Emerson College Top Questions

Classes at Emerson have been pretty good. Class load of four classes a semester is, I think, the best choice. Worst classes so far have been Discovering Journalism and Contemporary Ethics - both have wonderful, helpful teachers but who fail to cover the correct subject matter at hand and tend to go off on tangents, and frankly it's hard to stay awake (But Donna Halper is absolutely awesome, as is Tom Cooper, they just need to wake us up!) I feel like being a freshman sucks cuz the few required courses you need are all shoved in at first, and I'll be honest, at least in the Journalism department, the required beginners Journalism courses (JR101, JR102) are pretty much a joke.

Yes, the professors knew my name. My favorite classes were workshops, since I got to show off and get some feedback on what I've been doing. I guess some students are competitive, but I never really noticed. Yes, Emerson students have intellectual conversations outside of class. I think one of the most interesting classes I took was Novel Into Film. Essentially, you read novels, watch films and compare the original to the adaptation. The WLP dept. is ok. Bill Knott is the shit and some of the other profs are ok, but by and large they seemed like dorks and I was a bit unimpressed with some of their writing, but that's a matter of personal aesthetics. Never spent time with profs out of class. Requirements are easy to fulfill. I don't know if Emerson is geared toward getting jobs- many people needed to do internships to complete their major, but I was studying poetry, so I wasn't really going to get a job anyway.

All the classes are small at Emerson so if you're even a shy student (like I was) all of the professors still know you by name. My favorite class at Emerson was my 200 level Writing Class with Jill McDonough. It was my first creative class at Emerson, my first semester there, so I was scared out of my mind. Jill was calm, relaxed, energetic, extremely outgoing, kind of offensive, constantly swearing and funny as hell. We all spent every day "workshopping" (praising and criticizing each other's works) laughing our asses off. I have never liked the workshopping process, but this introductory class made me more at ease my first semester. I felt close to just about everyone in my class because of it. My least favorite class was Shakespearean Comedy with Henry Dewitt. I love Shakespeare and had always wanted to take this class, so I was very disappointed. Henry picks favorites and picks on you if you're not one of them. He made me re-write just about every paper because he didn't like my "style" even though he claimed I was the one in need of tutoring (when in every other class I had at least a B+). People are always studying at Emerson. The library is always packed with students who live off-campus who don't want to waste a T Ride home, who would rather get work done. In class participation is a must. Every class has at least one egotistical guy who answers every comment personally. Like I said before, if you are pretentious, Emerson is the place for you! There are many people who have intellectual conversations outside of class. It's almost a contest; it's like everyone is fighting to be the more knowledgeable speaker even if you are talking about McDonald's french fries. It gets kind of old fast. Students are extremely competitive! It's an arts school! The most unique class I ever took was my "Novel Into Film" class took with Richard Chetwynd. That guy is the man! If you go to the castle you HAVE to take a class with him. He is an old hippie who is extremely offensive & humorous. I will never forget such comments as "Taking a Dew Bath" & "Phillip the Parasite" for as long as I live. Emerson's academic requirements are either really easy or really precise depending on what your major is, and if you want a BFA or BA. BA's are usually very easy with a lot of variety in the classes you take. BFA's have many requirements and are often stressful to get all of the classes done in time. Emerson is definitely about learning for it's own sake. I have graduated and I definitely had a lot of trouble getting my first job. Emerson does not have any class on computer office basics, math is only required if you bombed the SATs, Foreign language is never required of transfer students, and history/science can easily be a joke class. If you go to Emerson, you have to want a job like in Theatre, Film etc. or your degree is absolutely useless. My Major was Writing Literature and Publishing or WLP for short. It's better than majoring in just english because you have to write creatively, read important literature, and learn about the publishing process all together. You are more prepared for a real world writing/design career than you are to be an English teacher, like at a lot of colleges. I never liked my major because I always felt that the egotistical kids would destroy your artwork, just to make themselves look better. During workshops, you rarely felt like all of the comments were about bettering your piece

All of your professors know your name. Your classes are super small, which is great, unless you like to sleep in class. Emerson kids are generally pretty smart and don't really study very often. However, if you take a Mike Brown class, you better prepare to work your ass off. In general, this school will prepare you for a career, but like all things in life, it's also about how much you put into it yourself.

Classes are small. Professors know you, you can talk in classes. Your largest class will be with 45 kids. Average is about 15-20 though. They are not that hard, but what you learn is necessary. You will learn the most about your major and your career through the co-curriculars.

I actually find that I enjoy academics at Emerson. I'm consistently provided with challenges in the courses I have taken. Some of the professors are idiots, but that's common pretty much everywhere.

The classes are small enough so that the professors get to know you. I love my Forbidden Knowledge; I've never been so challenged to think critically in my life! My professors are nice, down to earth, and easily accessible. Emerson's requirements are fair and manageable. I have an awesome department; I'm majoring in Studio Television Production, and I belong to the Department of Visual and Media Arts. We get e-mails all the time about workshops, screenings, job offerings, internships, reel reviews, etc.

All of my professors know my name this semester, and it's really rare to find a "lecture" type class at Emerson, although I had one last semester. My favorite class I've taken thus far was my theater appreciation class, which had a lot of improv and student performance so you really got to know every student individually. My professor was great, too. My least favorite class so far was my Religion in Eastern Cultures class, but mostly because of the professor who was very hard to understand (because of her accent and because she often went off on tangents about really philosophical and abstract points) and because it was 8:30 AM on Monday, Wednesday & Friday which is a hard time to learn about religion and philosophy. I feel that students study really often, even my pothead suitemate studies for her tests. Class participation is really common, sometimes it feels like people don't shut up in class. Intellectual conversations are really common; once I talked about religion and life with some friends while we were completely drunk. Students here are pretty competitive, especially the theater students, and it seems to come from a kind of arrogance that everyone here possesses from being that "smart" or that "different" kid in high school. The most unique class I've taken is my honors class, which combines literature, poetry, theory and all kinds of creative pieces for a really all-encompassing education. My major is writing, literature & publishing, and I'm really focusing on the "publishing" part of it. We focus a lot on writing/ poetry workshops and discussion classes as opposed to lecture-type classes. I've never spent time with professors outside of class, but I could definitely picture myself doing so. Emerson's academic requirements are pretty extensive, you need to take a lot of core classes, especially in the honors program, but they take almost all APs so it's easy to place out of them. The education is definitely geared towards a "rounded" education in the first year or two, but after that, it's pretty much focused on your major & internships and getting a job afterwards.

The most important factor of Emerson classes is the class size. The "lecture" size classes are perhaps fifty students maximum and even then there is still a great emphasis on student participation and discussion. Most of my classes are small, around twenty people, which provides for great professor-student relationships. Each class depends greatly on student involvement and, since Emerson as a whole focuses on communication, I have felt that my confidence in participating in class had grown leaps and bounds since arriving here. Professors encourage communication with them outside of class but beside the occasional email correspondence I have yet to develop a close relationship with any of my professors. This could be because I have not found one I particularly click with yet (although I have liked almost all of my professors) but who knows. Generally I feel like the professors are all knowledgeable in the topic they are teaching and provide an interesting point of view to bring to the discussion. Of course I have sat through many a boring class but for the most part they are interesting and often times find myself continuing the discussion outside of the classroom with my peers or even friends from home. Classes have challenged my way of thinking and seeing the world.

All of my professors know my name here at Emerson, and I wouldn't want it any other way. With so many networking opportunities post-graduation, its good to have a basis of professional mentors one can call up for a reference. My favorite classes have all been related to my major - they stimulate my interests and motivate me to discover more about my chosen field of study. Even my required classes are interesting - sociology about tattooing and piercing, a service-based humanities class focusing on the prison system and homelessness, and a history class that involves a trip to a stripping class. The marketing communications department is always offering guest speakers and workshops to help its students build contacts and develop a presence within the major. The education here is definitely geared toward working post-graduation, and most students do get work. If a student is lazy and unmotivated and does not take advantage of our opportunities, they will have a harder time.