University of Maryland-Baltimore County Top Questions

I hate hearing people undermine the intelligence of the students here because a lot of my friends were near or at the top of their graduating class in high school and have gotten 4.0s here. We are all really competitive but we also support each other. Classes here range from less than 20 people to 300 people! No matter what the size though, there is always help to be found. Professors can be visited during office hours and are usually extremely helpful. Several of them now know me by name. There are also a couple of free tutoring centers you can go to if you have questions.

All the science classes are very difficult. If you are not doing well in a science class and needs to talk to your professor, some of the science professors may come across as being too intimidating. However, if you open up yourself to criticisms and admit to your professor that you really need some extra help, all the professors will be more than happy to help you.

Honestly, academics is though here at UMBC. The president has stated that getting a B in a science or engineering course is like getting an A in other major state universities. While they don't try to flunk you due to overcrowding, you have to work hard and know your stuff. The administration even advises retaking courses if needed. There are some students that study all the time, and others avoid it without care. This is even within the same major. It really varies, but in general, there is some concern for academic effort amongst students. It's certainly not a very competitive campus, but the classes still hold students to a high enough standard on their own. Those who excel, so so in a seemingly relaxed and non edgy manner. Early classes can have a few hundred in them, and half of the professors will take a real effort to learn your name, others will not care. Later, classes get smaller and more personalized. Most courses present learning purely for the sake of learning, but there is a clear focus at UMBC to assist students in their professional endeavors. There is UMBCworks, visits by major companies for mock interviews, and other advising offered. There are several very interesting courses offered here. One that I recently took was the History of Rock and Roll. I highly recommend it as it was presented wonderfully by Dr. Morin and provided not only a chance to listen to samples of all kinds of rock twice a week, but also to learn about the history that created it. There were also some very inspiring lessons given that made me think about my life in general. And the grading was super easy to boot! It's also noteworthy that the study abroad department is very dedicated to seeing that all students get the chance to go where they wish if they are so inclined. Very cool!

All my professors end up knowing my name by the end of the semester. My favorite class was my softball (that was actually wiffleball b/c it was still winter). Class participation is halfway common but possibly more often than other campuses. I find more students working together to study or solve a problem than I see competition between classmates. We're not here to one-up the next person in our major. We're here to learn and you can learn from your classmates. I love my Information Systems department. They truly care about you and your time here at UMBC. They make time to meet with you and advise you on your schedules. I think UMBC's academic requirements are on par with College Park's requirements and in some fields, we even outperform them, such as our Information Technology field.

Except for GFR courses which are usually lecture style, most of your classes for your major are very small. I know all of my professors personally. I have never had a bad professor, either. All the classes I've taken have been pretty great.

Tough, High expectations. worst than harvard....

The most damnit aspect of academics at UMBC is the students. There are many great professors who are understanding of students' issues and time constraints, and whose focus is to make sure that people are learning the material regardless. Unfortunately, due to the administration's imaging of the university as one of sheer academic rigor, students are taught to dislike these professors and feel disenfranchised when the main focus of the course is not strict, hard deadlines and unforgiving grading. Because of this, tools which professors previously used effectively, such as final exam exemption for passing the first 3 exams in the course with As, and which genuinely inspired students to do well and to learn by way of positive reenforcement, are banned from use. Students are taught that professors who do not abide by administration policy are therefore not good professors, and should be rated poorly. This causes professors who are good people, and whose focus is on helping students to learn, to be driven away from the university by the administration, by the individual departments, and even by the students.

again disconnected.

UMBC is known for excelling in academics; (which is probably why we gained the stereotype of nerds) while I'm not suggesting this should change since it's obviously a positive thing, maybe we shold cut back on the number of professors who SUCK at speaking english.

I think UMBC does a great job with the academics part of college. Other than your intro classes that are large lecture hall classes, the other classes are a realistic class size. Professors often learn your name if you put yourself out there and actually talk to them. My favorite class has to have been Anatomy and Physiology purely because of the professor. Dr. Fleischmann gets so excited about the course content that it makes you excited about it. She has unique ways of explaining the material and is very open to questions and conversation within class. It is a great learning environment, and she makes you want to do well. Class participation is common in classes once you get to your smaller classes. Yes, UMBC students have intellectual conversations outside of class. Students are very competitive in classes and you can tell that most students here want to excel and be successful. The most unique and entertaining class had to be Introduction to Moral Theory. This class was taught by Jim Thomas and he made the class anything a student could ask for and more. He relates the theories in a way that makes you think and really can apply them to your life. He is quite entertaining and makes you stay engaged in class. He also seeks a lot of class participation, and with that comes a lot of different opinions. A great class. In the psychology department, most of the professors are very friendly and are willing to work with students. They are very approachable and if you go see them during office hours, they will help you with anything you do not understand. The only time outside of class I see professors is when I go to their office hours or arrange a time with them to meet in their office about class. I think UMBC's academics are very demanding, and in turn hopefully will prepare us well for getting into the work force or going on to graduate schools.

Most of the professors in my department know my name. In fact, one of my "more professional" professors calls every student by their last name. I'm Mr. Low, and I spend most of my time in the library because the engineering program is very challenging. Some students seem to get by without having to work too hard and I envy them.

1. Yes. But then I'm a bit of a jackass and people come to know me quickly. 2. My favorite classes are the philosophy ones. I enjoy arguing and looking at things from multiple points of view. My least favorite was my spanish 102 course. The professor was indonesian, raised in germany, lived in spain for a couple years, and came here. There was a definite problem with accents, not to mention she was a ridiculously tough grader who would spring projects on us with little time to complete them. 3. Depends on the student. 4. Depends on the class. 5. Depends on the conversation. I could say that a conversation about "A Modest Proposal" might be intellectual. 6. Maybe? 7. Philosophy of Humor 8. We think. A lot. Most of the stuff we go over is bullshit that was spewed forth by men that have been wormfood for a long time already. 9.not at all. I don't think they would approve or could handle the sick sense of humor and heavy drinking. 10. They're average. 11. That depends on the professor whose class you're taking.

Most of my classes have been in the 30 student range, but my absoulte favorite classes have been the ones with ten people or less, (which are common in the upper level electives) that way you can talk w/o monopolizing the conversation and there is generally a good heated discussion. one of my fav classes was American Studies 200- with Dr. Donovan b/c we read so many books I would have never read otherwise and I loved every single one of them. Most of my proffesors know my name, but I think you need to make an effort for that to occur. If you attend class, sit in the back and don't participate you won't build a relationship with your proffs.

Academics for the most part are very personal. In most of my classes (speaking from the humanities disciplines and not the big seminars in science and engineering) the professors establish good relations with the students. I have had many incredible teachers, some so so, and a few bad. Most of the professors will know my name by the end of the semester, know me after the class has ended in the following semester if I make and effort to talk to them outside class, and will usually at least recognize that I was in their class at one point. Students study a lot here; it is a very hardworking school. We have had great discussions in class, always made more enjoyable by the oddballs in the class, and many times the discussions continue or start outside the classroom. I feel UMBC depending on your major trains you for your job and for the sake of learning. As a humanities major, I am receiving skills that will help me get a job that could require strong writing and critical thinking, but most of my classes have a major part that exist for the sake of learning and the professors love to impart that knowledge to us.

Great. Classes are fairly small, teachers know you by name. However, some professors do not seem to understand that we take more than just their classes.

Some, Many of my classes were lecture hall sized, I could count on one hand the professors who actually knew my name, but those few were the most amazing teachers I have ever had. Favorite class would be Philosophy 100 or 152 with Jim Thomas, probably one of the best teachers ever. Least Favorite class is a tie between Biology, Chemistry, and Physics... Many of the lower level courses the teachers do not know your name because the class size is pretty large, but when you get to the upper levels they tend to learn your name, usually.... Many students study all the time, of course there are the typical slackers but most study often, it also depends on the major, you will find science majors studying a lot more and social science majors doing more reading and paper writing, not necessarily always the case but a generally. Class participation is common in some classes, but not all, it really depends. Some classes base grades on participation in which case there is a lot more participation. Also some of the bigger classes use a clicker system so people answer but 200 people can answer in a minute, which is pretty neat and can help with participation. Some students have intellectual conversations outside of class, but it really depends on who you are talking to. Students are pretty competitive, even though none of my classes had a true curving system where only a few could get an A. That was one good thing, if grades were low teachers would "curve", but only to make grades higher, never to fit a curve. The most unique class I took, and also one of the best was the Psychology of HIV/AIDS. This class can really change your perspectives on the world and opens your eyes. A very informative and awesome class!!! My major/department is mixed good with bad. It has many very very good professors, as well as many very bad professors. There are about 5 professors that are awesome and absolutely amazing (only counting teachers I've had, but I've avoided certain ones based upon other students reviews), but the rest are just not very good at all. I have had bad experiences with advising. My advisor was assigned to me, and I know many of my friends were able to choose their advisors and have had better outcomes. From the start, since I had a sort of double major (Psychology and Pre-Allied Health), my advisor never really knew what was going on, they were never prepared, never knew what I had to take/needed to take, thankfully I was on top of things and always knew, with the exception of one semester that could have changed my life. So here's the short version, I went to my advisor after making some adjustments to my schedule to take 21 credits so I could graduate early, and I asked my advisor, "If I take all these credits will I be able to graduate?", I wanted to be sure everything I was taking would count. My advisor said yes, and I can imagine you know where this is going, of course 1 of my 21 credits "didn't count" because of a rule about repeating something, a rule that was in a handbook that no one really reads(word of advice, if you go to UMBC, read the handbook/course catalog that is given to you, not the one online or else you will not see ALL of the rules and it will be your fault!!). Basically my advisor did not catch this, and I did not know it was a rule, so I was told on the day after registration for the next semester ended, that I had not graduated. About a month of trying to resolve this issue with no help, I finally went to the top (once I found out how to reach the top), and they were able to help resolve the issue, but you can imagine the distress when you have a job, and are told that you in fact do not have a degree, and it is too late to register for classes for the current semester so you will not receive your degree until after the summer semester, all because of a rule you did not know about and your advisor did not catch (which is a departmental rule, so the departmental advisors should know about it). Basically they were able to say that it was not my fault, and sign me up for an alternate winter class that I had taken but not for credit, and I was able to get my degree, but I was lucky, someone else may not have been so lucky. I spent time with maybe 2 professors outside of class getting help. The academic requirements are fine I suppose. The education at UMBC is in my experiences geared towards going to graduate school and doing research. Not really getting a job.

-yes, classes are usually 30-100 students -Favorite = Philosophy, the teacher was hilarious. Worst = Fluid mechanics, teacher was horrible -Varies, some never study, some never do anything else -Class participation is common when teachers ask questions. Otherwise there is only 1 jackass in every class that will interrupt to ask a stupid question -Intellectual conversations happen outside the classroom -Students are fairly competitive - engineering projects, intramural sports, and unfortunately World of Warcraft -Scuba diving -My professors in the mech/E department are for the most part nice and approachable, but some are grumpy old men. I've never just hung out with any professors. -UMBC used to have very high academic requirements, which have dropped a lot recently due to less applicants. With UMBC making the tourney I believe application rates will increase a lot, and thus the academic requirements will also increase back to normal -Getting a job, there is a Career Service Center which is constantly setting up job fairs, resume critques, mock interviews, etc

I know all of my professors' names this semester, but I haven't during previous semesters. My favorite class is political sociology because in it we discuss current events, past events and the social affects of them. I do not dislike any classes I am currently taking. Some students study all of the time and some students study only right before exams. Class participation is common in most classrooms and encouraged. The sociology and anthropology departments are helpful and encouraging. These two departments are informative, and if they do not have the answers they work to find them for me.

I think all my professors know my name. My favorite class is child developmental psych (psych 200). The professor is an amazing teacher, the material is WELL organized and interesting. My least favorite was music 100. The music department seems to not have its act together. there is at ANY campus always at least one person studying... we might do a little extra at UMBC esp if taking science courses. Class participation is a must in a lot of smaller classes. I don't think it is a competitive i have to do better than you more i have to do better compared to ones self. Unique... hmmm I have had several. Its amazing but hard! I have started to go to office hours more often. the professors enjoy seeing your active engagement in the class and like that you care. Also a lot of them are nice and fun to talk to. (also there are good opportunities for undergrad research here (which is rare)). They aren't the easiest but it makes for a GOOD student. Its geared toward learning and sometimes you find more job based courses. The classes are really enjoyable!

I am in the largest major at UMBC so most of my classes are huge. In smaller classes all of my professors have known my name - also in large classes if I make the time to get to their office hours. My favorite class has been Developmental Biology with Dave Eisenmann - an interesting subject with an amazing professor. Cell biology sucked - both teachers couldn't use the lecture hall equipment and were boring as heck. There are some students studying somewhere constantly. Many people participate in class either by asking questions or using the electronic participation systems. We have a lot of people from diverse background, so even the everyday conversation can quickly turn into a very intellectual one. As a pre-med student, everybody around me is competitive. Any class with Joel Glasser is a guaranteed trip. Bio is huge, but there are some spectacular professors there. Make sure you get matched up with an adviser you can stand because you'll have to go through them to make a lot of things happen. I sometimes spend time with professors outside of class but usually in venues related to academics. There are a few I might be inviting to my wedding. UMBC's academic requirements are pretty solid, I think. Education at UMBC focuses on encouraging students to excel.