Ohio University-Main Campus Top Questions

So far as I am concerned, the academics here are great. Professors go out of their way to make sure they know you, and you can always have a great conversation with them.

My major is forensic chemistry. Some of the classes are quite difficult. I spend a vast majority of my time studying. My favorite classes have been the Law Enforcement Technology courses. Class participation is present in some classes. It all depends on the size and the teaching style of different professors.

The classes at Ohio are great. My favorite class is Spanish because it's small enough to get to know everyone which helps with classroom participation and the professor to learn names. Even in lecture classes you'd be surprised to know that a lot of professors know a good amount of names. Many people that don't go here think that all the classes at Ohio are blow offs that don't require studying. I believe that most of the classes are challenging and inspire intellectual thought.

Only some professors know my name, it is all about how you participate in class. Some classes only have about 20-25 classes while others have up to 300. This means that you actually have to put forth effort to get to know professors and for them to get to know you. My favorite class has been a class called PSC 100D The Solar System. This class was over the Solar System and was a very interactive class. The Professor clearly cared about the subject and did many different things to get the students involved despite the class being fairly large in size.

There is a shit ton of reading to do, that's for sure. In every class I have to read pages upon pages of stuff. I should probably study more, that's kind of my foil, but it's one I'm attempting to amend. I love my classes for the most part, and the requirements are not so bad, but still require me to cover a broad area of subjects. I know some of the classes I have taken have resulted in very late night conversations that really made me rethink my views on certain things. The profs are pretty good about making sure you understand what's going on and how to get help if you don't.

Great

I have found the adjustment to college classes to be made incredibly easy at OU. At precollege they put you in very small groups of people from the same major as you (there were only 4 of us in the group for English and creative writing majors), and they encourage you to join the learning community for your major. You get first pick of some classes that are generally very difficult to get into, and the group makes it incredibly easy to make friends. You also take a class with your academic adviser about study habits and opportunities within your field of study. My favorite class so far has actually been Linguistics 270, but I've also enjoyed my theater class and all of my English classes. All of these classes have challenged me to analyze more than memorize material, and many of the classes I have taken encourage interdisciplinary understanding. Participation in class varies. Between fall and winter quarters, I had four classes with my learning community, and we were all incredibly comfortable with group discussion. However, in my other classes I found that people were shy around one another, even after almost 10 weeks of having been in the same class. I took an English class without anyone from my learning community this quarter, though, and I generally find that people within the major are more comfortable speaking than people outside that discipline. There are certain people whom you expect to talk and others who surprise you if they raise their hands. I do talk a lot outside of class about the things I learn in it, particularly with people from my residence hall and learning community. Religion, literature, philosophy, politics- we talk about it all. Professors at OU are extremely reachable outside of class. Most of mine respond to emails within 24 hours and they all have made their office hours very well known. Most profs also like to use blackboard, which is incredibly useful for keeping things organized. The requirements at OU are very fair and do help to keep students well-rounded. The only complaint that I have to raise is that engineering and education majors don't have to take a foreign language. I think that speaking another language (at least basically) is a skill that everyone should have.

Most of my professors know my name, yes. Linguistics 270 was my favorite class, the TA was awesome! AAS 190 was the worst, the whole premise of the class was write papers with other people and present them, even though all the papers were the same topic. I think students study often, at least some of them. Class participation is common, most of my classes demand it. We do have intellectual conversations outside of class, particularly about religion. I don't think students are very competitive. The most unique class I've taken is Religious Beliefs, because it was an intellectual discussion class. I am an Englistics major, that is I am double majoring in English and Linguistics. Both departments are sweet, and I can't complain yet. I don't spend much time with professors outside of class, but most of them are available. The university's requirements aren't bad, but some of the College of Arts and Sciences requirements seem ridiculous. My education is more geared toward learning for its own sake, but I think it depends on the student and the major.

It really depends on the teacher. I've had some teachers that bore me to death and I never even really know what they looked like until I turn in my final because I had to sit in the back of the lecture hall everyday. But I had one teacher who noticed that I loved his class by my grades and apparent eagerness that showed just sitting in his class. He talked to me outside of class and eventually convinced me to change my major. He is now my unofficial academic advisor. I also feel like I have more opportunities here. After just one quarter of PSY 101, my professor pink slipped me into PSY 390 and I'm doing research as a freshman.

Most of my professors have been doctors. All of my Englsh classes have been taught by really awesome professors who are actually very helpful when it comes to writing. The atmosphere here is really very intellectual. I've had in depth philosphical talks with almost all of my friends.