Story and video by Gabriella Ferrari

Full-time college students study approximately 15 hours a week, but engineering students are the most studious compared to their peers in business and the social sciences, according to the 2011 National Survey of Student Engagement.

Regardless of how much students study during the year, many cram before finals week. (Photo by Gabriella Ferrari)

The breakdown 

Engineering students spend, on average, 19 hours per week studying, while those in business and social sciences studied five hours less per week at 14. The undergrads in the physical sciences said they studied 18 hours per week, while those in the biological sciences and arts and humanities both reported 17 hours of study time. Education majors studied slightly more than their peers in the social sciences and business fields at 15 hours.

“Some of the upper-division math courses tend to take more time just to understand the theory, and a lot of the concepts aren’t easy to comprehend at first,” said mathematics major Luis Mora, who studies 20 hours per week.

But are they prepared?

Interestingly, the survey found that students who devoted at least 20 hours per week to studying did not always attend class fully prepared.

Journalism major Cody Johnson prepares for his finals last semester in the library. (Photo by Gabriella Ferrari)

“Upper level courses are hard, even if you study,” said business management major Trey Lengsdorf. But overall, faculty expectations for study time closely corresponded to what students reported. The social sciences faulty, however, expected four more hours per week than what the students said they studied.

“One question I think this raises that’s sort of ripe for some faculty discussion is, ‘How much should we be expecting of our students?’” said Alexander C. McCormick, NSSE director and associate professor of education at Indiana University at Bloomington. “The time is right, really, to start asking questions about whether we are asking enough of our students, whether we’re setting enough expectations.”

Student response

At New Mexico State University, even during the stress of finals week, many students said they felt prepared for class.

Zuhl library at NMSU offers various spaces for students to study individually or meet with groups. (Photo by Gabriella Ferrari)

“Usually for tests, I up my studying, but I never feel like I haven’t studied enough” Charles Sandford, wildlife sciences major, said. Mora said his studying, especially before his finals, definitely made a difference.

Keyanna Carson, early-childhood education major, said going into finals, she feels prepared “just as much as anyone else, I guess.”

The National Survey of Student Engagement is an annual survey. This year, 416,000 first-year students and seniors attending nearly 700 universities and colleges in the United States participated.