The document provides a summary of a study conducted by the BBVA Foundation examining the views and perceptions of university students across six European countries: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. The study included 3,000 interviews in each country across various fields of study. It examines students' perspectives on their personal lives, values, religiosity, ethics, and their views and experiences of university. Key findings include students having a more negative view of the world situation than their country or personal situation, identifying as center-left politically, belonging to a religion but being not very religious, rejecting ethical relativism but favoring flexibility, and accepting emerging social norms but rejecting practices like cheating.

1. Department of Social Studies
and Public Opinion
BBVA Foundation
International Study on
University Students in Six
European Countries
December 2010 1

2. Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
The BBVA Foundation International University Students Study examines the views and perceptions of
the university students segment across a wide group of countries and with a large sample size (3,000
cases per country) supporting disaggregation by branch of knowledge.
In a context characterised by the challenges of the knowledge society and present-day factors like
the economic crisis and European convergence process, the study examines the views and
experiences of what will shortly become the majority professional segment, analysing differences
and similarities in six European countries.
The study extends across two main areas:
Personal life: values, religiosity and ethics
Views and experience of the university
Geographical scope of the study: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom
Sample size: 3,000 face-to-face interviews in each country with students who have completed at
least two years of higher education studies belonging to Category 5A of UNESCO’s International
Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), segmented by branch of study (arts and humanities,
social and legal sciences, experimental sciences, health sciences, engineering, manufacturing
and construction) and type of institution (public, private, mixed)
Fieldwork: conducted by IPSOS from March to June, 2010
2

3. Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
Personal life: values,
religiosity and ethics
• World, country and personal situation
• Ideological self-identification
• Religiosity
• Ethical principles
• Acceptance of emerging social
conducts
3

4. WORLD, COUNTRY AND PERSONAL SITUATION
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• In these times of economic crisis, students draw a clear distinction between their views of the world
situation (strongly negative), the situation of their country (negative in three of the countries
analysed) and their personal situation (strongly positive in all cases).
• The evaluative breach regarding these three situations is especially pronounced in Spain.
In general terms, how would you rate the overall situation in…? Base: total interviews.
.
The overall world situation The situation of (Country) Your personal situation
Sweden 20,2 28,2 46,4 5,2 68,7 17,5 9,9 3,9 84,2 10,0
United
21,2 36,1 40,2 2,4 40,0 29,1 29,6 1,3 77,3 17,9
Kingdom
Germany 14,1 34,8 46,6 4,5 46,3 26,4 24,7 2,6 69,1 23,6 4,9
Italy 11,4 29,7 54,2 4,7 10,7 24,8 61,6 2,9 60,1 30,9 5,2
Spain 7,6 31,5 60,5 0,4 14,4 26,4 58,8 0,3 80,7 14,6 4,4
France 8,5 25,9 62,1 3,5 23,5 27,6 45,4 3,5 62,4 26,6 6,4
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
0 20 40 60 80 100
Very good Neither good nor bad Very bad DK-NA
4

5. IDEOLOGICAL SELF-IDENTIFICATION
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• University students tend to place themselves centre-left on an ideological self-definition scale.
• In all countries, students in arts and humanities and other social sciences tend to lean more to the
left, while the centre is most popular with social science branches (*) like economics or legal
sciences.
When talking about politics, we tend to use the expressions left and right. Imagine a scale from 0 to 10
where 0 corresponds to the extreme left and 10 to the extreme right.
Where would you locate yourself? Base: total interviews
Germany France Spain Sweden United Kingdom Italy
Total 4,4 4,6 4,6 4,9 4,9 5,1
Economic
4,8 5,2 5,0 6,0 5,3 5,7
Sciences
Engineering,
4,7 5,0 4,7 5,3 5,0 5,2
Manuf. and
Construction
Legal Sciences 4,6 4,8 5,1 5,5 5,3 5,5
Experimental 4,5 4,5 5,0 4,8 4,7
4,4
Sciences
Health Sciences
4,4 4,9 4,8 4,8 5,0 5,2
Arts and
4,1 4,1 4,1 4,3 4,7 4,6
Humanities
Other Social
4,1 3,8 4,3 4,5 4,6 4,9
Sciences
0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10
(*) To facilitate a more detailed analysis, and in view of the size and heterogeneous nature of the social sciences category, respondents were broken down
into those studying legal sciences, economic sciences and other social sciences.
5

6. RELIGION AND RELIGIOSITY
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• A majority of university students belong to some religion: over two thirds of Italians, Swedish and
Germans and half or more of French, Spanish and British.
• However, religiosity is at the low end of the range in all countries except Italy where it stands around
the middle.
Whether or not you consider yourself part of a
Percentage that belongs to a religion church or a religious faith, how would you describe
Base: total interviews
yourself? Base: total interviews. Scale from 0 to 10, where 0
means that you are “not religious at all” and 10 means that
you are “ very religious”.
Italy 71,0 23 5,9 Italy 5,1
Sweden 70,0 26,8 3,2 Sweden 2,7
Germany 66,6 26,8 6,6 Germany 3,4
United United
56,8 35,7 7,4 3,5
Kingdom Kingdom
Spain 56,9 41,1 2 Spain 3,2
France 50,0 37,4 12,6 France 3,4
0 20 40 60 80 100
0 2 4 6 8 10
Belongs Does not belong NA 6

7. NO TO ETHICAL RELATIVISM BUT YES TO FLEXIBILITY
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• A majority of students believe that there are clear ethical principles about what is right and what is
wrong. But they also think these principles should be flexibly applied “in accordance with the
circumstances at the time”. Swedish students are most in favour of this pragmatic approach, with
Italians expressing the most reservations.
Which of the following two opinions do you tend to agree with more? Base: total interviews.
United
United 32,9 60,7 6,4
75,6 19,6 4,8 Kingdom
Kingdom
Spain 70,9 25,3 3,7 Spain 39,3 57,2 3,6
Sweden 65,3 26,1 8,6 Sweden 15,1 76,2 8,6
Italy 64,1 27,5 8,4 Italy 47,2 42,7 10,1
Germany 55,1 34,6 10,3 Germany 40,3 48,3 11,3
France 49,3 36,5 14,2 France 30,5 52,6 16,9
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
There are clear ethical principles about what is right and what is wrong Ethical principles should always be applied, regardless of the
circumstances at the time
There are no clear ethical principles about what is right and what is wrong
Ethical principles should be applied in accordance with the circumstances
DK-NA at the time
DK-NA

8. EMERGING SOCIAL CONDUCTS CAUSING CONTROVERSY
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• Ample acceptance of social conducts causing degrees of moral controversy such as co-habitation without
being married, single parenthood, same-sex marriage and, rather more weakly, adoption of a child by
homosexual couples, with the exception of Italy in this last case. Acceptance also of “euthanasia in extreme
cases” and, rather less so, “abortion”. Swedes and Spaniards are the most liberal in their attitudes out of the
six countries surveyed.
Regardless of what you yourself do or might do, can you please tell me if you think each of the situations and
behaviours I am going to read out is acceptable or not? Base: total interviews. Scale form 0 to 10, where 0 means you think
the situation or behaviour is totally unacceptable and 10 means you think it is totally acceptable.
Sweden Spain Germany United Kingdom France Italy
Living as a 9,5 9,0 8,5 8,0
8,9 8,3
couple without
getting married
Divorce 9,0 8,7 8,2 7,6 7,8 7,6
Being a father or a
mother without having 8,2 8,4 7,9 7,4 6,6 6,5
a stable partner
Marriage between
people of the same 8,8 8,0 7,4 7,3 6,5 5,6
sex
The adoption of a
child by homosexual 8,3 7,3 6,3 6,6 6,0 3,9
couples
8,7 6,8 6,6 6,5 7,3 6,3
Abortion
Euthanasia 7,4 7,4 6,6 6,8 6,6 6,7
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10
8
(*) defined as: giving medical help to sick people who have an incurable disease and do not wish to go on living

9. PRACTICES CONTRAVENING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• Major disparities in acceptance of practices contravening intellectual property rights: “downloading
software from the Internet without paying” and installing "copies of programmes" is viewed with
lenience in Spain and, to a lesser extent, in Sweden, Italy and France. In the United Kingdom and
Germany the predominant view is of ambivalence or rejection.
Regardless of what you yourself do or might do, can you please tell me if you think each of the situations and
behaviours I am going to read out is acceptable or not? Base: total interviews. Scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means you think
the situation or behaviour is totally unacceptable and 10 means you think it is totally acceptable.
Spain Sweden Italy France United Kingdom Germany
Downloading
music and films 7,7 6,3 6,1 4,8 4,8
5,9
from the Internet
without paying
Downloading
software from the 7,5 6,3 6,0 6,0 4,7 5,0
Internet without
paying
Installing copies
of programmes or 7,3 6,3 5,8 5,9 4,8 5,3
software in your
computer instead
of the originals
Buying copied or
pirate CDs or 5,8 4,6 5,0 4,6 4,3 3,7
DVDs
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10
9

10. REJECTION OF "CHEATING"
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• “Copying material from the Internet without citing the source", "copying in an exam" or "presenting
other people's work as if it were your own" are reproved by students in all countries.
• The British and Swedish are the most vehemently opposed to this kind of conduct.
Regardless of what you yourself do or might do, can you please me if you think each of the situations and
behaviours I am going to read out is acceptable or not? Base: total interviews. Scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means you think
the situation or behaviour is totally unacceptable and 10 means you think it is totally acceptable
Spain Italy France Germany United Kingdom Sweden
Copying material
directly from the
Internet for
degree course 4,2 4,1 3,0 2,6 1,7 0,9
assignments
without citing the
source
Copying in a
university 3,7 3,4 2,1 3,6 0,8 0,5
examination
Using other
people’s work as
if it were your own 2,9 2,2 1,7 1,7 0,9 0,5
in a university
assignment
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10
10

11. Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
Views and experience
of the university
• Views on “being a university student”
• Personal independence and work
• Sources of student finance
11

12. VIEWS ON “BEING A UNIVERSITY STUDENT”
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• Consistent with their positive feelings about their personal situation (contrasting with their views on the
world and their countries), students affirm that “being a higher education student is a privilege
nowadays”, “gives you an outlook on life different from everyone else’s” and “leaves you better
prepared to get on in life”.
Now I am going to read out some sentences about being a higher education student and I would like you
to tell me how far you agree or disagree with each. Base: total interviews. .
Average on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means you totally disagree and 10 that you totally agree
7,0
Spain 6,4
6,1
6,8
Italy 6,4 Being a higher education student gives
6,3 you an outlook on life that is different from
everyone else's
6,5
United Kingdom 6,6
5,8 Being a higher education student leaves
you better prepared to get on in life than
6,3 other people
Sweden 6,0
4,9
Being a higher education student is a
6,2 privilege nowadays
France 6,1
6,1
5,7
Germany 4,9
5,6
0 2 4 6 8 10 12

13. PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE AND PAID WORK
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• Marked divergences in students' degree of independence from their families:
• A majority of students in Italy and Spain have neither moved away from home nor are engaged
in paid work.
• Students in Sweden, followed by the Germans and British and, some way behind, the French,
tend to live independently of their families. Most Germans and over half of Swedes also
combine their studies with some kind of paid employment.
Are you currently living with your Apart from studying, do you do any of the
parents/father/mother or away from home? following things?: Base: total interviews.
Base: total interviews.
Italy 70,5 28,1 1,4 Italy 32,1 4,4 59,5 4,0
Spain 70,1 29,6 0,3 Spain 31,3 3,7 64,1 0,9
France 32,2 65,8 2,0 France 43,1 15,3 37,7 3,9
United United
21,8 75,8 2,4 47,4 4,9 44,4 3,4
Kingdom Kingdom
Germany 18,3 79,9 1,8 Germany 64,6 5,2 26,1 4,2
Sweden 9,9 89,3 0,8 Sweden 55,4 2,7 39,2 2,8
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
With parents Paid work
Away from home Work placement in a company, etc.
Neither of the above
NA 13
NA

14. PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE AND PAID WORK
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• Combining the percentage who work and the percentage who live independently of the family, we
arrive at a highly differentiated map of the ways of life of Europe's students:
• The Spanish and Italians live least independently and are the least likely to do paid work,
• The Swedes and Germans are likeliest of all to live away from home and have a paid
occupation,
• In the middle, though closer to the second, stand the French and the British.
Map of countries by independence from family. Base: total interviews
Percentage of students living independently
100,0
SE
80,0 DE
% que vive por su cuenta
UK
(y no con sus padres)
FR
60,0
40,0
ES IT
20,0
TR
0,0
0,0 10,0 20,0 30,0 40,0 50,0 60,0 70,0 80,0 90,0 100,0
Percentage of students doing paid work remunerado
Aparte de estudiar, % que tiene un trabajo
14

15. SOURCES OF STUDENT FINANCE
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• A majority of students in Italy and Spain and a plurality in France and Germany cite help from the
family as their main source of income.
• A significant portion of Germans finance their studies through paid work.
• UK students draw their income from more diversified sources, particularly grants and financial
assistance. Swedes rely more heavily on financial assistance and government loans.
Thinking about your outlays including
accommodation, food, transport, going out, and
study expenses like matriculation fees, materials, Italy 72,7 17,3 5,5
2,0
etc., from which of the following sources do you
draw the money to pay for them?
Base: total interviews
Spain 70,0 15,9 4,9 8,0
Help from family
Work in or outside the higher education
France 49,9 19,7 5,8 16,1 3,3
1,5
institution
Personal savings
University/Higher education institution
grant/Grant from some other institution Germany 42,6 31,0 3,6
4,6 11,2 3,1
2,0
Financial assistance from higher
education institution/other institution
Bank loan
United Kingdom 22,9 16,7 6,6 23,7 18,0 7,9 3,6
Government loan
Other
Sweden 6,4 16,6 7,6 28,2 8,1 29,3 1,4
DK-NA
0 20 40 60 80 15
100

16. Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
Views and experience
of the university
• Reasons for choice of degree and
university
• Satisfaction with degree course and
university
• Study habits
• The European Higher Education Area
• Research in the university
• Future plans and job expectations
16

17. VOCATIONAL AND INSTRUMENTAL FACTORS IN CHOICE
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion OF DEGREE COURSE
• Choice of degree course was mainly based on vocational considerations (“it was the one I liked
best”).
• Instrumental considerations like good employment prospects were the next to be mentioned,
especially in the United Kingdom and, second, France.
What is the main reason you enrolled in the course you are currently studying?
Base: total interviews
Sweden 69,5 22,7 3,5
It was the one I liked best
Italy 67,8 27,2 2,3
I thought it would give me good
employment prospects
Germany 66,0 22,6 4,9
I wanted to study something else but I wasn't
accepted
I chose it at random
Spain 64,2 25,8 5,3
Other reason
France 58,0 30,8 3,7
DK/NA
United Kingdom 53,4 36,0 4,1
0 20 40 60 80 100
17

18. CHOICE OF DEGREE COURSE BY BRANCH OF STUDY
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• In all countries, vocational factors were the major influence in students' degree choice. These factors
predominated among students of arts and humanities, and among those of health sciences, other
social sciences and experimental sciences, depending on the country.
• Students of economic and legal sciences are the likeliest to mention employment prospects as a
reason of weight.
What is the main reason you enrolled in the course you are currently studying?
Base: total interviews
Sweden Italy Germany Spain France United Kingdom
Total 70 23 68 27 66 23 64 26 58 31 53 36
Experimental 73 22 67 26 65 23 75 10 63 24 63 25
Sciences
Arts and 73 15 74 16
72 20 80 16 79 8 72 18
Humanities
Health 72 21 72 23 72 20 80 10 71 23 46 41
Sciences
Other Social 71 21 73 21 75 12 71 16 65 21 57 31
Sciences
Engineering,
Manuf. and 68 25 68 28 60 30 66 28 56 35 48 42
Construction
64 25 59 36 46 42 48 42 52 39 39 55
Legal Sciences
Economic
59 31 53 43 56 33 43 49 38 51 42 51
Sciences
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
It was the one I liked best I thought it would give me good employment prospects
18

19. CHOICE OF UNIVERSITY
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• Choice of university rests heavily on pragmatic considerations like nearness to home (the reason
predominant in Spain) or the fact it was the only one that offered the desired degree course (most
often mentioned in Sweden and Italy).
• The centre’s prestige is the next most important deciding factor in the interval of 20%-30% in almost
all countries, with the United Kingdom to the fore.
Of the following statements, which one best reflects your main reason for choosing this higher
education institution ? Base: total interviews
Spain 49,2 22,2 10,4 5,9 5,6 3,8
2,4
It is near home
Germany 36,4 22,8 8,5 9,3 8,5 7,0 4,9
Because it is a prestigious institution
It was the only one offering the degree course I
wanted to study Sweden 33,1 26,6 21,6 5,8 6,2 4,8
I wanted to study at another university but I wasn't
accepted/my grades weren't good enough
Italy 31,6 19,2 20,9 1,7 18,6 3,0
Because it offers better employment prospects
Because it was cheaper
France 29,6 24,7 16,2 4,0 14,5 3,3 5
Some other reason
DK/NA United Kingdom 24,6 29,8 12,7 8,0 11,7 2,98,4
0 20 40 60 80 100
19

20. SATISFACTION WITH DEGREE COURSE
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• Students in all countries declare themselves satisfied with their chosen degree course.
• This perception leads most to affirm that they would re-enrol for the same degree if they could go
back in time.
Thinking about the degree course you are doing at the If you could back go in time, would you enrol for the
moment, in general, how satisfied would you say you were same degree or for a different degree?
with the course you are studying? Percentage that responds affirmatively
Average on a scale from 0 to 10, in which 0 means “not at all satisfied”
and 10 means “completely satisfied”.
United United
7,6 73,6
Kingdom Kingdom
Spain 7,3 Spain 77,7
Italy 7,1 Italy 73,9
Germany 7,1 Germany 77,8
Sweden 7,1 Sweden 71,6
France 6,8 France 75,9
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 20 40 60 80 100
20

21. SATISFACTION WITH KEY ASPECTS OF DEGREE COURSE
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• Students’ overall satisfaction with their degree is reflected in their favourable assessment of diverse
aspects of university education, with British students the most positive of all.
• The worst rated aspect in all countries is the matriculation fee.
• In almost all countries, the theoretical teaching receives far better marks than the practical teaching.
7,5
Now I would like you to give me your 7,3
United Kingdom 7,2
views on different aspects of your degree 7,0
course. Specifically, to what extent do 6,9
you think the following aspects are 6,8
satisfactory or unsatisfactory. 6,7
Please use a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means it is Germany 7,1
5,9
very unsatisfactory and 10 that is very satisfactory.
5,9
Base: total interviews
6,7
7,3
Italy 7,2
The general standards required 5,6
6,5
The general knowledge acquired 6,6
6,9
The theoretical teaching France 6,6
5,7
5,5
The practical teaching
6,4
The matriculation fee 6,0
Spain 6,5
5,4
5,6
5,7
6,0
Sweden 6,3
5,9
5,5
0 2 4 6 8 10
(*) Swedish students were not asked about matriculation fees since this charge does not exist 21

22. ASSESSMENT OF TEACHING STAFF
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• Views on teaching staff also reflect students’ general contentment with the university experience.
Special plaudits were reserved for teachers' “up-to-date” knowledge of their subject,
approachability, and reputation within their specialty.
• Again students in the United Kingdom assigned the highest scores.
How much do you agree or disagree
with the following statements about the 8,3
teaching staff at your higher education 7,6
United Kingdom 7,6
institution? Scale of 0 to 10, where 0 means 7,5
you totally disagree and 10 that you totally agree. 7,3
Base: total interviews
7,6
6,6
Italy 7,3
7,1
6,3
7,5
Are knowledgeable about the latest 6,9
Germany 7,2
developments in their subject 7,0
6,3
Can be easily approached for help or 7,4
advice 6,6
France 7,1
6,7
Are reputed in their specialty 6,2
7,3
6,4
Explain things clearly Sweden 7
6,2
6,6
Encourage students to participate and be 6,9
creative 6,7
Spain 7
6,1
6,0
0 2 4 6 8 22
10

23. SATISFIED WITH THEIR UNIVERSITY BUT IDENTIFICATION IS WEAK
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• Students are also favourably impressed by their university, especially the British.
• However only British and, to a lesser extent, Spanish students declare a sense of institutional
identification. In these two countries a majority feel identified with their university.
How satisfied would you say you were overall with Which of the following statements best defines
your higher education institution? your feelings about your higher education
Scale from 0 to 10, in which 0 means “not at all satisfied” and 10 institution ?
means “very satisfied”. Base: total interviews
Base: total interviews
United United
7,6 69,7 25,9 3,8
Kingdom Kingdom
Sweden 6,8 Sweden 47,0 45,2 5,7
Italy 6,8 Italy 41,1 47,9 6,8
Germany 6,8 Germany 38,5 53,1 5,3
Spain 6,6 Spain 51,5 39,9 7,4
France 6,6 France 39,3 49,3 8,9
0 2 4 6 8 10
0 20 40 60 80 100
I am proud to be a student at this higher education institution: I
feel very identified with it
I am neither proud nor disappointed with regard to my higher
education institution: I have no special feelings towards it
I am disappointed with my higher education institution: I do not
feel at all identified with it
DK/NA
23

24. ASSESSMENT OF UNIVERSITY FACILITIES AND SERVICES
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• University facilities and services merit an overall pass, though with major differences between
countries. The highest marks of all come from students in the United Kingdom. In general, IT and
library resources are the highest rated.
• Career guidance/employment services tend to be the least highly valued, scraping a bare pass
mark in France, Spain, Germany and Sweden. The choice of extracurricular activities scores
particularly low in Italy, as do information services in France.
7,6
7,3
What is your opinion about the United Kingdom 7,3
following services or facilities at your 6,9
6,6
higher education institution?
Scale from 0 to 10, in which 0 means “very poor” 7,4
6,7
and 10 means “very good”. Base: total interviews Sweden 6,0
6,0
5,3
7,1
The library resources 6,6
Spain 6,1
5,9
5,3
The IT services
6,9
6,4
The choice of extracurricular activities Italy 5,2
(cultural activities, voluntary work, etc.) 6,0
5,7
The information services 6,9
7,1
Germany 6,3
The careers guidance service/employment 6,3
service 5,3
7,1
6,6
France 6,1
5,4
5,1
0 2 4 6 8 10 24

25. PREPARATION FOR PROFESSIONAL LIFE BY BRANCH OF STUDY
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• The extent to which universities prepare students for professional life is seen very differently: positively
by a large majority of Britons and around half of Swedes and Germans, with the Spanish, Italian and
French inclined to be sceptical.
• In almost all countries, students of health sciences and engineering, manufacturing and construction
viewed this aspect in a more positive light. In Spain, students of economic sciences and other social
sciences are those who see such preparation as most clearly lacking
In your opinion, universities in (COUNTRY)…Base: total interviews
United Kingdom Sweden Germany Spain France Italy
71 22 7 50 28 22 51 31 19 40 54 6 40 45 15 37 47 16
Total
Health 80 15 6 59 18 23 54 30 15 54 41 4 63 25 12 45 42 13
Sciences
Economic 74 21 5 33 47 20 53 27 21 32 62 6 55 36 9 36 51 13
Sciences
Other Social 69 24 6 47 32 21 47 36 17 34 60 6 26 54 20 36 47 17
Sciences
Engineering,
Manuf. and 69 23 8 53 26 21 63 21 16 45 49 6 57 25 18 41 44 15
Construction
Legal 66 27 7 55 31 13 52 34 15 40 52 8 37 52 12 33 52 15
Sciences
Experimental
68 23 9 48 23 28 53 27 20 40 55 5 37 45 18 33 50 17
Sciences
Arts and
64 24 12 50 29 22 39 40 21 38 57 5 25 59 17 32 48 20
Humanities
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Prepare students well for professional life Do not prepare students well for professional life DK-NA 25

26. HOURS OF STUDY
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• The average time spent studying in a standard week varies markedly across the European countries
surveyed, regardless of the duration of the academic year.
• The Swedes and Italians devote most hours to personal study (around 20 hours a week), followed by
the British (19 hours), with students in France and Spain (13 and 13.5 hours respectively) a long way
behind. German students come somewhere in the middle with an average of 16 hours studying per
standard week.
On average, how many hours a week do you spend studying your degree course subjects excluding
classroom hours? Base: total interviews
Hours per week
Sweden 20,2
Italy 19,8
United
19,1
Kingdom
Germany 15,5
Spain 13,5
France 13,0
0 10 20 30 40 50
26

27. HOURS OF STUDY BY BRANCH
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• Branch of study is a differential factor for personal academic effort. In France and Spain, the gaps
between study branches tend to be larger.
• In most countries, students of legal and health sciences stand out for the longer hours put in.
• In Spain, students taking technical and health science degrees devote most hours to personal study,
with economics and other social sciences students putting in the least.
On average, how many hours a week do you spend studying your degree course subjects excluding
classroom hours? ? Base: total interviews.
Average hours per week
Sweden Italy United Kingdom Germany Spain France
Total 20,2 19,8 19,1 15,5 13,5 13,0
Legal Sciences 23,6 22,1 21,9 19,5 13,9 16,3
Economic
21,5 19,0 17,1 16,2 11,3 10,6
Sciences
Other Social
21,3 17,8 20,0 13,3 10,1 12,6
Sciences
Engineering,
Manuf. and 20,7 19,9 18,4 15,6 16,8 10,7
Construction
Arts and
Humanities 20,1 19,1 21,1 15,4 12,7 14,2
Experimental
19,0 19,4 18,0 15,3 13,4 13,2
Sciences
Health
Sciences 18,2 21,6 18,5 16,6 15,5 17,5
0 20 40 60 0 20 40 60 0 20 40 60 0 20 40 60 0 20 40 60 0 20 40 60
27

28. TIME DEVOTED TO CLASSWORK AND STUDY
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• Classwork takes up more hours per week for students in Germany, Spain and, at a distance, France.
• Hours spent in theory classes far outnumber those spent in practical classes in all countries surveyed.
• Personal study and classroom hours tend to balance each other out. Summing the two together,
inter-country differences smooth out considerably, with the total time devoted to academic activities
ranging from 33 to 38 hours per week.
Hours per week spent studying and attending classes. Base: total interviews
Germany 16,4 5,9 15,5 37.8
Italy 12,9 4,2 19,8 36.9 Average hours per week in
theory classes
Spain 16,1 6,9 13,5 36.5
Average hours per week in
practical classes
Sweden 10,9 5,0 20,2 36.1
Average hours of study per
week
France 14,3 6,1 13 33.4
United 8,5 5,3 19,1 32.9
kingdom
0 20 40 60 80
28

29. DISTRIBUTION OF TIME
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• Looking at the time spent on study and classwork in a standard week, we can distinguish two training
DISTRIBUTION OF TIME
styles or approaches: the first based predominantly on individual effort – students devote more time to
personal study – and the other prizing attendance at classes. British, Swedish and Italian students
spend more hours studying and fewer in class, while those in Spain, France and Germany devote
more time to classwork than personal study.
+ Hours per week devoted to study and classwork. Base: total interviews
25,0
ES
AL
20,0
FR
CLASSROOM HOURS
IT
SE
15,0
UK
10,0
5,0
TR
0,0
0,0 5,0 10,0 15,0 20,0 25,0
- STUDY HOURS +
29

30. STUDY MATERIALS
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• Students differ in the study materials they utilise: the most popular being lecture notes, Internet
materials and course books.
• Those in Spain and the United Kingdom are the most regular users of Internet materials.
• Those in Italy and Sweden make more frequent use of course books.
• British students are the keenest consumers of library books.
• The use made of articles in specialist journals is particularly uneven: a minority habit in Spain and
Italy, moderate in Sweden, Germany and France and highly frequent in the United Kingdom.
96,8
87,9
When you study, how often do you use the Spain 70,8
60,0
following materials? 24,4
44,6
Base: total interviews
92,8
Percentage responding “very often+quite 66,9
often” Italy 43,2
92,9
64,1
28,5
Lecture notes 89,6
79,8
France 66,8
Material found on the Internet 61,7
53,7
46,2
Course books 89,3
91,3
United Kingdom 73,7
Library books 81,8
60,0
75,1
Books you buy yourself
83,0
76,9
Articles in specialist journals Germany 80,2
68,6
60,3
40,4
81,6
84,4
Sweden 91,9
50,9
66,7
38,7
30
0 20 40 60 80 100

31. USE OF THE LIBRARY
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• Students use the library to find specific materials that were recommended in class rather more often
than they do to search of their own accord for texts or materials.
• But use of the library for either activity is far from uniform: starting from the frequent use made in the
United Kingdom, it drops through France and Germany then Spain around the mid-way mark down
to Italy, where students are the least frequent visitors of all.
Frequency of going to the library. Base: total interviews
How often do you visit the library to find some How often do you visit the library to search of your own
specific text or material that was recommended? accord for texts or materials that may be of use?
United United
51,1 26,6 10,0 8,4 49,3 29,0 10,2 7,4
Kingdom Kingdom
France 38,7 25,0 10,8 11,5 12,6 France 36,9 26,3 11,1 11,4 12,7
Germany 36,5 31,4 14,2 12,4 Germany 33,8 31,5 15,4 14,1
Spain 31,9 27,3 15,3 17,9 7,3 Spain 26,1 24,6 16,0 19,4 13,6
Sweden 19,5 24,0 14,2 26,7 14,7 Sweden 24,1 25,7 15,6 22,9 10,9
Italy 13,9 21,3 19,5 21,4 22,6 Italy 10,4 18,2 16,9 24,9 27,8
0 20 40 60 80 100
0 20 40 60 80 100
Every week Every month Every two or three months Less often Never DK-NA 31

32. THE EUROPEAN HIGHER EDUCATION AREA
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• Students come out in favour of certain goals of the European Higher Education Area like the
alignment of degree systems, the promotion of mobility and cooperation, and adoption of a
common credits system.
• Conversely, the adoption of a system based on three cycles fails to convince either German or
Spanish students.
The Bologna Declaration lays the foundations for a
“European Higher Education Area”, which envisages
the convergence of higher education throughout 8,4
the European Union by the year 2010. Can you 8,2
Italy 8,2
please tell me what you think about the following 8,0
aims of the of this project? Base: total interviews. Scale 6,9
from 0 to 10, where 0 means you are strongly against and 10 8,1
that you are strongly in favour 8,1
Sweden 7,4
Adoption of a degree system that is both 8,2
transparent and comparable between 7,6
countries 7,8
7,3
France 7,3
Promotion of the mobility of students, 7,7
lecturers and administrative staff across 7,4
European countries 7,6
7,5
Adoption of a common credits system United Kingdom 7,5
7,5
which considers the overall volume of 7,5
work done by the student and not just the
7,2
classroom hours 7,0
Promotion of the mobility of students, Germany 6,6
7,3
lecturers and administrative staff across 4,9
European countries
6,9
6,6
Adoption of a system based on three Spain 6,4
cycles: bachelor's, master's and doctorate 7,2
4,8
0 2 4 6 8 10
32

33. RESEARCH IN THE UNIVERSITY
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• Students agree that they should learn research skills as part of their degree courses, and also that
producing knowledge through research is a key function of higher education institutions.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following sentences? Base: total interviews.
Average on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means you totally disagree and 10 that you totally agree
7,7
United Kingdom
7,3
7,6
Spain
6,9
Higher education students should learn how
7,4
Italy to do research during their courses
7,0
7,2
Germany Producing knowledge through research is a
7,4
key function of higher education institutions
6,7
Sweden
6,3
6,0
France
6,5
0 2 4 6 8 10
33

34. RESEARCH IN THE UNIVERSITY
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• Just over 50% in Germany and 40% in remaining countries are familiar with some research project
going on in their faculty.
• Branch of study is a discriminating factor for familiarity with research projects: greater among
students of experimental sciences, followed by those taking health sciences and engineering and
technical degrees, and significantly less among students of economics and legal sciences.
Do you know of any research programme or project currently being undertaken in your faculty?
Percentage responding affirmatively. Base: total interviews
Germany United Kingdom Sweden Spain France Italy
Total 54,7 45,8 45,1 44,9 43,5 43,1
Experimental
64,4 64,8 66,7 62,0 54,4 60,5
Sciences
Health
Sciences 64,1 60,3 53,3 51,0 60,4 54,5
Engineering,
Manuf. and 62,6 50,5 49,5 57,8 55,2 56,8
Construction
Other Social 52,4 45,2 33,8 42,4 47,4 39,6
Sciences
Arts and 48,4 45,0 46,3 42,3 31,7
34,9
Humanities
Legal
45,5 31,4 28,9 27,4 31,3 32,8
Sciences
Economic
43,0 34,4 25,4 25,2 34,6 24,0
Sciences
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 1000 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
34

35. ASSESSMENT OF TEACHERS AND RESEARCH
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• Students judge their teachers to be good researchers in their fields.
• However, they are less sure that they encourage students to take up a research career, with scores in
most countries converging on the middle mark.
• Except in the United Kingdom, a majority have little idea of the research their teachers are engaged
in. This feeling is particularly strong in Spain.
How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements about the teaching staff at your
university ? Base: total interviews. Average on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means you totally disagree and 10 that you totally agree
7,4
United Kingdom 5,8
5,6
6,9
Sweden 5,1
4,8
Are good researchers in their fields
6,8
Italy 5,1
4,6 Encourage students to take up research
6,8
France 4,9
I am familiar with my teachers' research work
4,5
6,5
Germany 4,9
4,6
6,5
Spain 4,9
4,0
0 2 4 6 8 10 35

36. RESEARCH AS A CAREER
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• Although a majority consider that the research career carries a lot of prestige, they also see it as
difficult and not that well paid. Students in Italy, France and Spain tend not to believe that the state
supports researchers.
• In a context of poor familiarity with teachers' research and the perception that they are not being
encouraged into a research career, a majority of students, particularly in Spain, do not feel well
informed about how they could become a researcher.
7,5
6,6
I am now going to read out some Italy 6,0
sentences about a research career. I 3,8
4,9
would like you to tell me how much you
agree or disagree with each. 6,6
6,0
Base: total interviews. Scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means France 5,8
you totally disagree and 10 that you totally agree. 4,5
5,2
6,5
6,1
Researcher salaries are not attractive Sweden 6,9
6,1
4,5
Research work requires more effort than 6,3
6,4
most professions Spain 6,3
4,8
4,1
Research work carries a lot of prestige
6,0
6,2
United Kingdom 6,1
The state supports researchers 5,9
4,9
5,5
5,9
I feel I am well enough informed about
Germany 6,6
how to become a researcher 6,1
4,8
36
0 2 4 6 8 10

37. JOB EXPECTATIONS
Department of Social Studies and Public Opinion
• Students are upbeat about their chances of finding a job that fits their qualifications on completing
their degree. Optimism on this count is strongest in Sweden and fairly moderate in Spain.
• Students in health sciences are more optimistic in every country, followed by engineering,
manufacturing and construction, legal sciences and economics. Those doing arts and humanities,
finally, are more modest in their expectations.
Do you think you are likely to find a job that is related to your degree course? Base: total interviews
Average on a scale from 0 to10, where 0 means it is not very likely and 10 that it is very likely.
Sweden Germany United Kingdom France Italy Spain
Total 8,4 7,4 7,3 7,2 6,8
7,5
Health 9,1 8,5 8,7 8,3 8,1 7,7
Sciences
Engineering, 8,6 7,8 8,2 7,7 7,2
7,8
Manuf. and
Construction
8,5 8,0 7,6 7,5 7,5 6,9
Legal Sciences
Experimental 8,3 7,0 7,1 6,9 6,3
7,8
Sciences
Other Social 6,8 6,7 6,7 6,3
8,2 7,4
Sciences
Arts and 8,0 6,5 6,4 6,2 6,1
6,8
Humanities
Economic
8,0 7,6 7,6 7,8 7,3 6,7
Sciences
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10 37