Barnard College Top Questions

I came into college knowing that I wanted to be an Economics major. What I didn't expect was that I would end up loving every professor in the Econ deparment. Over my 4 years I took over 10 classes in the Barnard Economics department and came to know all my professors very well. Close enough that I'd discuss their research papers with them during office hours, close enough that they'd invite our class to dinner at their homes, close enough that I could ask them advice about my future and know that they know me well enough for it to be trustworthy. I came into college expecting rigorous academics, I did not expect such personalized care. During my senior year, I was having doubts about whether I was choosing the right career path, and other concerns. I dropped by my advisor's office one afternoon and somehow we got into a discussion about God. Two hours later I left the office more confused than ever, but enlightened. My advisor always said that he loves to leave us more confused than when we entered because being unsure is how we truly learn about ourselves. I've loved having the opportunity to study with the most driven women i've ever met. Imagine taking all the courses you took in high school, history, english, etc... but now question it all from a woman's persepective. This is NOT about the feminist movement, or rewriting a misogynistic history. It IS about questioning the beliefs of the authors of our textbooks and exploring a viewpoint that has been supressed for so long. It is an experience that you cannot get anywhere else.

Barnard has this 9 Ways of Knowing curriculum. In that way, it's learning philosophy is distinct from Columbia's, where they have a strict Core Curriculum. Bnard basically has subject requirements. They've been fairly painless except for the lab science requirement: it is way too much for non-science people. Most people say that and I think it's something the student govt is working on changing. I've liked classes and not liked others - it really depends. I like my major, urban studies, but it's seen some neglect in the past year. There couldn't be a better place to study cities than NYC, though.

Class participation is common. Small classes, definitely have the chance to get to know world class professors. Also, we can take as many columbia classes as we want as columbia students can ours. Our professors also go through the same rigorous tenure process as columbia ones, so we're really getting all the advantages of a huge world class ivy league university but along with a tiny intimate environment dedicated to the advancement of women in the workplace and in the world. The professors care, the classe choices are wide and assorted.

I was really lucky this year. I loved all my classes and professors (except for one crazy French professor...what are you going to do). Most of my classes were pretty small, and the profs knew everyone's name and were extremely approachable. I took one class that had 200+ people in it, which was a little scary at first - but on the first day, the prof gave us his home number and told us to call him anytime. He was an amazing lecturer and it ended up being my favorite course. Students do study a lot. Though there's some grade inflation, academics at Barnard and Columbia tend to be difficult and by and large, students take their studies seriously. That said, we still know how to have fun.

Very good classes, I love my major (American Studies) and all of the classes that i have taken in that area have been great.

All my professors know my name and I find it very easy to approach them to discuss class.

Professor almost always know your name. Classes at Barnard tend to be smaller and more intimate than classes at Columbia (which can run up to 250 people). My favorite class was Intermediate Macroeconomics with Xavier Sala-i-Martin (taught at Columbia) or Money and Banking with PErry Mehrlin (at Barnard). Also, I have loved my Italian classes (with Paola Nastri and Seth Fabian). Severin Fowles is a great professor- he taught Origins of Human Society which fulfilled my cultures of comparison requirement. My least favorite classes were Econometrics (Dennis Kristensen- do not take it if avoidable- difficult and you learn absolutely nothing) and Intermediate Microeconomics (Rama Vasudevan- spelling?- easy but boring and you learn nothing). I am an economics major. To be honest, I think Columbia offers better economics classes and has a better econ department in general, but I have enjoyed most of my econ classes as a whole. One of my favorites, actually, was Economics of Education with Randall Reback. He was a great teacher who cared a lot about his students. Barnard's requirements are wonderful. With the 9 ways of knowing you can basically take anything. Over the course of 4 years, you must take a history class (I took American Civilization since the Civil War), a lit class (Harlem Renaissance literature), cultures of comparison (Origins of Human Society), quantitative reasoning class (basically all my econ classes fulfilled this, but Calc 1 worked), 2 semester science and 2 semester lab (i took astronomy), 4 semester language (italian), visual arts (i took women and film), frosh year seminar, frosh year literature (i took women and culture)...preetty sure that is all, but pretty much you will fulfill these requirements without even trying. Oh, and your major requirements and distributional ones can overlap! Academically, Barnard is wonderful.

Academics is taken very seriously at Barnard and everyone is constantly studying. Of course we all explore the city every so often, but less than one would imagine due to the vast amounts of work we receive. I feel lucky to go here because of some of the really neat courses offered. For example, I took an exhibit design class at the American Museum of Natural History this past semester! Where else but New York?

While most Barnard women take half their classes every semester at Columbia, the general consensus is that Barnard's faculty focus more on teaching and less on their research. This means fewer "superstar" professors, like Jeff Sacks or Alan Brinkley at Columbia, but our faculty are more accessible. Many students develop close relationships with professors. Barnard women are very competitive, less against each other and more against themselves. It can be a problem. Too many girls don't get enough sleep, and have real issues about getting "bad" grades.

I don't see the need of having the english requirement-> USELESS Professors usually know my name which is nice. Students study a good amount. Not much competition. Urban studies is very interesting! Education at Barnard is not geared toward getting a job which is a bit of an issue. The academic requirements are nonsense.