PSL voices | 24h with Charlotte in Bachelor's degree in Sustainability Sciences

Published May 30, 2024

Are you a high school student interested in sustainable development and eager to explore this subject from a multi-disciplinary approach? Have you combed through PSL University’s Sustainability Sciences website and leaflet, but would you like to know more and find out what a student’s typical day is like? Look no further. Now in my 3rd year (L3), I’m going to take you with me on a day in the life of a student.

A quick disclaimer before starting: no two days are ever the same! And if you ask me, that’s one of the strong points of this course.

7:00 am 🌅

After a 10-minute walk through the streets of Paris, I arrive at the Jourdan Campus for my first class of the day. Today’s a lucky day, because I have class just next to home, in the 14th arrondissement. On other days, classes are at the Maison des Mines or the Ecole des Mines - PSL in the 5th arrondissement*. But today, we’re at Jourdan, which we share with the CPES multidisciplinary undergraduate degree students.

The morning gets off to a busy start. We have a 1-hour lecture on “Sociology of Science and Techniques”, and then I give a presentation with a classmate on the monetarization of ecosystem services.

10:00 am ☕

Time for a coffee break in the campus garden, where we mingle with students from the Paris School of Economics, who share the campus with us all year round.

Coincidentally, straight up next is a 2-hour class in “Environmental Macroeconomics’, a field which analyses how economic policies and market forces impact natural resource management, pollution and sustainable development. Like half of my classes this year, this one is in English.

12:15 pm 🍽️

I head to the CROUS (university restaurant) with my friends, a 15-minute walk from the campus. The cafeteria offers a delicious variety of balanced meals for €3.30 (€1 for scholarship students), and there’s always a vegetarian option. We eat quickly and then revise one last time for the ecotoxicology test this afternoon.

15:30 pm 📒

Phew! The test is over. The students majoring in Environmental Sciences sailed through it, while those like me, majoring in Economics and Social Sciences with Ecotoxicology as a minor, found the test a little more challenging. It doesn’t matter though, because the continuous assessment system means we’ll have other opportunities to catch up.

For most students, classes are done for the day. Everyone gets down to their own tasks: math exercises to be done for tomorrow, next week’s presentation on the “Social Psychology of Natural Disasters” to prepare, an article on econometrics to read, and so on. Some people like to work in one of the areas available on campus, while others prefer the university libraries of other PSL schools, which we also have access to. Two of my friends head to their Aikido class, one of the many sports activities on offer thanks to PSL Sport. I take a rock n’ roll dance class on Tuesday evenings and go climbing on the weekend.

18:00 pm 🖊️

It’s the last class of the day for me: I’ve taken an “Introduction to Cognitive Science” option with CPES students. Today’s theme is social cognition. We have different speakers each week, who share their research and initiate us in the fundamental concepts of this field.

20:00 pm �֡

After my busy day, I’m finally home, but not for long. I’m going to a screening of the film Forever Young, organized by the CPES and SS film club. A great way to end the day!

^{* As of 2024, some classes take place on the Amyot site, also in the 5th arrondissement}