University of Kansas Top Questions

General education classes are large in nature, and there is not much you can do to get around that. However, in my personal experiences I have found that professors really enjoy getting to know their students. They hold office hours and for large classes there are also TA's that hold hours if students are struggling. I think the quality of teachers and the vibe from the students varies from department to department. I am just starting to get into my major classes, and the few teachers I have had in my major seem to really engage the class. I've heard it said that once you get in your major, your classes get small and you have a lot of classes the same with other students so you get to know them well. I am a sports management major and it is evident in this program that they are focused on your career after school. In fact to graduate, your last semester is a 40 HR/week internship. I believe KU is concerned with your life after college, and through career fairs and such, they provide opportunities to prepare yourself for the "real world."

I am a Finance and Accounting student and also a member of the University Honors Program. In the Honors Program, students are very competitive and the classes are small. The professors take the effort to get to know us and are willing to meet with us outside of class to help us if there is any part of the material that we do not understand. Class participation plays a big role and it is what makes the class interesting. My favorite class was ENGL105, Freshman Honors English. In that class, we learnt through classics, movies and discussions among peers. It was fun and enlightening at the same time. I looked forward to class every everyday and the intellectual conversations we have outside of class was equally interesting. In my opinion, the education at KU gears me towards getting a job. We learn about current business issues and interact with employees from big companies. In addition, the Career Services office organizes many events to help us with our resume preparation, mock interview sessions and other events that promote interaction and network with the people from those companies.

Since KU is a big school, many of the general education classes and freshmen/sophomore level classes that are taught in large lecture halls. The large lectures are supplemented with smaller discussion periods that are taught by teaching assistants (the TA's can be hit or miss). Not all classes are large though. I have had many small classes of 25 or less students since I have been here. There are a lot of wonderful professors that have dynamic teaching styles, and a substantial amount of knowledge in their field. I have learned so much here. Some of the best lessons have been outside the classroom. Classes range from being challenging to fairly basic. Students here have to study hard, and understand that to do well it takes a lot of effort. Many classes have weekly or bi-weekly papers, and some have only exams and finals as the only grades. Classes for some majors are geared towards getting a job, but the majority are about learning for the sake of learning. Be prepared to read a lot for your courses. There are a vast amount of intelligent and hard working students at KU. Many students have intellectual conversations outside of class. There are also some who seem apathetic about school though.

Since KU is a big school, many of the general education classes and freshmen/sophomore level classes that are taught in large lecture halls. The large lectures are supplemented with smaller discussion periods that are taught by teaching assistants (the TA's can be hit or miss). Not all classes are large though. Ive had many small classes of 25 or less students since I've been here. There are a lot of wonderful professors that have dynamic teaching styles, and a substantial amount of knowledge in their field. I've learned so much since I've been here. Classes range from being challenging to fairly basic. Students here have to study hard, and understand that to do well it takes a lot of effort. Many classes have weekly or bi-weekly papers, and some have only exams and finals as the only grades. Classes for some majors are geared towards getting a job, but the majority are about learning for the sake of learning. Be prepared to read a lot for your courses. There are a vast amount of intelligents and hard working students at KU. But there are some who seem apathetic about school.

For the most part no, professors do not know my name, the classes are so large that it's hard to stand out without feeling like you're bugging the professor with meaningless questions all the time. I feel like students study a lot, depending on their classes that is. But between all the reading that we have to do for classes and online quizzes it all adds up quickly. I think students are competitive or else they wouldn't be in college, however there are those students that act out in smaller classes and appear that they don't care about what's going on but ultimately we are all paying to be here and for me it just comes natural to be competitive I suppose.

I feel that KU offers one of the best college educations you can get at one of the most reasonable prices. I know that our Journalism and Nursing programs are some of the top ranked programs in the nation. The university has some of the brightest and most intellectual professors and faculty, in my opinion, in the entire mid-west. As far as professors go they are still human so they definitely can be sticklers and pains in the ass but eventually you will meet some who truly make a class feel like less of a requirement and more of a course that is truly helping you to develop and grow as a person. I have noticed that once i entered my upper level classes that classroom discussions and participation gets a lot more interesting because after four years in school students get more opinionated and are more willing to talk about how they feel in class. From my experience most freshman classrooms tend to be more quiet but I think its just because being at college is still such a new experience kids are just trying to get comfortable. Personally I have always been a loud and outspoken person so talking in class usually came pretty easy for me. Some of the most unique courses I have taken have been my Journalism courses but outside of my degree I enjoyed my "community" class. This was a sociology course where we discussed social issues within communities. I grew up in Mexican gang neighborhood in Kansas City where crime was always present and this has given me a much different background than most of the people I'm in class with. It also has allowed me to be more involved in my sociology courses where I can actually relate to and tells stories about the things we studied. The Journalism School at KU is very competitive and has a HUGE presence on campus. We are responsible for the school news paper that is produced fresh daily and is known as " The University Daily Kansan" or " The UDK." We also have tech labs with crazy amounts of technology and gadgets that do everything from designing prints ads to editing movies and commercials. The faculty is comprised with some of the nation's brightest minds in all forms of Journalism. I take a lot of pride being a student of this program because our school has a lot of weight in the professional world.

KU has a variety of interesting professors and classes available, overall very positive atmosphere.

I know all of my professors' names but a lot of them do not know me because I am in very general classes right now that are held in big lecture halls. My favorite class is Chemistry because I love the things that we cover and the labs that we do. It depends how often students study; if they are committed and want to do well in college students will spend a good amount of time studying. KU students need to be intellectual in order to keep up with the rigorous curricululm that we have to go through. Some students are very competitive about the work and their classes, especially those who want to enter graduate schools such as nursing and pharmacy. I really dont' see my professors outside of class because right now my classes do not pose many problems; next year my courses are going to be very challenging and I plan on spending more time with my professors, seeking help.

Professors at KU are awesome. For the most part, if you talk to them, make an effort outside of class to do well in their class, they'll love you. They make themselves available for help as often as they can. The best class at KU is probably Math 105 with Jeff Lang. He's a bamf. KU currently offers courses in Haitian language and culture, but, unfortunately for me, may not offer those anymore. This is the area that I'm planning on studying unless they decide to cut funding for the program, in which case, I'm screwed.

I would say that 5 out of my 6 professors know my name. The one that doesn't know my name has a class of 300 or 400. I could make it possible for him to know my name by standing out more, but I just go to class, get the job done and leave. Class participation is not always common, but that is something that won't change unless you have a special kind of professor. The most unique class I have taken is Acting 1. I have intellectual conversations outside of class, but it depends on who you talk to. I have invited a professor I really liked to a "invite a professor for dinner" at my scholarship hall. I feel like the requirements are challenging but definitely attainable.

Almost every professor I've had has made an attempt to know my name, and the further into my majors I get, the more I enjoy my professors. I feel they encourage class participation and are very approachable outside of the classroom.

KU has taught me a lot since I began as a freshman! My academic learning, however, has not been facts and terms (although I have learned quite a bit of this too), but my professors have taught me to expand my mind and look at things objectively. I feel like I am able to apply a lot of the theories and ideas discussed during classes to my everyday life and what I see around me! However, my only quall with KU is that as an undergraduate, you do not get to spend a lot of time with professors. Classes taught by professors usually have hundreds of people attending, so most of the classes where I've actually gotten to speak with the teacher has been taught by teaching assistants.

The design department is excellent and relatively small.

The design department is excellent and relatively small.

Some professors know my name. The smaller the classroom, the more likely they'll know my name. My favorite class would have to be my microbiology class. It was well organized, went along w/ lecture well, the TA's were extremely helpful and knowledgable, and I enjoyed the material. The amount that students study depends on their majors. The harder majors study more often. Class participation usually occurs more frequently w/ smaller classrooms. Sometimes students hold intellectual conversations, but I think a lot of students are afraid of controversy, so they are less likely to converse about topics that others are more likely to differ. Some students are competitive, others don't care, and others just only worry about how they are doing. I sometimes spend time w/ professors outside of class. There are some classes that it is easier to talk to the professors about certain things, like writing an essay or talking about an assignment. I think the requirements are good at KU, but I do think that as the years progress, it will be harder for students to graduate in 4 years b/c of the increase of requirements. The education is definitely leaned more for getting a job.

In Pharmacy school, it is hard not to have your teachers know you, but in lecture halls for other classes, especially 100 level classes, there is no way you will get participation or know peoples names unless they sit in the very front 5 rows. My major is Pharmacy Practice. We have 105 students in my class, and we take all of our classes at the same time. We have very intellectual conversations outside of class, and we always try to put things that we learn in the classroom into daily use or to connect our previous knowledge together. Pharmacy is a very competitive field, only 20{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students that apply are accepted here. We hang out with our Deans more than our professors because of all the activities I'm in, and they are usually the faculty sponsor. I feel like right now the professors are trying to teach us about how to be a researcher, but I feel that I will be prepared for my profession when I get out.

we're very strong academically. not all professors know your name, but they are all willing to help.

I take mostly small classes, honors sections or courses specific to my major. Professors in these classes are always well prepared, knowledgeable, and personable. A few of my gen ed classes were larger lectures, but those were the only instances where instructors didn't know me by name. My favorite class so far was probably my Freshman Honors English course; it was a small class, the professor was the best I have ever had, we read outstanding literature and covered what we read with engaging discussions and fun projects. That was definitely the most unique course I've taken. I don't have a specific "least favorite" class--I didn't really hate any of my classes, but I did find some of my big, required lectures kind of boring. How often a student studies or prepares depends on the student; some people come to class only on test days and never open their textbook, while others never miss a day and do additional outside reading. KU students frequently have intellectual discussions outside of class; in addition to participating in some of these conversations myself, I have often overheard others. I don't spend a lot of time with most of my professors outside of class, but I do visit my favorite professor in her office to chat and get advice. As someone who studies quite a lot, I don't usually need outside help, but I know all of my instructors have office hours and are willing to work with anyone who needs their assistance. I think the education at KU is balanced--if you're passionate about a subject, KU helps you learn, and KU also helps you figure out how to find a job doing what you love. As an education major, I can say that KU's education department is outstanding. Getting into the education program is competitive, the instructors and classes are top-notch, and everyone who works in JRP, the education building, is professional and helpful.

The University of Kansas does an excellent job getting the students all of the information they need at their lecture classes. Then most classes give you a chance to voice your own opinion and hear others which is a major value in helping you to better understand all of the different sides to what issues are presented.

At the beginning of my time here, I was in a lot of big classes and it was kind of impersonal. I also don't need a lot of personal attention from professors, so that was fine with me. Now that I am in the School of Business, however, I have closer relationships with my professors as well as with my fellow students. The School of Business is a challenging, but engaging school, and I feel like I am going to be ready to make an impact right away no matter where I go once I graduate. We learn not only the skills we need to get a great job, but how to always be learning in a continuously changing business environment.