University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Top Questions

Most of my professors have no idea who I am. I'm a psych major and all of my classes are pretty big. However, I have noticed that when the initiative is taken to get to know the teachers most are very receptive and very nice. The psychology advising department is amazing. They are so willing to help and so incredibly responsive. I also have to say that for the sociology department which counted many of my classes while i was abroad that really shouldnt have been counted. Class participation is not common in big classes. In fact, dont raise your hand at all in big classes, no one appreciates it.

The Finance department has an amazing group of professors all of which I enjoyed. Many have spent years researching and have published well known papers in the Journal of Finance mostly regarding Financial Theory. The Finance curriculum is challenging and is on par with Accounting for difficulty. For business majors, accounting and finance students largely are dedicated to their academics and therefore find excellent jobs post graduation. Marketing and General Management majors have less attractive but much easier degrees and many of them slack off/don't go to class/don't study. The education is more geared towards a great overall education, but Leadership Development helps with getting a job. You will do team work and see everything that you would have to know in order to get a top entry level position.

Your classes will be what you make of them. You can choose to take huge lecture classes that you can skip all the time and never really learn anything, or you can take small, intimate classes with only a few other students. In my experience professors are very willing to help students in and outside of class. I've only had two or three profs that I didn't like. Class participation is always encouraged, even in lecture classes. Study time is really up to the individual, although my bio major friends tend to always be stuck studying. The English department is full of amazing professors who really care about their students. The literature major is one of the largest credits-wise, but most of the classes are great. My favorite professors have been David Brumble, Jim Seitz, and Kellie Robertson. The only thing that is terrible about the English department are the advisers - Fiore is a horrible human being and has made me cry.

Basiaclly all of these questions depend on yourself and your teachers...help is always available to those who seek it and your relationships with your teachers will depend on if you want one to exist or not. The engineering department is geared towards job placement but also focuses heavily on learning.

In my major of engineering, and further, civil engineering, you form a brotherhood with your peers. I have a lot of pride in my major because we have all gone through the insanely intense courses. There is no room for laziness if you want to succeed. Being a research school, I would change the fact that Pitt focuses a lot on theory and not enough on practical applications. I'm not a researcher nor do I ever plan to be. I hate theory and I hate bookwork. However, I LOVE applying what I know to the real world. I would suggest that Pitt needs more avenues to let students APPLY what they know and not just write it on a piece of paper.

Most professors don't know your name, a lot do though. How much you study depends on your major. I study ALL THE TIME. If you're thinking about majoring in the sciences at Pitt, be prepared to constantly study to make it on top. Most Pitt students are not intellectual at all. This is probably my biggest complaint about the people that go to Pitt. It's very hard to find intellectually stimulating people and extremely easy to find a party. My major is Ecology and Evolution and I really like it. It's almost exactly the biology major but on a more macroscopic level. This summer I'm going to the Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology to take my ecology class and I'm extremely excited about it. The academic requirements are very much "doable" here. I went to Pitt because I knew that with a Pitt degree I would be more likely to get a job.

When taking into consideration the number of students that go to the University of Pittsburgh, I was sure all of my classes were going to be huge. However, I was mistaken. I have had more classes that hold 30 students than anything, and only 3 classes with more than 100 students. I always make an attempt, regardless of the class size, to let the teacher know my name- and they usually remember. My favorite experience so far was my first semester at Pitt. I took Biology for non-majors and it was a huge class. However, the professor came in and shook everyone's hand and introduced us. He knew we weren't majoring in biology so he even made a course packet so we wouldn't have to purchase an expensive text. It was a nice first class to have when I was so anxious about school starting. I've taken several unique courses like Vampire: Blood and Empire and Indo-European Folk Tales. The variety of courses is another thing I love about Pitt. Yes, they require that annoying core of classes required, however, there are tons of unique classes you can take to fulfill the requirements. It makes getting your degree more fun, and when you take an odd-ball class is can lighten your academic load, which is always nice. It creates a nice balance between education needed for the workforce and education just for learnings sake. The only complaint I have, being a communication major, is that a lot of my professors have been adjunct, which means teaching was their night job. Therefore, they weren't really available outside of class. Its frustrating to have someone teaching you who doesn't want to be teaching. However, I think my academic experience thus far has been pretty good. I've had interesting professors who are good to talk to in and out of class and some interesting classmates who I've had great academic discussions with in and out of the classroom.

The key to doing well in any class, no matter how big or small, is to get involved. Because it is impossible for the professor to get to know every single student in a 200 person lecture, standing out is important. Always participate in class discussion and introduce yourself to the professor and speak with him or her after class. If the professor knows who you are, your chances at doing well are significantly higher. In smaller classes, however, chances are the professor knows your name and if you don't participate you'll stand out like a sore thumb. Like at any school, it is not hard to do well at Pitt if you commit the time and energy to studying. In high school, it's possible to get by without doing much work, but if you think that's also true in college you will fail, especially in classes where one test can account for more than 20{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of your final grade. Every freshman at Pitt is required to take an English course called Seminar in Composition. It is THE WORST CLASS you will ever take at Pitt, guaranteed. Most of the Comp teachers are pretty bad and it's not easy to do well in it, no matter how good a writer you think you are. But it's inevitable, so brace yourself for one sucky semester of paper writing.

Since Pitt offers a variety of majors, the classes you take can really determine your class size, if professors will know your name, etc. Even for general education courses, you can fulfill your social science requirement by taking Intro to Sociology with 200 students or Intro to Urban Studies with less than 50 students. Of course, upper level, specialized courses will have less students, sometimes 10 or less students. One of the best courses I took my freshman year was Seminar in Composition, a required course for any Arts and Sciences student. You can take a general seminar course or one that focuses on certain topics such as education, gender studies, or service learning. I took one that focused on service learning and required us to find a place to volunteer throughout the semester. It was a great class with less than 20 students, a passionate professor, and interesting readings, writings, and discussions that were all connected to the bigger picture of service. This is one of the reasons why Pitt is incredible - we have access to resources and opportunities that you won't find at even a huge university if it's surrounded by farmland or in suburbia. Interniships and service are easily found. We have students with perfect SAT scores attending on a full ride but also ones that make you wonder how they were accepted. Intellects, dumbasses, and everyone in between can be found at Pitt, and it makes for a great atmosphere. If you want a challenge, you can pursue it with like-minded individuals, and if you want to slack off, you can do that, too. Pitt also offers the opportunity to cross-register and neighboring universities. Yes, we offer classes about Russian madmen, but we don't offer a great number of dance classes. If you want, you can take a course at Chatham, Carnegie Mellon, Point Park, Carlow, and a few other schools nearby. We also can take classes at Pittsburgh Filmmakers. The types of classes we can register for are so diverse, and the number is uncountable.

sciences are hard

I have had some incredible teachers in the biology department, the best teachers that I have had during my four years. They know me, they still say hello to me in the halls, they wrote me recommendations for vet school. However, some of my worst teachers have been from the biology department. However, on the whole, I have been very pleased with the biology program. As far as classes I've taken in other departments. I have pretty much enjoyed all of my general education classes that I've taken in other departments. I am continually impressed with the expertise these teachers have about the subjects that they teach. Pitt also has incredible research, not just in biology, but across the board.

All of my professors know me by a first name basis. My favorite class was developmental Psych. Least favorite class was biology. Some students are competitive while others are not. The most unique class I have ever taken was Sociolinguistics of sign language. The communication science and disorder major is great. Our advisor really cares about us and the professors help us with preparation for graduate school. Pitt gears us to learn as much as we can as well as doing things to help boost our resume.

Pitt is great with its focus on getting students ready for real life, be it continuing education and going into academia, or focusing on the industry and progressing towards a career. Most professors are ready to help out and discuss the opportunities and are willing to recommend job placement. Pitt student community also plays a large part in the school, there are multitude of clubs organized for students to take part in, and all the clubs are ready to inspire and assist students on any task. Furthermore, there is a honors college which challenges and provides exiting opportunities for students who are interested and willing to participate in real research.

Professors try to learn your name, even in larger lectures. I hate most classes in my major (Psy) and not much is available in my minor (Soc). I don't know how often students study...but a lot it gets overwhelming. You tend to not know those in your class outside of class...there's not much discussion that goes on, even if there is high participation--it's responding to the professor's questions. That's it. I've had no unique classroom experiences. The psych department is huge and most don't know you by name--you have to make yourself known. The professors teaching it that didn't go to Pitt even say it would be hard to survive the major at Pitt in great standing. It's based entirely on the premise that research is GOD. Pitt Undergrad preps you for Grad school perhaps, but definitely not "the real world." Academic requirements are better than A LOT of other schools, but the General Ed requirements for A&S are ridiculous..Philosophy? Seriousoly? Art/Music? Boo.

Most of my professors know my name. My favorite class is any class where I can debate issues that are relevant to me. My least favorite class would be almost all my business classes. How often a student studies depends on the student. Class participation varies by the type of course and the professor. A select few of Pitt students have intellectual conversations outside of class, you just have to find them. Students on campus are extremely competitive. The most unique class I have taken is Philosophy of Religion. I have two majors which are Finance and Africana Studies. I love Africana Studies although the department could be a bit more organized. I don't like Finance, but CBA departments are very organized and efficient. I spend time with very few professors outside of class. Pitt's academic requirements are fine, they give you good general education and core classes, but still leave a lot of room to take other classes you may be interested in.

I am a Spanish and Linguistics major. My professors (in my majors) are always accessible and willing to help. Not always the case in bigger gen ed classes. I study a lot, and I think a lot of students do too. Class participation is pretty common. Pitt students have intellectual conversations out of class. In particular the students I know, who tend to be involved in campus activities. The most unique class I have taken is Quechua (an indigenous language of the Andean region). I spent time with my professors. I am the research assistant of one of them and working on an honors thesis with another one. My Spanish classes are mostly learning for its own sake, but linguistics classes are more geared towards real world application.

All my professors know my name. Although some classes are very large and you will just be one in the crowd unless you work to get to know your profs. I love all my chem classes. Least favorite..this horrible Africana Studies class, loved the material, hated my prof. Students study alot, the library is always packed around exam time but people have a good balance. Class participation is common in smaller classes but not in lecture style classes. Intellectual convos are common about everything..science, philosophy... Students are not very competitive, I don't know anyone who is "cut-throat" or would do something to hurt someone elses chances of doing well. The most unique class I've taken is "Aesthetics and Science"..really interesting, brilliant HPS professor. I am a Chemistry major and an HPS (History and Philosophy of Science) major. The chem department has tons of opportunities for everything..teaching, research, volunteer work, student groups. Excellent advising, very friendly. HPS..not so much, brilliant faculty, but less acessible. I see professors outside of class during office hours occasionally or just in passing. The academic requirements are pretty rigorous, quite a few gen. eds...perhaps a few to many history/foreign culture. Pitt is def. geared towards learning for its own sake..its a liberal arts school.

I don't like that Pitt doesn't allow you to get dual degrees unless you take 30 extra credits. I don't like that Pitt doesn't offer a Spanish minor or a Psychology minor. I would say that students study every day for at least 1-2 hours. Class participation is very common. Cross-cultural communication is the most unique class I've taken. I don't spend time with professors outside of class unless I need help.

Professors will know your name and will be willing to work with you and help you as long as you make an effort, go to their office hours, send them an email from time to time, and just generally let them know you actually care about their class. Class participation isn't super common, so if you participate it will definitely set you apart and often influence your grade and a professor's willingness to cut you a break. I would venture a guess that Pitt students study more than the average college student, but not too much. We always save time for having fun and what college student is a huge procrastinator anyway. Students only really seem to have three modes. Either you're a slacker, or you're competitive, or you're ridiculously, unnecessarily competitive. Every program has it's share of people who are so competitive that it pisses everyone off, even their professors. Arts and Sciences, particularly PoliSci and History, seem to have a lot of these people. I'm a PoliSci and Russian major and both are really great departments. We definitely end up spending a good amount of time outside of class with our profs in the Russian Dept and to a lesser degree the PoliSci dept. I've always felt that at Pitt the general education requirements are meant to be more difficult than the courses in one's major, at least that's the way it's been for me. I think the education at Pitt, as cliche as it sounds, is really what you make of it. It's such a big place with so many different opportunities that you have a lot of freedom to pave your own way. If you're dead set on being job ready, then there's a way to do that here, and if you just want to expand your horizons, you can do that too. I've been pretty successful at doing both. I'm really happy with my education from Pitt. I feel well prepared for grad school and a career after that.

Some professors, mostly in your major, will learn you name and can offer help and guidance. Rob Ruck's U.S. since 1945, very interesting class taught by my favorite Professor.