Prepare to Study
Welcome Week Workshops
Our Academic Achievement Teaching Unit offers a variety of ways to help you develop the skills you need for your studies.
We provide workshops to help you get started during Welcome Week, and continue to offer individual, small group and whole class tuition in academic skills during your time at Dundee.
Postgraduates
Principles of Postgraduateness is a workshop taking place in Welcome Week specifically for postgraduate students. The workshop will help you to engage with the advanced academic skills required at this level and will introduce you to the postgraduate academic environment and ethos here at the University of Dundee. Whether you're on a taught course or doing doctoral research, this workshop is a great opportunity to network with other postgraduates and to discuss shared issues.
English Language Support
This is a part-time (typically three hours per week) course for matriculated University of Dundee students whose first language is not English. It runs for ten weeks in each of the two semesters. Registration for the programme is by means of an introduction and placement test. This will be held during Welcome Week. There is no need to pre-register but you may sign up to reserve a place.
More on at Welcome Week
- Library Tours
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The Main Library and Learning Centre is home to well over a million books and it's easy to feel overwhelmed by its size when you first enter.
To help you get your bearings, we'll be running Library Tours throughout Welcome Week. You can learn about all of the resources that the Library offers while you have the time, rather than panicking the day before your first assignment is due! You can also meet our friendly staff who will be happy to answer any questions you might have.
Take a look at our Events Listing to find out when the tours take place.
- Buying Books for your Course
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You might want to wait until you get here to buy books for your course, as that way you'll have the opportunity to buy second-hand books from students in the years above.
The University also hosts a branch of John Smith's Bookshop which specialises in the sale of academic texts. They stock core course texts recommended by your lecturers and much more. If they do not have something in stock, then they can order it for you. Visit the John Smiths Bookshop website for more information.
- Your IT with ICS
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ICS Service Desk staff support, advise and assist staff and students with IT. Our Service Desk locations are:
Library & Learning Centre: Main Library, First Floor (view on map)
Tower Basement IT Suites (view on map)If you need assistance and are unable to visit a Service Desk, contact Information and Communication Services (ICS) either by phone (01382) 388000 or by using our online enquiry form.
To learn more about the services we offer, visit the ICS website and New Students pages.
Bringing your own computer
If you'd like to find out more about bringing your own computer to Dundee, and what you need to do to make sure it's ready to go online, see the FAQs for new students page, and connecting to Resnet, the high speed network in our halls of residence.
- Languages for all
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Interested in learning a new language? Languages for All offers you the opportunity of taking a language as an optional extra or in some cases as a certificated course for which you can obtain 20 credits towards your degree.
Languages offered include French, German and Spanish, as well as less-widely taught languages such as Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Italian, Japanese, Latin, Russian, Gaelic, Greek, Polish, Portuguese and Turkish.
These classes are fee-paying (unless they are an integral part of your degree and usually run in the evening depending on demand. Funding may be available from ILA Scotland.