University of South Florida-Main Campus Top Questions

Academics is probably the main reason why I chosed this university, their finance major is one of the most well structured. Giving you a competitive view and the right tools to open your own path.

The college experience is what you make of it. If you regularly participate and are involved in class the teachers will know who you are. There are a lot of great opportunities that USF offers to help you grow as a person such as the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement. If you are looking for something chances are you will find it here.

I like the academics here. Not every teacher is going to know you name, but that is how it is like with almost all colleges. In your lecture classes, it is impossible for the teacher to know every students name. In all of my regular classes, the teacher knows all the students names. I feel as though students study a decent amount. We don't have our head in the books all the time. We find the perfect balance of fun and studying. I think that the school's academic requirements are fine. They aren't too extreme and they aren't too easy. I believe the academics here overall are great.

Classes are very impersonal. Most professors will never meet you - though they do make themselves available if you have any questions. My favorite class was Business Law - the professor didn't make us memorize things we didn't need to know, but instead focused on the core of the class and taught us through his experiences...it was more interesting than reading hundreds of pages of irrelevant topics to cram for an exam built on content we didn't care to remember. It was a 3-hour night class, but I did not mind attending - and laughed frequently. My least favorite class was Business Management - the professor was awful. He made us learn all these useless facts about management that were obvious to anyone and made us attend every class - offering over 400 points of extra credit to attend. He did this so every student would evaluate him well despite the fact that the university is pushing to have him kicked out of tenure. Tied for this is Japan Today - class taught by a Chinese professor who had absolutely no knowledge about Japan and wasted time in pointless Japanese language lectures where he incorrectly taught the language (corrected by students). He also tried to buy students off with As...and was reported in the news for stealing money from the university recently for research grants where he was actually vacationing around the USA and in China. Most people attend class the first day and then it varies depending on the class structure. If the classes are lecture dependent, then students attend, but many classes are easier spent studying outside of class with notes posted online. I would say plenty of students have intellectual conversation outside of class. They aren't super competitive - most people are more concerned with doing well personally than beating other students. I'm not too happy with the Business department - they have been somewhat unhelpful in my academic career at USF and I wouldn't really recommend the program to incoming students. I have never spent time with professors outside of class. The academic requirements continue to increase every year - which I think is a little unfortunate, but a reality of a more competitive high school field of students and the drive for the university to build a better alumni base. I think education is more for learning for its own sake here.

Academics are very accommodating to a student's interest. There is flexibility about degree change; and the classes are mind stimulating and quite challenging. USF Honors College is extremely helpful and motivational. Students are exposed to guest lecturers from different fields who are willing to take in questions from students. The students are competitive but it is healthy competition; where everyone wants to do great things, but not necessarily harming others. Professors have plenty of office hours, although not all of them. For the majority of time, professors are readily available. As far as knowing the students' names, professors have a hard time because of the number of students in a certain class. For example, Honors classes are usually small, so the professor ends up learning your name; however in large lecture classes, there can be up to 150 students; it is up to the student to go to the professor's office hours and establish a relationship.

Classes on campus range from being a huge lecture hall with 350 students where interaction with the teacher is limited to office hours, to small classrooms with anywhere from 10-30 students where you get a more personal relationship with the teacher and other students. Students are motivated by the teachers to do the best that they can. I feel like the teachers here care about us and our academic success. My department is the psychology department. I feel like because its one of the largest on campus, its important to spread yourself out and get to know as many teachers and students as possible. Its important to keep your grades up and get involved in academic clubs for your major. I feel like the school in general has great requirements that need to be met. They insure that you are going to learn more than your major and encourage a minor. This is good though because you'll learn more!

USF offers a wide variety of majors from Marketing to Psychology to Biochemistry. Its students are dedicated and studious, and benefit from a very prestigious faculty. USF's academic standards are high and push students to be the best that they can be.

Like at any big university you're going to have those large lectures. To get to know the professor you're going to have to make the initiate to be known by them. It's kind of tough but worth the effort because you never know when you'll need a recommendation letter for grad school or an internship. I see a lot of students at the library and I like going there myself. Academics do depend on what field you're entering. I'm in the College of Arts and Sciences with a major in Psychology and a minor in Gerontology. I feel, for the most part, the curriculum is challenging. I feel like our faculty is very proficient in whatever subject they are teaching. Even our grad students who teach, I feel, are very knowledgable in their subject areas too. Each professor I have had likes to incorporate some time into helping students figure out what they can do with the degree they are seeking. This I find very useful.

Academics are excellent. Great professors who care and take the time to make you interested in the material. I love my Spanish class tho most. It is common and frequent that students can go to the professors office hours.

Most of the teachers that I have had at USF have been extremely helpful and do what they can to help you out in the class and prepare you for the future. A lot of teachers will post test scored of the entire class online, without student names of course, so that you can want to excel and do better in the class or be proud of the grade you received; this allows students to get a feel of how they are doing compared to the rest of the class and if they need to step it up a notch. All of my teachers are very responsive through internet or on campus during their specified office hours. I am an Accounting major and I could not be happier with the teachers that I have had; they are all providing us with the material we will need to know in our future jobs and also for future exams we may need to take(CPA.) USF if also known for their outstanding health department and MBA programs. There is always there fair share of teachers that just aren't as helpful or do not teach in a way that you can comprehend; luckily you have a few weeks from the first day of class to figure this out and drop the class for a full refund. I have been lucky enough to only have one incident like this.