Students who have questions relating to the scheduling and planning of their studies, or to general wellbeing related to studies, may have difficulty knowing whom to contact. At the Faculty of Science, each degree programme has a teacher who provides support in these matters.
At the bachelor's stage, students can reach out to the teacher serving as their PSP supervisor, while master's level students can contact their supervising teacher.
- I'm like a relay station for students. I don't know the answer to everything, but I can guide them to the right source, says Kirsi Svedström. Together with Tuomo Nieminen, Svedström serves as the PSP supervisor for physical sciences at the Faculty of Science.
- The Bachelor's Programme in Physical Sciences includes the courses Study Skills 1 and 2 where students come together as a group, discussing general questions related to study skills. When necessary, students can continue the discussion in one-on-one chats with their supervisor, Svedström says.
Those who ask will find their way
Among others, specialists in atmospheric sciences visit the courses to give lectures on their research fields. In the physical sciences, there are plenty of fields to choose from, ranging from theoretical physics to astronomy.
- It may be challenging to guide individual students to narrow down the focus of their studies, but usually the direction becomes clearer when you respond to their questions with further questions, Nieminen says.
The PSP supervisors point out that not everything has to be right the first time, and that personal study plans can be updated when necessary. Study tracks can be chosen on the basis of personal interests.
- You should keep your personal coping in mind to avoid packing too many interesting courses into one term, Svedström notes. Besides, there are limits to how many courses can be included in a degree. If coping is difficult, help is also available from counselling psychologists.
