SoSe, So Me

Bern has two semesters, known as WiSe which is Winter semester (or fall) and SoSe which is Summer semester (or spring). I will be attending Bern in the SoSe which runs from late February to July. There are different kind of courses that are offered at University of Bern. Students can partake in Lectures, Pre-Seminars, Seminars, Tutorials, and Discussion-based classes. The majority of courses are offered in German, but there are plenty that are offered in English, which I will be taking. 

There are over 2,400 teaching professionals with some odd 18,000 students. This is a student to faculty ratio of approximately 8 to 1. This school size is small in comparison to other schools throughout Switzerland. This is exciting for me because it will hopefully have the same sense of a community type of atmosphere as you find at Maryville.  

The University of Bern has a course catalog and portal where students can view classes and courses that are offered as well as registering for said classes. On this portal, students can view a course description, the language in which a course is taught, the amount of ECTS credits it is worth, the professor, and the meeting time and place. Class credit amounts vary greatly, much like here in the U.S.; this is anywhere between 1 and 8 credit hours. The majority of the classes that I am interested in account for 3, 4, or 5 credits. For each ECTS credit, it will transfer here at Maryville as approximately half. So a four hour credit course at Bern will count as a two hour course at Maryville.

The grading scale at Bern is a number scale from one to six with half intervals. Six is rated excellent, Four is rated adequate, and anything three point five or lower is inadequate. This is determined from a student's course work and exams.

There is a wide variety of support that the university offers. They have online exercises, testing, and self evaluations available. There are tutors, and extended office hours for students to get additional help as needed. There is a mental health center, a student union, and an IT department. There is a health clinic as well.  

In order to be a full time Undergrad while using the ECTS course system, students need a minimum of 60 hours a year. This breaks down to 30 hours a semester. As an international student, it is suggested that I take 20-24 credit hours a semester. With the transfer of ECTS to US credits, I will need to be in classes that equal 12 hours in the U.S. In simplest terms, I will need to take at least 24 hours in Bern.