Oregon State University Top Questions

The great thing about being an English major is the classes are so small that you get to know your classmates really well. The bad thing about being an English major is the classes are so small that if you don't know the answer to something, the professor will call on you, by name, to respond anyway. But that's what going in to talk to your professor will get you - a working relationship with them. OSU has a lot of diverse classes. Underwater Basket Weaving? Of course that will come in handy some day! Country Western Swing? I would look silly busting out my breakdancing at the country bars, now wouldn't I? But my favorite class so far has been a Disney film class with an emphasis in women's studies. I will never look at Belle and Beast's relationship the same, or watch Peter Pan without being distracted by blatant racism. Even through fun classes like these, the professors make sure to teach us how to apply these skills and knowledge to the real world. The bacc-core classes give a broad knowledge of everything in order for the students to find what they are passionate about and become well-rounded. The upper-division courses are geared specifically to your area of study and help hone your abilities to get a job with your degree.

Academics play a major role in campus life at Oregon State. All of my professors know me by name. I am currently a New Media Communications major which has grown two fold since I started at Oregon State back in 2008. Even with the growth the professors do an amazing job with larger class sizes. Over the course of my four years at Oregon State I have found that applying yourself is key to succeeding at this university, and most professors are willing to spend extra time with you to help you reach whatever goals you have in the realm of academia.

Oregon State University is a large public school, but for my first term I didn't have one lecture class. The biggest class I had was probably 40 students. That is excellent. Each professor knew my name and I could tell they wanted me to succeed in their classes. Students are constantly studying. The study room on my floor always has students in it. Students leave in groups to go to the library and study, and my roommate and I work on homework together. Class participation is at first a scary thing because it's a college class, but once you commit to it, participation is a sure way to completely understand a subject and show the professor how intelligent you are. I have intellectual conversations with friends outside of class because we all love to stimulate our minds in new ways. I am an English major and a science and technology oriented school. I love it because the liberal arts degrees are few and far between, allowing me to grow closer with the professors and establish connections. The most interesting class I've taken so far is Shakespeare. I loved the class. The professor taught new and innovative things about Shakespeare I would've never known before. The education the professors and administration provide at Oregon State definitely prepares students for a job. It teaches the importance of time management, following directions, reading, writing, and speaking - all skills necessary for attaining and maintaining a career.

Class sizes at Oregon State are pretty decent overall. There are those general courses (which we all have to take) which have a poor student to teacher ratio but most classes aren't that way. The professors I've taken courses from are ridiculously helpful. Of course, there are also the scatterbrained, the unorganized, the indifferent, and the strict professors. There are professors I wish I had never taken a course from, but there are also professors who make you laugh and make you want to pay attention in class. My Art 101 professor last year was that kind of teacher. The top scorer on the midterms would get a copy of Mariah Carey's movie, Glitter, while the student with the second highest score on the midterm received TWO copies of Glitter! Moments like these are the kind of moments I will never forget. Our professors are crazy and loud and comical and that's all great, but they also really want to see us succeed.

The academics vary dramatically. An introduction-level Biology course can contain upwards of two-hundred people, while an upper-division English or Writing course might have as few as eight. The larger classes often are paired with smaller labs that are taught by Graduate Students or higher-standing Undergrads. These labs can be very intimate, as everyone can learn the names of everyone else. The larger classes tend to have the numbers of students dwindle until there is a test, indicating the diversity of students: those who are there for the grade, those who desire to learn, those who are willing to study, and those who simply do not care. There isn't any competition as far as grades go except between friends. I spent the majority of my time in the English Department, and it was there that i had some of my best experiences with my favorite professors. I never spent any time with my professors outside of class (regretfully), but I am aware that many of them would have been more than willing to do so. They all wanted to make sure that I understood the material, were very helpful, and were simply wonderful people to be around. My advisers helped to steer me in the right direction, and they always had their own feet on the brake to avoid a wreck by willingly making acceptable exceptions for requirements to help me along the way. The school allows students to pick between several courses to fulfill certain degree requirements, which is both good an bad: a student is able to experience more of the options available to her or him, but those options may not actually help in furthering her or his knowledge about the actual degree that is being worked towards. In other words, a student, if he or she chooses not to visit an adviser, may take a few classes with no relevance to his or her major or minor just to fulfill a requirement, which seems a bit paradoxical.

The great thing about being an English major is the classes are so small that you get to know your classmates really well. The bad thing about being an English major is the classes are so small that if you don't know the answer to something, the professor will call on you, by name, to respond anyway. But that's what going in to talk to your professor will get you - a working relationship with them. Along with becoming friends with professors, classmates have are some of my closest friends in college. There's a study hall in each department where students can discuss current issues, complain about the paper that's due in a week, or grab a quick nap before class starts. It's not just limited to liberal arts classes, though. Because science and math classes are typically in lecture halls with 400 other students, the only way to get to know your classmates is by joining a study group or hanging out in the study room. OSU offers a variety of classes that span a wide spectrum of interests. Underwater Basket Weaving? Of course that will come in handy some day! Country Western Swing? I would look silly busting out my breakdancing at the country bars, now wouldn't I? But my favorite class so far has been a Disney film class with an emphasis in women's studies. I will never look at Belle and Beast's relationship the same, or watch Peter Pan without being distracted by blatant racism. Even through fun classes like these, the professors make sure to teach us how to apply these skills and knowledge to the real world. The bacc-core classes give a broad knowledge of everything in order for the students to find what they are passionate about and become well-rounded. The upper-division courses are geared specifically to your area of study and help hone your abilities to get a job with your degree.

I think most of the academics favor science and engineering. There's not much of a scene for writing or humanities. I think it's fairly easy to get internships or part time jobs, especially with all of these little shops opening up everywhere.

It depends on the class for the professor to know your name. If you're taking GED classes, like math or BACC core classes, which are huge, then they probably won't. But classes like spanish, or any specialty classes, which are pretty small, the chances that the teacher will know you and notice if you're not in class are pretty high. My favorite class so far has been Human Sexuality with Dr. Kathy Greaves. She makes an interesting topic even more interesting and entertaining.