Duquesne University Top Questions

Academics in Duq are fine. I mean, I haven't learned so much about my major yet, but I can feel that everyone is hard-working here. And what's the important is, the collage offers all the great facilities for students to study.

In the music school, the class sizes are pretty small. Sometimes it felt like high school, because all the teachers knew everyone's name and were very involved with everyone's progress. I guess it's a good thing, but it can get annoying at times.

My major is sociology and i really like it and the teachers in the department. Since the school is smaller the teachers are able to get to know students more and actually know their names and remember them. People are always participating in class too which makes them more interesting. IT is not like highschool where everyone is afraid to speak and you just have to sit and listen to the teacher. The proffesors here like to make class fun and they actually have a lot of interest in what they are teaching and they know what they are talking about. THey are also always there after class to give their students extra help that they need.

Professors know your name and also have a sign in sheet to make sure you're there... The most unique classes I've taken at Duquesne: 1. Bad Girls of Fiction and Film--so much fun! it was a 3 hr night class, we watched movies and read interesting books, and had VERY interesting and fun discussions. The assignments were fun, as well. 2. Sex, Myth, and Media--fun and interesting. We had a lot of film clips, popular magazines were brought in for discussions. Discussions were fun and interesting.

Professors almost always know our name, because of the small class sizes. A good amount of people are serious about studying, but as with most colleges there is a group of people who are there for the parties. The History Department has amazing professors with great class option. The Political Science Department's professors aren't as great, but I had a ood experience in tat department. I worked on projects with professors outstide of class, and they were very good about communication outside of class. Duquesne's requirements are reasonable and provide a diverse education.

Academics...well for science it is challenging, but the professors are always more than willing to help. Private and group tutors are available for free and are extremely beneficial! The professors work hard to make sure you are actually learning and you can tell that (most of them!) really do care. At the end of the year, every student participates in an exit interview to bash classes that are a waste of time and those that should be introduced/changed. Therefore the curriculum is always being updated to best fit students' career paths. I strongly suggest taking any classes taught by Dr. Becky Morrow - she is fantastic, dedicated, and cares more about her students/people in general than anyone I have ever met! Dr. Ludvico is also another great professor that is worth mentioning, along with Dr. McCormick and Dr. Castric. The classes are tough, but do-able if you put in the time needed. You may have weekends that leave little time for play, but it is still possible to get A's and have a life as long as you are disciplined! Except maybe for junior year...beware! Duquesne is a huuuge leap from high school. Think you can do well studying the night before an exam??? WRONG! But like I said, it is do-able and the professors as well as study body are very academically motivating.

Academics vary greatly depending on your major, I think. Some programs are highly respected, others are not as academically demanding. I am under the impression that pharmacy, nursing, and education are really good programs. Class sizes are generally small and even science lectures are small compared to other schools. For example, I had a physics class of around 100 students freshman year. Most of my other classes are around 20-30 students, and smaller for my Honors College classes and the professional preparation classes for the School of Education. I have a love/hate relationship with the School of Education. Everyone's experiences vary greatly, depending on a person's class year, specific major, professors that you get, and even the semester that you take specific courses/blocks. There are a few of the best professors I have ever had within my program. My favorite class was Educational Psychology, even though it required up to 40 page papers and tons of work. I still keep in touch with the teacher I had for that class 2 years ago.

Although any education can be defined by the effort put into it, Duquesne does not provide a well rounded nor creatively inspired education. It is biased towards the Catholic Church and deprives students of the creative learning that educational institutions ought to be striving towards.

The biology department is ok. There are not a lot of classes offered and so you will not get to take all of the classes that you want to take and there are only a few professors so if you do not like a professor more and likely you will have them again. Students are competitive. Class participation is required for core classes but for the biology classes most do not make class attendance a requirement. Duquesne is not very helpful and helping you get a job when you are done and it is very hard to get a professor to write a letter of recommendation in a timely manner.

I have had the most fantastic professors at Duquesne. Each and every one of them know your name and care how well you learn the information. They also love what they're teaching so they are more than enthusiastic which definitely helps, especially in the early classes. You'll have a bad professor here or there, I suppose, like every other school, but I never had one in my years there. They are also very open to speaking with you outside of class. They love when you come to their office hours with a question or just to talk about something that's going on in the class. The entire university simply wants you to learn. They want you to get a good job, too, but they realize there's much more to education than that. As far as the Psychology department goes, it is one of the only human-science undergraduate departments in the country. It focuses more on understanding the meanings people make in their lives as opposed to doing experiments in labs, which tend to be very far from understanding actual life. Our department professors are nationally renowned in their field and know more than anyone could ever hope to. They are truly amazing people. If you're looking for a unique spin on the traditional scientific psychology, Duquesne is the place to be.