Being a student at DKU means there is no escaping the seven-week term schedule, or the colorful debate that often comes along with it. DKU often describes the schedule as ‘intensive’. While many students think it is too fast-paced, I feel the need to defend our unusual schedule because of the escape it gives us from what the rest of our education journey has and will likely look like.
The primary reasoning for DKU’s scheduling is actually in order to make it possible and attractive for visiting professors (primarily from Duke) to come and teach here. Were DKU to adhere to the standard 14-week semester schedule, visiting professors would have a harder time making it over and committing to living in China for five to six months, and this would take away the charm of hosting these esteemed foreign professors that DKU boasts. So yes, essentially we as students and tenured professors are asked to bend to the convenience of the few visiting professors a year that help give DKU its merit. Is that a lot to ask? Yes, but it is also not the only way to think about this issue.
The seven-week schedule really does let us explore. As a freshman, I honestly think I explored too much, and ended up very confused about what I wanted to commit to as a major. My own experience might play a large role in why I was so excited to explore: in highschool I shared the same schedule, teachers and classmates for two years straight. Studying for my final exams as an 18-year-old meant going back to notes I had written when I was 16. It felt like I had spent a whole lifetime in the walls of those seven classrooms, and I could not wait to be tested on a new subject.
Overall, our four-term schedule does allow us to take more classes over the course of our enrollment than a regular dual semester schedule would. I know some students might not want or care for that – so, even better that this schedule style lets you be done with those classes in half the time you normally would.
Granted, I have heard the cries from STEM majors. There certainly are classes that make the seven-week term feel like hell, and try to fit simply too much content into too short a time frame. What else could be the reason that STEM majors often find themselves taking “midterms” in Week 6? In fact, there are classes that somehow fit what would be a semester’s worth of material (or more) at another university into the seven weeks.
On the other hand, I have heard passionate DKU faculty defend our schedule from this criticism by pointing out the extensive opportunities available to students to further expand on their own areas of interest, such as signature work and professor-led research projects.
Although I agree that trying to fit a syllabus into seven weeks forces many classes to feel like they are flying by too quickly, I can appreciate the way this keeps students on their toes. If anything, I think there is great experience to be gained that will hopefully help DKU graduates while trying to navigate an increasingly fast-paced dynamic competitive global workforce.
In the same breadth, there is also something to say about how this schedule impacts the daily lives of DKU students. I have heard students and professors alike remark about how rigorous and strict DKU students hold themselves to their study schedules in comparison to other universities. I do not doubt that our rapid schedule encourages some less-than-healthy study habits, in fact I think it might be quite a direct link. The library is occupied by students to at least some extent 24 hours a day, everyday, and team rooms have a tendency to become second dorms.
I am definitely not saying this schedule is perfect, or even a model that other schools should follow. But everything can be improved. At the end of the day, every institution needs its gimmick, and I think DKU’s seven-week schedule has some virtues beyond simply being a vessel for visiting professors to spend a quick quarter-term here.
