University of Colorado Boulder Top Questions

Professors probably don't know your name in lower division classes, but there has been an increased effort in recent years to ensure that juniors and seniors are enrolled in classes with less than 25 people. My favorite class was the Social Construction of Deviance taught by Patti Adler. A great class with a great teacher and challenging curriculum. The most unique class that I know of is the Social Construction of Sexuality. Although I never took it myself I heard great things about it and really regret not enrolling myself. The Dept. of Anthropology is great in my opinion. It is one of the smaller departments at the school and so kids get to know each other throughout the years. The department also runs some really good field schools and has great professors. The education at Boulder is probably geared towards learning for its own sake mostly. However, the school offers many opportunities for students to get career assistance if only they ask.

Students are very engaged with their areas of study. Introduction classes that have 150 students in it do not often see much participation but once students refine their tastes and get into smaller classes almost everyone participates. Of course, there are students who do not participate and are not engaged in the material but on a whole students want to be in the classes they are in and act accordingly. Professors are very passionate about their fields and teaching their students. They always have office hours and are also willing to meet outside of these established hours to help and talk to students. Boulder offers a number of really interesting classes. Elective class, when spent wisely, can be terrific in offering new exposure to different fields of study than your own. In particular, some great classes to take are Introduction to Hip-Hop and Social Constructions of Sexuality. The classes and learning environment in general are geared toward offering life as well as proffesonal.

I have been able to develop a personal relationship with almost every professor I have had here. And that's because I sit in the front row, ask questions, go to office hours, and in general, give a damn about my classes. And professors appreciate that. My favorite classes have been Nutrition for Health and Performance (I think everybody should take it, regardless of major!!), Math for the Environment (taught me the more practical applications of math...like determining whether or not your credit card company is screwing you...) and Environmental Justice. The classes available at Boulder are so great...I wish that I had several more semesters to take advantage of them...from dance, to ethics, to politics, to science, Boulder has it all. My least favorite classes were the ones that I didn't feel really challenged me. I can barely remember them, something like Chemistry or Math or something. I study CONSTANTLY....because I am insane. Most students are able to still have a life, bit I would say you need about 20 hrs/week to be an A student, on average. Class participation is done by those who are vocal, usually the same handful of students. Most people think class is a waste of time. Boulder students do have intellectual conversations...mostly political. They are very smart and engaged. They give a crap. It's wonderful. Students are very, very competitive. Just have to look at student government elections to see that. Yeesh! Also, there is no such thing as "the most unique" anything. There are no degrees in a constant. It is either unique or not. But a unique course that I have taken is Math for the Environment. A bit of a conspiracy theory class, but useful in that it teaches you to be suspicious. Very valuable. My major is Environmental Studies. What a great major. Flexible, applicable, respectable, and interesting. I have had lots of lunches with profs outside of class. In one case, the prof was trying to "get" with me, but he was a young, first year prof that quit right away. Boulder's academic requirements are adequete, but lack the need for an understanding of real-world and whole-world impact of individual actions. Most students don't even know that when you turn on a light switch, you are burning coal which leads to increased CO2 which leads to more intense global warming. AGHHHH!!!!! The education at Boulder is for the sake of starting a career. Not only the classes, but the endless opportunities allow for this. Because of CU, I am well positioned to get an awesome job right out of college because I have taken advantage of extracurricular activity and, of course, lots of admin connections. Reccomendation letters, anyone?

All my professors know my name. I had a 300 person class freshman year and that prof didn't know my name, but the recitation leaders did and ever since then even in 100 person class the profs did and made time for every student. My favorite classes have been poly psci classes and my favorite profs have been Jennifer Fitzgerald and Moonhawk Kim. They were really challenging classes but I learned a lot and enjoyed all the subject matter - really feeling connected to it. I think the amount of study varies per student and by major. I also find that people take harder loads their junior years, but it all varies. Class participation can be too much some times, its very common. Boulder students pride themselves on having intellectual conversations outside class and we have the mass number of coffee shops to prove it. I feel that students are more cooperative than competitive. There is a great human sexuality class that i haven't taken but have sat in on and found amazing and unique. My major is International Affairs but I have done a lot of work in the theater department and the economics department. The international affairs department is really a mix of poly psci, econ and language departments which makes it very personalized. I do spend a lot of time with them in their office hours and talk to them outside of class and run into poly sci profs at political events around town. In the theater department my experience has all been in the costume shop but I am continually impressed with the high level of hands on for designers and actors and the high level of experience and ability of the staff. I think that the academic requirements are good for most majors, with so many colleges and majors it really does vary. For my experience i found it demanding but to the level that was required for me to get what i wanted out of my education. I think that education at boulder is flexible. I think that the political science department is geared towards even higher education and learning to be educated, but the theater department, architecture and education are very hands on and career focused, so it is really up to the student.

Professors only know your name if you talk to them and show your interest besides attending class. this school can be as small as a student wants it to be but it is totally up to the student. there are so many people here there are always study groups you just need to take the initiative to find out about them. Boulder is a highly intelligent town and represents their intelligence well.