University of Denver Top Questions

Classes at DU are small enough for your teacher to recognize you outside of class, but building upon the initial familiarity is really up to the student. I have become good friends with some of my teachers; I know my FSEM (required freshman writing course) teacher better than some of my relatives. Of course not all teachers are like that, but for the most part teachers are friendly and want to get to know their students. Students study for tests, but for the most part the student body is not known to be study worms. It varies between majors though, for example, biology (my major) is probably the most studied for major, along with the other physical sciences + engineering. I also hear that the President Coombe wants to create a medical school at DU, but the idea is still in the making (I get the inside scoop from my research supervisor! ;)). I would say about half of the students in my class are intelligent and want to get somewhere in life, while the other half are just going through the motions. The coolest class I've ever taken, was Acting 1 taught by Anne Penner. My favorite teacher and class by far. That is the positive thing about the undergrad requirements to take classes in different disciplines, you take classes you wouldn't typically take. For the most part, the classes are competitive but not insanely competitive like other schools, so you are given the chance to really learn the subject, not just struggle for a grade.

My overall opinion is pretty positive. After studying abroad twice through DU programs, I realized how grateful I am for this school and what is made available to me. First of all, the size is just right. As a private school, the classroom size is generally 20-25 students, unless it is an intro class lecture. It is a great way to meet friends and the teacher make it his/her duty to remember each student's name in the class. One of my best friends from DU is a girl I met in my freshmen writing class - it really is a convenient way to meet friends that share your common interests. Another strong point that has changed my overall opinion about DU is the study abroad opportunity that it provides to students. To state it simply: as long as one has a GPA of 3.0 or better, has completed enough credits and has not been under probation, it is easy to study abroad for one academic quarter or the entire year. Students may go abroad to almost any country for the same price as they would pay while attending school here on campus, utilize their financial aid while abroad, and apply to be a Cherrington Global Scholar to receive even more financial aid benefits! Overall, a great opportunity. DU highly encourages this travel opportunity and it has definitely changed my experience here, as well as my global perspective as a student. Yes, DU has interesting people, classes, and travel opportunities - but what does it lack? No one school can be considered perfect, especially with today's standards. Personally, don't find this next complaint to be that substantial, but I have heard a lot of gripe about the on-campus dining options. I lived in two different dormitories my first and second year of college and had to experience the cafeteria-style meal plans - they were pretty average. Although DU has tried to adopt more vegan and vegetarian options, the food is questionable and more importantly unhealthy. Pizza and burgers are guaranteed every day, a mediocre salad bar, and at least one type of soup in the corner of the cafeteria. I don't mean to be a Debbie downer, I actually liked quite a few of the meals that they served, but I think that students' main complaint was the food provider known as Sodexo. The quality of the food was sacrificed for this low-cost provider, which is the same company that caters to jails across the U.S. Lastly, the cafeterias around campus always close at 7pm, which is pretty early for college students. For these three reasons, I would say that the University could improve its dining options. Overall, I would say this campus has a lot to offer. There are a variety of clubs and campus organizations, club and intramural sports teams, Greek Life, community and volunteer opportunities, strong academics, a diverse student body, Living and Learning communities and more! Personally, I have found ways to involve myself and keep discovering more along the way. One more advantage that I would like to mention is it's close location to the mountains. Not only do they serve as a beautiful backdrop to the city of Denver, outdoor adventures are easily accessible to students. Some of my fondest memories include snowboarding with friends and family, hiking through the Colorado mountains, and of course coming back to what I would call my "second home" at DU! Since my first year on campus, I've been encouraged to try new things and discover new characteristics about myself - my time here has ultimately changed my life in a positive way and I would encourage anyone to at least check out the school, if not talk to myself or another DU student about their experience. Good luck!

the academics vary from major to major. I have heard that the sciences are extremely fast paced and difficult. The business degree plans all have a common curriculum until the last 2 years of study. Accounting is thought of as the hardest because of the structure of the classes and management is often referred to as a joke. While I don't necessarily think accounting is hard or management is a joke, those are the labels that are most often used. I am majoring in Finance and I really like it so far. The professor seemed engaged and knowledgable. I do feel that we are not adequately prepared to go up against finance major from east coast universities. We are trained to be analyst or support but not groomed to shine in the investment banking arena. As with all DU classes I feel that we learn just for the sake of learning and there is very little real world application. Students are not the most intellectual but they are often opinionated. They will speak their mind without having adequate support for their argument. My favorite class was my introduction to finance course. This course was one of the first classes that I believed would help prepare me for the real world. My professor gave real world examples to class and did not try to over complicate the topics in class.

My academic experience at DU has been incredible. Since freshman year, I have had one class with over 20 kids, and that one only had 90, which is as big as it gets here. Every professor makes a point to get to know you, and they will definitely notice if you are "sick" and not showing up to class. They are upfront and very understanding. As a student, I feel welcome in every class, which is good because most are discussion-based and call for a lot of stimulating in-class participation.

My academic experience at DU has been incredible. Since freshman year, I have had one class with over 20 kids, and that one only had 90, which is as big as it gets here. Every professor makes a point to get to know you, and they will definitely notice if you are "sick" and not showing up to class. They are upfront and very understanding. As a student, I feel welcome in every class, which is good because most are discussion-based and call for a lot of stimulating in-class participation.

My academic experience at DU has been incredible. Since freshman year, I have had one class with over 20 kids, and that one only had 90, which is as big as it gets here. Every professor makes a point to get to know you, and they will definitely notice if you are "sick" and not showing up to class. They are upfront and very understanding. As a student, I feel welcome in every class, which is good because most are discussion-based and call for a lot of stimulating in-class participation.

As an English major, learning at DU is a positive experience. Professors are accessible and for the most part ready to work with you. They tend to be very knowledgeable on their respective subjects but don’t flaunt superiority. For about half of my classes the class size tends to be a bit too large for my liking (25-30 students). The other half are a more comfortable size (15-20 students). Since the school runs on a 10 week quarter system classes can be fast paced and sometimes both professors and students can feel that not everything gets covered as it should. The short quarter also makes for some intense weeks especially around mid terms and finals. You have to plan ahead on studying and paper-writing or else you can get behind and have little breathing room to catch up. The upside to all this is that classes rarely ever get boring and after 4 years you’ll have taken a broader range of classes than your peers at any semester school. For some people, the quarter system is simply too stressful and doesn’t work for them, I totally understand. For a majority of my classes, my fellow students are well engaged in the coursework. There is an eagerness in many students to learn and share ideas. This creates some dynamic and challenging class times that I always savor.

One of the best things about the University of Denver is the relationships formed between the students and professors. Most of my classes that I've taken during my time at the University have had a very low student to professor ratio making it extremely easy to connect with the professor. Even in larger lecture classes if I needed help or had questions I found it very easy and was comfortable emailing my professor or going in during office hours for help. All the professors are extremely flexible and work hard to help you succeed. The professors at the University of Denver work with you with your best interests at heart. If you work hard and use all resources available it is a very rewarding and positive learning environment here at DU.

I decided to come to DU because of the academic opportunity it provided for me. The classes are small, interactive, and interesting. Students participate often because of the comfortable and engaging classroom environments. Each professor I have had has been extremely passionate about their topic, and knows every student's first and last name. I am double majoring in English and Philosophy and have had intellectual conversations about these classes outside of the classroom. The most interesting class I've taken so far has been "Theatre of the Absurd". The themes within classes apply to life outside of the classroom to provide real-life knowledge.

The academics are challenging. We are on the quarter system which means we have 10 weeks of classes then a break in between. Because of the small class sizes the professors know everyone by name and that encourages healthy debates in class and one sees a lot of class participation during classes.

The academics at DU are similar to any other university. Of course there are the core curriculum requirements, but they make it easy to get those out of the way and begin taking classes in your major almost right away (sooner if you have AP credit). The professors are amazing, and I have often enjoyed going to office hours with my professors not just to talk about class material but also to simply have conversations with them. I have never called my teachers "professor", it's always been their first names. One professor even introduced himself as Bob, and if that wasn't formal enough for us, we could call him Dr. Bob. Often class discussions continue with my friends as we walk back to our residence halls or go get coffee or lunch after class to keep talking about the material. While most class material has practical applications, the professors make sure to make it applicable to your general development as an individual rather than just as a (insert major here).

All of my professors know my name which I think is a great aspect of DU. I've had one big class here, and it's my science class, which is about 100 people. Everything else is less than 40 people, which is so awesome! Class participation is pretty good and most students take their academics pretty seriously. I've had a professor invite me over to dinner at his house with other students in my class and it was really great! This quarter I'm taking a Buddhism class and it's been really awesome, but my major is specifically history and international studies. I love how the two majors really overlap, it's really unique, and I feel like I've gotten such a better understanding of the world through my majors. Professors really encourage you to take them up on coming to their office hours, which I probably should do more, but it really tends to help when it comes to papers. I've had professors read over mine before turning them in and giving me some general guidlines on things that I need to work on.

The small class sizes at DU are definitely a huge bonus. Even freshman intro courses are under fifty students, and usually around thirty. The professors genuinely love to teach, and they all make an effort to make class personal. My favorite class is Hard Choices in Public Policy, taught by former governor of Colorado, Dick Lamm. He is a very dynamic professor who knows his students very well and teaches a class that he wants to be meaningful. In all at DU, academics are very important. Very few students are here because they are good at sports or because their families are current or potential benefactors of the University. Most students are here because they were successful in high school, and plan to be so in college too. The Common Curriculum requirements are reasonable, though perhaps a little more rigorous than at other schools, and they really do make sure you have exposure to all departments and areas of study.

One of the reasons I came to DU was because of the academics. There are many unique and interesting areas of study, so pretty much anything you are interested in is available at DU. The International Studies school is ranked top in the nation and offers some of the most interesting classes, in my opinion. My favorite class was called "Paradise for Sale" in which our professor, who had done extensive research in the Dominican Republic and Bali, taught us about sustainable tourism in developing countries. The fact that DU is a research university, in which almost all of the professors do outside research, really adds to the classroom experience because professors have exciting stories and experiences to share with their students. The professors also are required to have office hours every week, so it is very easy to talk to them either after class or during office hours. The classes are also pretty small, which I love becuase you get to know your classmates and professors and create relationships that aren't possible in a larger class.

If you study something you love, then all of the work will be interesting and not seem that hard. BUT, on the flipside, when you take a class you aren't interested in, it will be painful to do all of the work. You can make your course load as hard or as easy as you want. With that being said, my friends that are in the sciences seem to have the largest work load because of lab requirements, but I'm pretty sure that's a universal truth in college. Classes are small (my biggest class right now is 16 students), so you get a really personal experience, which is good if you do the work and pay attention, bad if you just want to sleep and cruise through classes. Professors are really accessible, through office hours, email, or phone, which is great when you have a big paper due and have a last minute question! They also really want you to succeed and have no problem calling you to talk if they are concerned that you won't.

DU academics are rigorous but prepares students for our futures. While classes are intense on the quarter system, the professors at this university truly want to help. Most professors will meet with students anytime, including outside of office hours just to talk, edit resumes or help before a test. Not only are the professors helpful, but resources like the writing center provide students with every opportunity to succeed. Another great aspect about DU classes is that in small classes, most students participate and enjoy not only talking but listening to the opinions of their peers and instructors.

Sometimes the classes are very challenging and require a lot of outside-the-classroom work. Other times, the classes are very easy and fun. It depends on your class schedule/major, but for the most part, it evens out. Some classes will be hard and some will be super easy!

I have never been more excited and passionate about classes than I have at DU. More that 95{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the classes have less than 40 students and the teachers really take the time to get to know you on a personal level so they can apply the subject to what would pertain to your life. The classes may seem rigorous for those not that interested in the subject but once you're in a class you're passionate about, it becomes the most fun you have had in a school setting in a longtime. Being a business major, I was dreading taking the required science class. After an entire year of science, it has been one of my favorite classes I have taken at DU.

Academically, DU is okay. From mere obvservation,it seems that students who major in Political Science, Public Policy and International Relations are the most content with their academic experiences. Other liberal arts majors, business majors and students in the applied sciences seem less enthusiastic about their classes. In my short time at DU, I had some very good professors. But the assigments and in class discussions were geared heavily towards students with no real intellectual curiosity. It felt very much like high school.

It is a very business oriented school, which is great if you are a business major. However, not many of the school's resources go into the other departments.