University of San Francisco Top Questions

Most professors know us by name. My favorite class was business law with professor Griffis and my least favorite classes are the accounting classes taught by Neilson and Roberts. Students are constantly studying throughout the week. Class participation is very common due to the small class sizes. I am an accounting major - part of the business department - and I would say I am getting a lot out of this major. The networks that USF has with the San Francisco community is AMAZING. The education at this school is definitely geared toward BOTH getting a job and learning.

I've been fortunate to have had teachers that are both inspirational and easy to approach especially in my Philippine studies courses. There have probably been one or two teachers that have put a damper on my my college experience. When its time to register for classes, be sure to talk with previous students rather than rely on rate my professor. Overall, the classes here attempt to engage you in every way possible and for the most part challenge you to do more than just learn.

One of the great things about USF's academics is that you know your professors and they know you. Rather than being one of 100 you actually are treated as a person in class and have the ability to ask questions or bring up interesting points.

This is a normal college experience when it comes to academics - although it is a small school, the classes are challenging and the ones specific to my major are difficult but also are teaching me things that I am already applying to nursing.

Academics at USF are pretty rigorous. I am a sociology student and the department is pretty small, which is great for me. All of the faculty are very hands-on and friendly. They know my name, even though I've only had one of the professors so far. I will say that it really depends on your major. My friends vary from nursing students to communications majors and they all have different ranges of academic intensity. But the one thing that helps is how involved faculty gets. These professors really want you to learn. They would rather have you get a B in class but really learn everything than be able to get straight As and walk away with little knowledge. One of the most interesting classes I've taken is for my performing arts credit. It was a class on Popular Dance Cultures and Subcultures. We learned about all different types of dance and even went into the city to take a Tribal Bellydancing class because our professor wanted us to really experience it. We all had a lot of fun and learned a lot, plus it was a full 4-credit class that was a great break from the rest of my academics.

Yes, the professors do know you by name. Most of the time the max. amount of students in a classroom will be 35-40. As a nursing major, some of my theory classes have had 45-50 students, which makes it a bit more difficult to interact with the professor(s); however, the professors are very flexible and truly care about the you (the students) education, so they often will meet with you and work around your schedule.

USF is a school where you can get as much or as little as you'd like out of it academically. I know people who scrape by doing the bare minimum and then say that they think the school is easy. That's probably true for some; however, the teachers (in my program, anyway) are excellent and eager to teach and those students who want make the most of their experience have the tools to push themselves.