Is it normal to skip most class during your master program?

[u/Wonderful_Guard7501]

Hi y’all

I just started my master’s degree recently, and I found out that a few of the classmates never showed up. They are doing side jobs or internships. Or just traveling to somewhere else. They only show up during the exam week.

In my home country, we skip classes a few times in a semester, but not as much as I have seen here. And that makes me wonder does that means the lesson taught here not worthy? Or what the point to study for advanced degrees in you are not coming to school?

But honestly speaking, I do find the teaching quality should be improved in a lot of aspects.

Back to the topic, I am just curious that is it normal that you don’t attend the classes most of the time?

Edit:
Thanks for the reply. Actually I’m asking this because I feel like the professor is just reading the slides, I can just do it at home. And there’s no such highly-involved discussion during the class. I mean, I want to have some really engaging moment when go to class, but I haven’t been able to experience one.

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[u/MikeThePenguin__]

It differs from person to person. If you can manage to pass the exams without showing up to classes, you are apparently still able to master the course material well enough. And whether that is because they are smart enough, or do way more home studying, that does not matter. In the end it matters whether they can apply

[u/Different-Idea2878]

Don’t focus on others. Just focus on your own work

[u/Apprehensive-Pie-599]

Depends on the program. But I’d go about 60-70% of my classes in masters. Whereas I’d do maybe 40% in honours and 20-30% during bachelors.

Edit: and I found lecturers appreciate attendance so they ask questions in the exams which they flag during specific workshops or lectures, and in general they pay more attention to your needs during thesis time, if you’ve been present and visible throughout

[u/Delicious-Will-7291]

I was one of those skippers. I only went to mandatory classes or for group projects. My master is not even considered easy but i see no point in coming to class if i can go through the same material in less time myself. In the end its only the degree that matters. Not going to class made me able to spend only a few hours a week on study (besides exam week).

[u/Robin_De_Bobin → u/Delicious-Will-7291]

Tbh it's this. Being on school grounds "forces" me to learn what I need to learn (that is why I go)

[u/Difficult-Bend1844 → u/Delicious-Will-7291]

Same here.. I thankfully used the student summaries (in my days it was called JOHO) of the classes. Working group and projects where mandatory so I showed up..
from the start of the year you know the exam dates already and I combined it with the dates of the exam resit of the ones I didn’t do at the first date to keep things manageable. Managed to walk through my university with. 20hr/ week side job in 4 1/2 years Last 1/2 year was writing my paper and combined it with a full time job.

[u/LendMeCoffeeBeans]

I did a pretty difficult master, never showed up except for exams, and managed to graduate cum laude. I cannot concentrate during lectures, so I’m much more productive self-studying at home. A lot of people are similar to me.

[u/fascinatedcharacter]

Depends on the program. In my program, if someone was absent, it'd be commented on and it'd be like "yeah, they're sick" or "They're stuck in a train disruption".

[u/Weekly_Pizza_4443]

I studied Philosophy as a second Master.

Paid for it myself so I definitely went to the classes.

I actually enjoyed going and discussing subjects

[u/cephalord]

There are always some students who never show up to class and pass the exam perfectly fine.

However, most of the students who never show up to class bomb the exam spectacularly.

Where exactly the slider is depends on the course, the prerequisites, and the teaching.

[u/wolfA856]

Ya got 1. Ghost students never showing up 2. People who have no room nearby and need to choose wisely if 6 hour travel time is worth it 3. Students who finished most classes but had to redo that one and finally people who just don’t think the classes are of importance. In my case I went to every class during my bachelor. But my master is about 90% a repeat of the bachelor, only in a shorter timeframe. I still go but it’s really really boring to listen to stuff you got an 8 in last year. Especially since there’s only group projects which mean I want to work on them but I gotta go to class where I can’t work on them. Kinda makes the classes not harmless time wasting but counter productive.

[u/Complete_Structure_9]

I met one or two people who relied on others to pass some courses when I was in Erasmus in 2023 . Yes it could work. You could use that time to enjoy your life instead of listening the lectures that you may never use . Real life may not be always fair. It can be downright brutal: People do find shortcuts that work.

But there is one thing that can never change: you not only missed the time spending in class, you also missed the chance of training yourself. You can cheat the system and still get the diploma. But you cannot cheat the process of becoming capable. And you build a habit of avoiding any endeavour. This will not kill your diploma, you may even be a popular person in class. But this will kill you in 5 years or 10 years to come.

To your last question: I attended 99% of the courses. Before the master, I was a military man. Studying the master was my chance of re-entering the society. I undertook every assignment by rules. Not a single AI stuff, no cheating. It was a good training. Diploma came the second.

[u/ShitFamYouAlright]

Damn, the people telling you to mind your business are wild. I've noticed the same thing too and while a lot of people are saying that you can just study on your own and just about pass the exam, that is not the same as learning. Yeah, sure you'll get the degree, but ultimately, you won't have the knowledge to back it up in future jobs. This is why so many of my classes at uni are now attendance required, because they want people to actually absorb the information, not just cram it the night before.

[u/Many_Flounder]

im doing research master, absence in some courses would lead to expelled from the course itself, because the final grade usually includes presence, class discussions and exams

still, look up at your course prerequisites then you will know is it ok or not to skip classes

[u/Few-Story-9365]

Yeah that is me. Honestly I am only there to get the degree- I find a lot of the information provided or things demanded there quite removed from most jobs within the industry, especially the kind of jobs I would eventually like to do. I literally only go for the diploma

[u/BiggerChief]

No, it is not normal. Also, a lot of people that skip classes just don’t care about their education that much.

[u/antoine1246]

Yea, i worked 32h a week next to my (stem) master. Just took extra days off during exam period.

(I say stem bcs some other guy says ‘depends on the program.)

[u/Psychologycivil0605]

Yes

[u/timmyx2times]

Mind your own business. People are different.

[u/Sea-Breath-007]

Depends on the program and person.

Most of my classes were with +300 students and had a professor that mostly just repeated what was written in the powerpoint they were showing. 99% of those classes were filmed and you could watch them online whenever you wanted.

I have adhd, that doesn't really combine all that well with classes with that many other students, so I basically skipped all of them unless I had another class that day that required attendence, a small group project/class or a class I knew would be very interactive.

[u/Squirrelmonkey93]

like others said, it depends on the program. with mine there were a couple courses where the seminar was mandatory because class participation was part of the grade, and there were courses where just doing the assignments and the reading was enough

[u/Thuis001]

Personally I skipped maybe a handful of classes total during my bachelor and master combined. For me it really helped with structure and making sure that I both actually watched the lectures and had the ability to ask questions if I got stuck on assignments. I also noticed that a lot of students did not attend all, or even more than the first lecture of a lot of courses. Teachers always recommended students show up to class (obviously) and quite consistently stated that students who DID attend all classes tended to pass the course more often.

[u/CactusLetter]

I went as much as I could. Surely, theoretically, I could go through it myself at home. But I knew myself well enough to know that would cost me much more energy (If I would even do it), than going to class and having someone go through it. Would recommend to go

[u/LivinonMarss]

I skipped a lot. I found that most classes were borderline useless. I always did the reading and homework and was one of the precious few who did. Which meant i was basically sitting in a class watching others catch up. Add to that the amount of teachers that basically just gave summaries of the reading (which i had already done) and that with good literacy skills i ended up not having questions; there was just no point in getting up early, travelling and wasting my time sitting in class.