Olivia Liu (Class of 2024) accomplished her graduation from the MSc Global Health Program this fall in three semesters. Except for gaining the credits required for graduation, she took additional courses from the Department of Economics and the Department of Mathematics during her Duke semester while working two part-time jobs, earning her tuition and living expenses.
This seemingly packed schedule never led to a chaotic life. She managed her time effectively to maximize her learning experiences at Duke Kunshan University and Duke University in one and a half years.
A ‘Master’ of Time Management
“I hope that one day in the future, I can become the CEO of an investment company,” Olivia introduced herself to the class during the program’s first week.
After interning at several securities and investment companies, she joined Zhong Shi Heng Hua Holdings in her senior year. Since 2022, she has been in charge of the secondary market investment analysis and decision-making, focusing mainly on the healthcare industry. In addition, she also served as a teaching assistant for two courses, Introduction to Economics and Intermediate Economics, at Duke Kunshan University and supported a couple of research projects.
“I sleep for eight hours every day,” Olivia said. “Usually, I spend 2-3 hours in the morning to complete the investment company’s work. Then I attend classes until the afternoon. After class, I set aside some time to work on the teaching assistant’s tasks, then went home to rest for 1-2 hours before spending 2-3 hours on the remaining tasks. I usually schedule my course assignments to be completed over the weekend.”
Course Selection Tips for Duke Semester
Since 2022, the Global Health program has collaborated with the Fuqua School of Business, allowing students to take business courses from the Master of Management Studies (MMS) program in the spring semester, including accounting, spreadsheet modeling and decision analysis, and supply chain management. The credits earned can be counted towards the total credits of the Global Health Master’s program.
Olivia suggests that students intending to develop careers in the financial market or commercial companies can choose these courses. “Each business course lasts about two weeks, with an exam in the third week. Because the time is relatively short, assignments are required after each class, mainly group work.”
During the Duke semester, as she had already completed the minimum credits required for the Global Health Master’s program in two semesters, she chose open elective courses from the Department of Economics and the Department of Mathematics, which she believed would be helpful for her doctoral program application.
“As long as the courses at the Duke Graduate School are not specifically designated for students of a certain major, they are open to all. At the beginning of the semester, I enrolled in many courses, and for the first two weeks, I could audit them before deciding whether to keep them or drop them.”
Currently, Olivia is awaiting the results of her doctoral application, preparing to embark on a new learning journey.
