Drexel University Top Questions

Having 10-week terms can be very tough. It's hard to find an affective balance between work, school, and play. As far as professors, most of them are great. I just think the amount of work can be a little uncalled for sometimes. Drexel also offers hybrid courses which, in my opinion, are great.

Very rigorous.

Classes are diverse, with competition not too tough depending on your major. Everyone participates more or less. Biomed is a niche department, very challenging and hard to get a hold of professors out of classes. Math class(because of the people), engineering and lab classes are my favourite.

they are excellent

Academically, Drexel is an intense school, since we operate on a quarter system (which means we switch classes every ten weeks as opposed to every semester). As an English Major and French Minor, I have had very small classes. None of my classes have been over twenty-five people, even my Psychology course. All of my French classes (and other foreign language classes in general) are under twelve people, which is great for getting involved in discussions. In every one of my classes my professors not only know my name but have met with me outside of class just to talk. Whether it is about a paper I'm writing or casual conversation, the professors (at least in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Pennoni Honors College) are very caring and accessible. Drexel is a fairly competitive school but not so much so that you'd rip your hair out trying to get an "A." If you are dedicated student, you will thrive.. So far, my favorite class has been English 102, because I had an incredibly dedicated professor who offered a lot of insight into my writing. My least favorite was probably CO-OP 101, which basically just explained the process. I didn't hate it or even particularly dislike it, it was just one of those you-have-to-get-it-over-with kind of things. One of the most extraordinary classes I have taken was "Criminal Investigations," because my professor was actually the Philadelphia Chief Inspector of the Detective Bureau and is involved with the FBI and Vidocq Society. He taught the material from his own experiences, which made mine in his class very interesting. I'll probably never forget it. All in all, Drexel is an excellent balance of learning for the love learning, acquiring the practical tools necessary to get a job, and networking with a variety of people and companies.

No they do not, they just do not care.

Academics: Very good

My major, Behavioral Health Counseling, is one of the best programs available in my opinion. Everyone talks about how big their major is and that they don't get individualized attention, but when I started Drexel, there were only 127 students total for my major. The professors are on the older side and after taking a few of their classes, the stories start to repeat and get old, but the content is always interesting. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves both inside and outside of the classroom. The program offers many opportunities to meet other students in the major by providing lunch or dinner gatherings. The course load is also very manageable, which is saying a lot because I know friends in other majors who are always complaining about the massive amounts of work they have. Overall, I would recommend it highly to anyone.

Academics at Drexel are pretty tough, at least in my experience they have been. I am a Design & Merchandising major, and for anyone who is looking to major with something in the Westphal college you have a lot of projects headed your way. I prefer large projects rather than studying for exams though, so it worked out in my favor. Most of the "arts" students do need to take some general studies, such as math and english courses, however in my experience most of my core D&M classes have been project based. Depending on your major and your class size you do have the opportunity to have great relationships with your professors. All of my core classes for my major were very small, 25 people max, so we all formed great relationships with each other as well as the professors. But with that does come competition, and by the end of sophomore year everyone knows who the hard workers are and who to team up with for group projects. I can say that almost everything I have learned at Drexel (at least within my major specific classes) will help me out someday whether its with getting a job or while I have it. We are so lucky to have a great portfolio of projects to show possible employers by the time we leave here. You also do have a lot of free range with choosing electives, I chose to do some film studies classes and music studies classes which were a lot of fun. One disclaimer for any student looking to join Westphal: you may not be spending as much money on books as say, business or nursing majors, but you will be spending a LOT of money on art supplies for your design classes. So start asking for your Blick gift cards now!

Academics completely depend on which school and program you are in. I am majoring in graphic design (very competitive and time intensive, the professors are extremely invested in your future and well being) and minoring in marketing (classes are much easier, workload is less, time in class is less, mostly group projects.)

Drexel has a policy of making you take a lot of classes you won't care about. Still, a lot of the professors are smart, nice people who can make the subject a little more appealing. There are also bad apples with completely useless lectures who do not care about you at all (PHYS 201 comes to mind). I wanted to like the third freshman engineering class (ENGR 103) where students work on projects they design. My instructor was very helpful (i.e. critical), but the other students in my group were entirely incompetent and ruined the experience. I talk to some professors occasionally out of class - many of them are sociable and I have one professor this term that regularly chats with students before class. The vast majority of classes are not hard enough. Some classes are as hard as you make them (ENGR 103) and that's fun, but way too many classes feel like review.

It's not just a rumor that academic life here is tough. Working with 10-week terms, things get hectic and move very quickly. If you fall behind you will get left in the dust. That being said, as long as you're willing to work hard and stay on top of things, you will flourish. The professors here, in general, are great. Sure, you get a few duds here and there (and I suppose it's that way at any university), but most are awesome--full of knowledge, witty, personable.

Academics are VERY planned--as a psych major, you're only allotted 4 elective courses (out of 23 for the major). Definitely be prepared to pay attention to make sure you get all the classes you need.

Be ready to spend your life at Drexel for the 4+ years you're here, because with 10-week terms 4x a year, there is little time to leave. Terms go fast, you do a lot of work, but... when you start working or are on COOP, it feels like you have all the free time in the world! Plus, if we didn't have that to bitch about, we wouldn't talk about anything.

The business classes are my favorite! I wish some teachers spoke clearer english and were chosen for their teaching skills instead of accreditation.

i am a mechanical engineer, and this program has been rated as high as 4th best in the nation. extremely good program with some of the best teaching that can be found. i have teachers that graduated from MIT taught at west point, etc. very good teachers

My CHE professors know my name. First day of class I was freaked out by my thermo professor who had each students name memorized in alphabetical order. The better professors always encourage questions and constructive peer interactions in class.

Acadmeics at Drexel really aren't as hard as you'd think. The requirements are really core-based and orriented towards things you'll NEED to know when you get to the real world. Also, some of the professors are just really great. They'll always help you with just about anything you need.

All of my professors know my name, but I think that is in part to strong attendance and class participation. I'm still a freshman so I have yet to take any electives. One thing that has got to go is the second term of University 101, a measely one crredit course that helps you get your bearings, it's terrible and a waste of a time slot on your schedule.

Math/Chem/Science Professors can barely speak english. They may know your name, but you definitely cannot pronounce theirs. All the other professors seem great and get great participation from the students. Students seem to focus on studies greatly, and we all have intellectual conversations outside of class. The College of engineering is an extreme challenge and requires hours of studying per night. The academic requirements should definitely get more strict, but since Drexel is trying to grow they are letting pretty much anyone in. The education is geared toward getting a job more than any other school in America.