sociological views on life and the liberal arts

Posts Tagged ‘Academic Work Week’

I’ve previously discussed how much I typically work in a week and the challenges of accomplishing anything that isn’t teaching related, but I’ve never discussed what an actual work week looks like. This post seeks to fill this gaping hole in the literature. As a third-year faculty member, a typical (and simplified – excluding time spent responding to e-mails, etc.) might look like this:

2-3 – Prepare outlines for next week’s MWF courses (depending on the amount of revisions I make to the outlines from the previous time I taught each course, this could take quite a bit longer). Students and colleagues stop by my office sporadically.

3-4:30 – Work on dataset for summer research project.

Friday

7:30-12 – Arrive on campus between 7:30 and 8. Review class readings/notes and teach two 50-minute courses, giving an exam in one.

12-1 – Eat lunch, read the local online paper, and catch up on my RSS feeds.

1-4 – Meet with students about independent studies, internships, summer research projects, and senior theses (these are likely to be spread throughout the week but it was easier to put them in one spot).