University of Washington-Seattle Campus Top Questions

Professors rarely know the names of their students in the introductory classes but once you start taking classes within the major then the class sizes decrease and the attention from the professor is increased. Class participation is common within quiz sections with the TAs which, depending on the class, occur once or twice a week. I tend to prefer classes that have quiz sections because it gives you a chance to ask questions you wouldn't be able to otherwise in a lecture sometimes as large as 700 people. I feel that the education at UW is geared towards application versus learning it for the sake of learning it.

At UW, you need to be a proactive student. If you want to get to know your professor, then go to office hours and introduce yourself. I really enjoy my political theory classes, which have about 50 students in them. They are more like discussion sessions than letures. Students are often very interested in class material. My roommate and I talk about interesting things we have learned in class. Not everyone is like this, but most students are very inerested in learning, and show this by participating in class. Washington has great academic requirements, that help you to sample man subjects and get a well rounded education. Washington really is a competitive academic institution. When you have a degree from UW it means something.

Academics at UW are overall wonderful. As a freshman, many of my classes were very large, consisting of about 200-500 students. One of the best classes I had would definitely be my Math 125 class which is Calculus. My teacher was great and really knew her information. My least favorite class would have to be Linguistics 200. I found this class to be incredibly boring and the teacher was also very boring. Her voice was very monotone which made everyone fall asleep everyday. Half of the class never showed up half of the time. The information was also very simple and not at all challenging. In the larger classes, class participation is very limited. In the smaller classes like English 131 (expository writing) there is more room to express yourself and participate. Students are very competitive; especially those who strive to major in engineering, business, or the medical feild. I am hoping to major in Journalism which means I have to apply to the Communications School this year. This school is very competitive. Overall, the academics and classes are great. The professors have been great so far. Some of the TA's have been a bit troublesome to me. Sometimes it's hard to understand what they are trying to say and it makes it very difficult.

The University of Washington holds an excellent academic standard. With one of the top medical schools in the nation, it is no small feat to gain admission to UW. Class sizes can range from 15 to 250, depending upon their content. Naturally, large seminar-style entry level classes are held in large lecture halls, but many more specific courses have smaller and more intimate settings. The best class I have taken was called "Religion, Violence and Terrorism: Patterns of Peace Across Time and Tradition." I took the course in the university's Early Fall Start program for freshmen, which takes place in the month immediately before the start of fall quarter. The class was made up of 20 students, and was strongly discussion based.

With a big school like Washington (40,000+) you may think it is difficult to get hands on with your learning, but it's the complete opposite. Not only do quiz sections allow you to voice your opinion but I have found large lectures of 400 people or more to be prime time to make yourself heard and participate in discussions with your professors and classmates. UW has a very strong academic program and great future preparation available.

Never knew TAs were that important till I got a bad one. Upper division classes get smaller and sections give you that small class feel when you need it. But some classes are dependent on how good the TA is at explaining the lecture topics. I would say 1 out of every 4 TAs is abysmal. I am double majoring in Political Science and Law, Societies, and Justice. Both liberal arts with a sociology bias since UW has no Pre-law. Way too many gen-reqs, a lot of people get screwed by having too many college credits from high school and then not being able to get into upper division courses locked off for freshman. I had 20 when i came and i was alright though. Education is geared towards knowledge for the sake of it.

Professors know your name or at least your face if you talk to them from time to time after class or during office hours. They'll know you if you take the effort to get to know them. Favorite class: upper division classes! Once you get out of the introductory courses, you start to bond with other students in the course more. My best upper division course was Muslims in America-- there were only 20 students. On the last day, I brought cookies and as a class, we stayed around talking for hours after the last bell rang. It was a great experience. Political Science: FANTASTIC once you get into the upper division courses. A few of the professors are amazing and UW is lucky to have them. It's easy to double major or add multiple minors to a Political Science major since the requirements aren't as bad as other majors and the classes often overlap with other majors. I took a lot of classes that fulfilled requirements for the Poli. Sci. degree and my minors- International Studies and Near Eastern Studies.

i'm in the honors college and the classes seem a lot easier than those offered outside the school. there are few people of color in the program and that's what makes me stay. but, professors/lecturers that lead the classes often have the expectation of quality work and good work ethic and don't grade too hard or expect too much. generally, classes in the sciences and medicine are fairly competitive because this is the mentality encouraged and continued on through the years until these people hit graduate school and are expected to take classes on "bedside manner..." that's beside the point, usually the intro classes are considered "weeder" classes and are pretty large but as you become more focused in your area of study the class sizes are generally smaller and could be as large as 10-15 people, depending on your discipline. the academic requirements are a joke at times. there needs to be a whole separate requirement for "diversity" and cultural acceptance (not to be confused with tolerance) and competancy because white male students are not aware of their privilege nor of history and often believe it doesn't affect them.

If you go to the Seattle campus there are a lot more students and classes are much larger so professors usually don't know names. If you choose to go to the Bothell or Tacoma campuses it is a lot smaller and a lot more personal and the professors definitely know you're name. Students are constantly studying. Every time you go into the library you see people everywhere, and even sitting on the floor if there are no more tables. Students are very dedicated. There are a lot of intellectual conversations outside of class, I've been engaged in many thought provoking conversations with other students about what we learned in class and our opinions on everything. The requirements here are very fair and very much the same as everywhere else, it's definitely challenging but that's what helps you learn. The professors here are very dedicated to making sure students learn and understand everything.

Depending on your major academics at UW can be really easy or depressingly difficult. My major puts me through nearly every weed out class there is, so I find myself frustrated more times than not. Most classes you don't know your professor on a personal basis, but you often have quiz sections where you get to know TA's on a personal basis. They usually know what they're talking about, but if they don't you're screwed.