Clemson University Top Questions

Tough but they definitely get you ready for your career.

While athletics are a major part of the Clemson Experience, academics are taken very seriously. Being a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Clemson takes pride in continually striving to better their academic achievements. President Barker has a vision of making Clemson a Top 20 Public Institution. Since his arrival, Clemson has made great strides on its way to the goal of being in the Top 20. President Barker is very involved with the student body, as he and Mrs. Barker host various events at their home on campus.

The first seminar classes can be large and overwhelming at times, but the students that cared were noticed by the professors. As classes went on, the subjects became more specific and the classes broke down into smaller, more intimate groups. Professors do not like to teach the whole class, the encourage students to participate and help fill in what they know. Students who wish to succeed will and those who don't will not. Self initiative is important and professors do their best to help everyone. Outside of the classroom, for the more difficult classes, there are 3 hours of supplemental instruction a week from older students who sit in on the class and previously got an A. Teachers are all willing to help, and SI leaders are always around. What I learned in one year of college was remarkable and has truely helped me prepare for my future.

The professors definitely know your name, especially if it is in your major. Different students study different amounts, pending on your major, how smart you are, and what grades you want to make. Class participation is definitely common and with small class sizes is feasible. Clemson students and faculty have intellectual conversations outside of class, especially downtown at a local watering hole. Students are more cooperative than competitive. It is usually like your class is a team and you are all trying to get through the semester together, this makes everyone more competitive when the graduate and adds value to everyone's Clemson degree. My major is Applied Psychology, and all of our faculty are pretty cool and can be found outside of class or even the University. Some even play music downtown. Clemson's requirements are constantly becoming more and more rigorous so that our degrees become more competitive both nationally and internationally. Clemson is a very research oriented and applied school, meaning that they prepare you for the work force while continuously contributing to the knowledge base.

Academics are very strong (I was a mechanical engineer), particularly in undergraduate education. Overall, the quality of education available at Clemson is top notch, although no one will hold your hand. You really have to be assertive and take the initiative. Faculty are enormously responsive and willing to help, but will not actively engage slackers.

Professor's remember your name if you talk to them after class or during their office hours. Least favorite was the fucking required english courses that I had to take and the stupid general engineering course. The core Mechanical Engineering courses are pretty good. I don't think students are really competitive here, but in engineering you get tons of homework, so engineering students are always busy doing something. Academic requirements at Clemson are pretty good. The education at Clemson is geared towards both getting a job and also learning for its own sake. Most engineering professors here have 10 to 15 years of work experience, so they know what students need to know when they're looking for jobs.

Classes are definitely challenging, and provide a good change from High School. You get out of your classes as much as you are willing to put into them, so choose where you want to spend your time with what you are interested in. The classes I took definitely prepared me for getting a job, but there is also a part of college that is just learning how to learn.

President Barker is on a mission for Clemson to reach the Top 20 public colleges in the nation, and we are well on our way. With the exception of the large gen-ed classes (chem 101/102, bio 103/104, physics, etc.) the classes are small and engaging. Even in my Organic chem class this past semester, there were 150 or so students, but my professor managed to learn everyone's name after 3 or 4 weeks.

The professors genuinly care about how you are doing and what you need help on. They offer help every step of the way and get to know you.

Know your name: Once you get really into your major classes, usually sometime Sophmore year, yes. But that is contingent on participation! You have to participate! There are not too many HUGE classes. I think the biggest class I was ever in was Psych201 (Intro to Psychology), and that was maybe 200 and is kinda expected that's a really popular course. Never had any other class over 30, sometimes less than 15. Studying: depends on your major and if you want a good GPA or not. Participation: come on you have to participate in college.... Conversations: again, depends. if you want to have intellectual conversations there are a lot of outlets for that. if you dont, you can easily avoid them. Competitive: I've never had a teacher that graded based on quotas (I'm only giving out 3 As, 7 Bs, ect..). So I would say no. Most Unique Class: Camping and Backpacking. We literally did just that, go camping and backpacking around Tennessee. It only counted as one credit (a normal class is 3-4), but it was a lot of fun. They have a lot of great leisure skills classes. I also took things like Bosu, Yoga, Pilates, First Aid... There are always opportunities to take something crazy just to try it out, they even have 1 credit dance classes, even fly fishing, crazy.... Academic Requirements: pretty standard, maybe a little low/easy to complete. They only require that you take 4 classes a semester (or 12 credits), I usually took 18+ and had a great social life. I think this is why so many people take 5 years, because they only take the bare minimum, but then again I might have been the extreme because I had finished all my requirements and had MORE than enough credits to graduate the winter before my graduation in spring. And I studied abroad a semester, which normally slows people down.