Main University menu

• university »
• home
• colleges & services
• courses
• research
• contacts
• a-z
• help

Undergraduate Students

As a new undergraduate student, you will need to become familiar with new ways of learning and teaching at university (for example lectures, tutorials, use of e-learning systems). This part of the site will help you to explore some of the issues that relate to these new ways of learning and teaching and to find out how you can use them to your best advantage in your course.

Academic Skills - an integrated platform of skills that will provide you with the insights you will need to learn successfully and perform well as a university student.

• Independent learning skills - developing an approach to your studies where you take the responsibility for organising what, where and how you learn in accordance with your preferred learning style
• Critical thinking skills - developing a questioning approach to information and evidence that you encounter, and learning to evaluate viewpoints objectively
• Interpersonal skills - working within a team to achieve a common goal, to learn collaboratively and to interact well in different learning and teaching situations
• Listening skills - developing strategies for contributing to discussion by listening to and respecting the views of others; extracting relevant information from oral presentations (for example, in lectures or seminars and in tutorial discussions)
• Oral skills - developing abilities to communicate well with others by conveying your ideas, arguing rigorously, expressing opinions in group discussion, formulating oral questions in formal settings and making oral presentations to larger groups
• University reading skills - exploiting printed material by developing a sound awareness of the structure of text in order to achieve an accurate understanding and evaluation of content
• University writing skills - developing a style of writing that is appropriate to the standard of academic text and that follows the language and academic conventions required to meet university levels
• Grammar skills - developing a sound understanding and an ability to apply the rules of standard English grammar incorporating appropriate punctuation, spelling and register
• Numerical and maths skills - understanding fundamental numerical and mathematical applications required for your coursework
• Exam skills - adopting efficient revision strategies and tactics for exam-taking in the different assessment contexts used at University
• Gateway to Learning - an introductory series of workshops run in Freshers' Week to help students explore and develop the skills they will need to meet the challenges of university learning.

Advance@Dundee - an online intranet source designed by University of Dundee staff to support your learning. The site covers 8 key skill areas and is available as a 'virtual tutor' at all times throughout the year

Personal Academic Student Skills Module - 20-credit module that you can take as part of your Level 1 courses. It provides you with opportunities to explore the necessary skills required for university study to a depth that gives you real command of the learning platform that provides the foundation for learning on other academic courses.

If there is something we've missed, then please let us know by sending an email to aatu@dundee.ac.uk. We will try to help you directly and will seek to modify the site as appropriate.