes to take for each requirement. For example, each semester more than 50 classes fulfill Race and Ethnicity and there are more than 200 natural sciences, social science, and
humanities classes. You owe it to yourself to take the time to find classes that are interesting to you when looking to fulfill a requirement.
It is a good idea to begin your language classes early because you need to achieve fourth-term
proficiency. Students who test into advanced levels usually find it easier to continue their study of the language, rather than take a break.
Classes For Your Minor
You are not required to complete a minor, but if you are pursuing one, selecting a class for it is an easy way to fill out your schedule. Remember, you will often have a choice of which classes to take for your minor so make sure you understand the requirements. You do not want to take a class because you thought it was required only to find out later that it was just one option for the requirement.
Always Be on the Lookout for Something New and Interesting
Spend some time exploring classes on the LSA Course Guide. You are probably not familiar with what each department offers and will probably find classes that spark the thoughts, “Wow, I never thought anyone would teach a class about that, I’ve always been interested in it.” Or, “Wow, I never even knew that was a subject.”
Check Topics courses each semester. Topics courses are courses with a standard number that change topics each semester depending on what topic the professor d ecides to teach. In addition, some departments offer multiple sections of their topics course every semester, so make sure you look at the description for each section.
For example, one semester there were four sections of History 328, Humanities Topics in History: Section 1, Scotland Since 1603: History and Culture; Section 2 History of Forensic Pathology and Medicine; section 3 History of Jewish Visual Culture: Vision and Images Ancient to Modern; and section 4 War and Peace in the Middle East.
Ask your friends or classmates. If you are in a class that you enjoy, you might ask classmates if they have taken other similar courses that they would recommend. It is a good idea to ask fellow students why they looked a particular class because their interests and strengths might not match yours.
Many students feel that the requirements for their major and the degree requirements make it too difficult to fit a semester studying outside of Ann Arbor into their plan. This is not true. Any student with any major can complete programs like Michigan in Washington, Semester in Detroit, and study abroad and easily
graduate on time. Some majors might require a bit more planning than others but with planning it can be done.
Taking classes for your major during study abroad. Depending on your major, you might find classes that count for your major. If taking a class or two for your major is your goal, then you can use that as search criteria when exploring study abroad programs. As a general rule, the more proficient you are in the language of your study abroad country, the wider the class choices. If you struggled to fulfill the language requirement, you can choose a program in an English speaking country that offers classes in your major.
Are you concentrating or minoring in a language? If you are interested in concentrating or minoring in a language, study abroad is a great way to take a large number of credits in one semester. You can work with your major advisor to find classes that can count for your major.
Many students fulfill distribution requirements during study abroad. You will need to get your classes pre- approved for distribution credit by your Academic Advisor, but you should not have trouble taking classes that help you complete your degree requirements. In particular, students have found it fairly easy to find humanities, social science, and creative expression credits because most programs offer classes covering the history, culture, and politics of the host country.
Each semester, you will spend a lot of time in class and studying so you owe it to yourself to make the most efficient use of your time. After selecting your classes, the next step is to develop a plan for how you are going manage your time to perform to the best of your ability in each class. The more efficiently you plan and use your time, the easier it will be for you achieve the success for which you strive. The tips that follow will help create a plan for managing your time. With your plan in place, you will then want to turn to the other pages on this website to learn strategies for the time you spend in class and studying.
For each class, it is important to start the semester with a firm grasp of the course expectations and the dates for readings, assignments, quizzes, and exams. You should not, however, rely solely on due dates to map your work for the class. Create your own schedule of expectations for mastering each new concept and section of the class, so that you are not faced with cramming it all in for an exam. In addition, many classes build sequentially, so creating an expectation for learning each concept will help you move on to the next.
Develop expectations about how much time everything is going to take. You will want to plan your schedule around your estimate of how much time you will need to study for each class, not decide how much time to spend studying based on your free blocks of time.
Now that you have your classes and have a firm understanding of the expectations, you can plan your schedule.
Planning a schedule is individualistic. Each person will develop their own strategies for planning their time to efficiently complete all of their work. You can start with a weekly schedule for the entire semester, with the knowledge that you will adjust your schedule week to week. There are, however, some basic guidelines for developing a plan.
Understanding the Demands on Your Time
Start with a list of everything you have to do. Common list items are: classes, work, meals, studying, sleep, exercise, leisure time, research, student organizations, and volunteering. You might have a few additional items.
Separate the list into items that have to be done at specific times and those that are flexible. Your classes are the obvious core of your plan. Other non-negotiables might be your work schedule and volunteering and research activities that might need to be scheduled at certain times of the day.
For each class, list the due dates for assignments and dates for exams. Include your expectations for the time you need to spend on each class per week.
Making Your Weekly Schedule at the Beginning of the Semester
Start by scheduling everything that has to be done at a specific time.Classes, your job, student organization meetings, and anything else for which you do not decide the time should go into your schedule first.
Effectively using the time left over is the key to your success.
Most of your study time will be at night, but it is important to use free blocks of time during your day to avoid being overloaded at night. This does not mean that every free minute during the day has to be scheduled for studying, but using your time efficiently during the day will help you tremendously.
To be most effective, you will want to schedule specific activities for your blocks of time.
At the beginning of the semester, you can identify specific blocks of time for each class. Look back to your estimate of how much time each class will require outside of class. Identify blocks of time in which you can study that give you enough time to match your estimate for every class. Then, at the beginning of every week, complete your schedule by planning the specific tasks that you will accomplish in each block.
Some things to think about when scheduling your study periods.
Remember, that reviewing your notes from a class as soon as you can is essential to learning the material. If at all possible schedule time immediately after class for this. It can be as short as 15 minutes. If you have back to back classes, schedule a time later in the day.
Is there a kind of studying that you do better at certain times of day? For example, do you find it easier to concentrate on long reading passages in the morning, but feel equally strong in
quantitative work regardless of the time of day? Then your 10:00am to 12:00pm block might be best suited for your literature class.
Does it help you to read the readings right before a class? If so, then that block of time before class is easy to schedule.
Do you plan on studying with a classmate? If you want to study with a classmate, scheduling the same study time for a class each week will allow you to get together when you want, without having to search for a time.
Do you find that you can put in a solid two hours for one class but your mind starts to numb after an hour for another? That can help you decide between what to study during a two hour block.
Each week of the semester will be different, so leave a block of time free in your initial plan. Then each week schedule work for whatever class has the heaviest demands.
You can schedule in meals, exercise, and leisure activities if that works for you.
Some students find this helpful while others like to leave their non-class time blank. Remember that eating well, exercising, and having fun are important to your success and well being, so do not allow your studying to overwhelm everything else. A good time management plan will help you keep the right balance.
At the Beginning of Every Week Fill in the Details
Start by making a list of tasks you need to accomplish for each class.
Remember, part of your workload for a class might be studying for an exam the following week. So, do not simply make a list of assignments due during the current week.
Determine how much time you will need for each class.
Some weeks you might need extra time for one class. This is where the extra study block you scheduled helps.
For each block of time assigned to a class, schedule specific tasks to accomplish.
When you sit down to study, you want to have a plan for what you will learn during that time. You might plan to read a chapter and complete the practice problems or you might plan to complete a set of problems. If you just need to read assigned pages, you will get the most out of it by quizzing yourself to make sure you are learning the important concepts. For more on this, go to Reading for College and Making the Most of Class Time on the Strategies for Success website.
