University of Southern California Top Questions

In the smaller classes, the professors know my name and they are all excellent. In the larger classes, most of them don't, and there is not a huge incentive to get to know the professor since they don't have a huge effect on your grades. The relationship with your TA is the most important. I would like to get to know the professors in my major, but since cinema classes are so huge there is some isolation, I get the feeling somehow that they are too important and busy to talk to me.

In smaller classes, teachers of course know your name. In big classes, it really depends on whether you want to be known. I was in a class of about 300 people, but I never raised my hand, and so the professor never knew my name. However, he learned probably about 50 names by the end of the semester, and those were the names of the kids who raised their hands. If you want to be known, it's easy. If you don't want to be known, that's pretty easy, too. My least favorite course is WRIT140. It's the required writing class for freshmen, and it's a complete pain in the ass. I don't feel like there's any pressure TO study or NOT to study. If you want to study, there are plenty of quiet places on campus to do that. But if you don't want to, there are plenty of ways to distract yourself. 'Forced' class participation is rare, but a possibility, so watch out for those professors if you don't like to do your readings before class--or if you like to sleep in class. Conversations with fellow students outside of class, honestly, range from "I threw up like, three times last night" to "I really feel Barack Obama's diction and advanced use of rhetoric define him as a man unable to be trusted." A lot of professors make themselves available outside of class, and in general, it's really easy to get a hold of them to discuss homework, exams, or life. The academic requirements (the 'general education') is extremely lenient, in my opinion. Yes, you'll have to take a course that involves science in some way, but it doesn't necessarily have to be just plain Biology, Chemistry, or Physics. I took ASTR100 (The Universe) last semester. It was the first astronomy course I'd ever taken, and it wasn't until I did that I realized I had such a passion for astronomy. People in other majors and departments may disagree, but I feel that most of the courses I've taken have been geared towards learning for its own sake. Most professors recognize, even on exams, that, for example, if you're working on a movie set, no one's going to ask you to write a formal definition of three-point lighting, but that it IS a good thing to know.

Though they may be laid back, USC students take academics really seriously. The library is open 24 hours a day and there are always people there. People rarely skip classes. The education is more geared toward learning than it is to getting a job. I've only been here one semester and I've already had many ong intellectual conversations with people.

The class sizes from my experience range from 6-200, depending on how specialized the class is. If you are looking to have an academic experience where the teacher remembers your name, then you will have to make some effort by sitting in front and reciting. That would probably be the same at any school though. Professors range from brilliant, funny, to downright cooky. It pays to do some research before registering for a class with a certain professor. Ask around or check www.senatecourseguide.com - a site dedicated to professor ratings and reviews by students.

In smaller classes professors do know your name. Depends on which major, but this is a common occurrence. My favorite class is History of China since 1600. The professor has incredible credentials and the class is structured as a discussion. At first I wanted her to lecture more, but gradually I've realized that having discussions and debates has provided for a much more worthwhile and memorable learning experience. Students study often, but the thing more notable is that students are smart about studying. They may not study for hours, but they'll study what needs to be studied. Many students do have intellectual conversations outside of class. The vast majority of students at USC are very smart and have intellectually stimulating opinions. Competitiveness depends on major. For instance, business and engineering majors are very competitive. USC seems to encourage teamwork, as opposed to rivalries, so most students are USC seem to be more friendly and cooperative than strictly competitive. History of China since 1600 since it's mostly interactive based. Economics and East Asian Languages and Cultures double major, with a minor in Business. Aside from the occasional office hours visit I don't spend time with professors outside of class. USC's academic requirements are well structured, especially with the mandatory writing classes. Again, depends on the department, but I think more than half of the classes are more geared towards getting a job. USC classes tend to focus on what you need to know, as opposed to drowning students in theory and postulations.

Yes the professors know my name. Actually, today, I had a professor request that I come to his office so that we could talk about a project that I have to do that is 1/3 of my grade. He had heard from the TA what I wanted to accomplish with my project, and he wanted to talk to me more in-depth about it. He is also trying to help me move my final so that I can go to a family event.

i have had good and bad classes, good and bad professors. overall they are good and i learn a lot. i am a business major and the business classes are good, but more importantly the business school does a great job of preparing you for your career and getting you the right connections.

I would say my professors definitely know my name- a lot of them download our student id pictures from the class directory and know us all by name by around the third week of class (less if it is a small class). My favorite classes so far have been Fluid Dynamics and Risk Analysis for Civil Engineers. I liked fluids because the material was interesting and the professor was VERY energetic. I liked Risk because it combined civil engineering concepts with probability, which was an interesting and useful bridge to make. I also liked Social Issues in Gender because the material was easy to relate to and the professor really enjoyed teaching the class. Studying time ranges depending on the major and the student. Engineers, like me, have to study a lot because we constantly have homework due and concepts we need to grasp before we can move on in the material. Pre-meds and other sciences study a lot too- but really it all depends on the major and even more so on the student. I date a mechanical engineer who doesn't study anywhere near the amount that my political science roommate does. I'm going to skip to the competitive question- while USC students are driven to succeed and do well in their classes I would not call the atmosphere competitive. In engineering we know that we need our peers to get through our work- sometimes they are the best teachers because they will spin a new perspective on a concept. Our teachers also encourage collaboration- there is no bell curve or any such thing in my classes. Civil Engineering is anything to do with infrastructure- bridges, buildings, roads, water distribution systems, city design, transportation/ traffic routing, etc. I'm studying civil engineering with an environmental emphasis so I also learn about water treatment (mechanism and design of those systems) and air quality.

So far, I have loved my academic experience at USC. Because I am an outgoing student who puts emphasis on building relationships with my professors, I would say a majority of my professors have known my name. My creative writing major requires a lot of exceptionally small classes, which studies have shown to obtain better learning retention rates than large, lecture based classes, so I definitely feel like I am getting an invaluable academic experience at USC. While I must admit some of my GEs have been quite unbearable (mostly the ones completely out of range of my major - science, etc), I have learned from some of the most amazing professors I could have imagined. I took ENG262 from a man who actually speaks like a textbook (but in a good, genius-like way), and he recently invited all his students to attend a play that he wrote. I love that my professors are recognized, respected academics, and that they make an effort to maintain relationships with students. Most of my classes, even the mainly-lecture-based ones, have included a lot of class discussion and participation, and I feel like this really helps me learn and remember the information being hurtled at me. The most interesting class I've taken so far is probably the arts and letters GE that I took titled "The Monster and Detective in Literature and Film" with Leo Braudy. While the class did tend to get a bit tedious at times, I thought it was so cool that I got to go in depth on two similar genres and study their development in both literature AND film. Usually literature professors don't think that film is a valid field of study and vice versa, so I thought the combination of genres was so helpful in understanding the topic - as well as unique. My major is basically awesome, and I wish it got more positive advertising. I tell people that I'm a creative writing major, and they get these looks on their faces that basically say "that's a joke major" and then they ask "so what are you planning on doing with that when you graduate?" I feel like a lot of people think that unless you're a business, pre-med, film, or engineering major, you are studying something useless, and I would love to see more positive advertising for all the unique studies offered at USC. I have some of the most accomplished professors on campus who I have built relationships with outside of the classroom, and I wish people would appreciate and respect all the hard work that I choose to put into my "joke of a major." Also, I think that students at USC are incredibly dedicated to academics, and the levels of competitiveness depend on the area of study. The students in my business classes (I'm a business minor) are super competitive because they are compared to each other when it comes time to grade, but the students in my English classes are much more supportive because they are graded on a less competitive basis. Students here are also very academically invested, and I hear intellectual conversations outside of the classroom on a daily basis. I actually usually participate in one on a daily basis. Even at parties people talk about intellectual topics. That's one of the reasons that I love the students here - a large majority of them are intelligent and intellectual.

Professors know your name, even semesters after you've taken them. My favorite class was American Literature because the professor knew how to relate everything we read to its own time, the present, and the personal lives of himself and the students. My least favorite class was Biology and Chemistry. Being pre-med sucked. Students study fairly often but there are still slackers. The same people will participate in class. In the right circles we discuss materials outside of class. Students are competitive in certain departments like science or business administration. I took a class in the Thematic Option Honors Program about conceptual systems that had reading ranging from Hawking's Universe in a Nutshell to Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury. The English department has some standout professors and some arrogant intellects, all of which seem to be qualified. Each professor is allowed to interpret the class description how they see fit and so no two classes are ever alike. I try to spend time with professors outside of class and most are open to it. USC needs stricter GE guidelines like Columbia's because every students graduating from this university should be culturally literate and as of now, they are not. I think it depends on the majors and the professors.