East Tennessee State University Top Questions

What are the academics like at East Tennessee State University?

Alisha

I am majoring in Elementary Education. ETSU's Clemmer College of Education is nationally accredited. It's a great place to study and learn. Once I got into the classes for my actual major, I got to know my professors better. All of my professors currently have given out their email addresses, cell phone numbers, and home number to students. They genuinely care about the students succeeding.

Adam

Almost all of my professors know my name. I witness students studying all the time on our campus. Students take advantage of our state-of-the-art facilities to study and prepare for their classes. Class participation is very common on our campus. The first step to learning, is showing up. Our professors and students understand this concept and reflect it in their actions. I know I have seen and participated in many intellectual conversations outside of the classroom. Our students can be competitive, but in a very constructive way. I am a Public Health major with a Health Services Administration concentration. My department is unique in the fact that we are the ONLY College of Public Health in the state of Tennessee! I regularly send time with my professors and administrations outside of class. We enjoy lunch together almost weekly. I think ETSU's academic requirements are right on target. However, our administrators know that academic requirements change and are understanding to the fact that we will have to grow and adapt to those changes. He education at ETSU is geared toward getting a job and our institution provides the tools to obtain jobs. We offer endless possibilities for students to get job shadowing, internships, research positions, and jobs in our growing economy.

Nick

Every class I have had, except maybe in my larger gen ed classes, the professors know my name. Academics are a high priority for students at ETSU. I have had many classes in social sciences and biological sciences and I have not been disappointed by any of them. I try to take classes that will challenge my critical thinking. Many of the pre-professional students are competitive because space is limited in medical, pharmacy, physical therapy, and law schools. Many of the departments train students in a variety of topics within that field. Very few train students for a specific career. This way students have a broad knowledge so they can be flexible in a variety of career fields. Many of the professors I have had give their personal cell phones to students in case they need assistance with anything. The academic requirements are high in many cases. I do not know of another state supported university that requires students to have so many intensives which are certain classes that are either oral, writing, or technology intensive. Career and Internship services make every attempt to help students succeed so they can find the career that is best for them.

Ruth

Because of our strong emphasis on medical and health sciences, the academics at ETSU (especially in the sciences) are rigorous. However, the class size is such that professors are often able (and very willling) to offer one-on-one help to students. There is tutoring available inmany subjects for free and some professors will arrange for group study sessions with upperclass or graduate students. There are also new living-learning community opportunities that allow health sceince students to room in a set-aside group of rooms together with other students in the same field. This fosters studying and relationships with people interested in the same subject areas. Besides the health sciences, we have several other strong fields including the arts, math, and bluegrass. We are the only school in the world where students can major in "bluegrass, old-time, and country music." This major attracts students from all over the world and ties well into the culture of the area in which the school is located. Another different program of study that is tied to the schools location is the storytelling minor. ETSU is located next door to a small town called Jonesborough TN which is a storytelling capital of the world and holds a story-telling festival every year (it also happens to be Tennessee's oldest town). With such rich heritage and history in the area, there is also good erason for history buffs to study at ETSU. Inlcuded in the history of ETSU is the fact that it was started as a school to train teachers. It is therefore no surprise that we have an excellent college of education. All in all, there is something for just about everyone and plenty of fun classes with which to boost a GPA. One fun class that is offered each spring is a skiing/snowboarding class which takes a field trip to the nearby Sugar mountain ski resort.