Providence College Top Questions

Classes are small so all of my professors have known my name and have shown interest in every student's class performance. I have really enjoyed all of my classes thus far exept the dreaded DWC- a class that meets everyday for your first two years of school. For a requiremnet, this class is rediculiously time consuming and difficult. BUT you do learn a lot of interseting things that could make it exciting to travel to Europe someday. It includes an indepth study of art,music, theology, history, philosophy, and literature. The "done with civ" t-shirt that I just recieved was the best purchase I've ever made.

Civ

Because of the size of PC, academics are very personal and much more discussion based rather than lectures. The professors and advisors get to know you and your major becomes a close group of colleauges and friends. The library will always have people in it, even on the weekends and tends to be a bit too small during exam period. In my major, Political Science, it is entirely based on class discussion and paricipation is necessary and usually more than 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of you grade. The classes offered do not tend to be very experimental or interesting, so pick a major that will hold you attention, the electives are lacking. PC has a large amount of requirements and religion takes up alot of them. Many people find the Catholic religion classes, which there are 2 semesters requirements for, boring and repetitive becuase many PC students come from atleast 4 years of previous Catholic education. The ethics core is also religiously based and there is a component of Civ that is religious. Civ is what PC is notorious for, a double credit class that meets 5 times a week for 2 years and focuses on the start of civilization to modern times, broken up into history, philosophy, literature and religion. While many complain about it, it was my favorite part of PC- it is lecture based 4 days out of the week and easy to coast through, it summarizes everything you have learned since elementary school and makes the transition to college easier, since only 4 classes are required a semester when Civ is taken.

Great teachers who care about students' success

All professors learn their students' name, except in DWC which is too large to know EVERYONE. Extra help is always offered and almost always extremely helpful. My favorite class has been Music Theory I and II, because the professor is hilarious as well as knowledgeable, allowing her class to be laid-back and have fun while still maintaining the syllabus' requirements and giving fair exams. Students are always in quiet lounges, the library and the chapel basement work area. There are plenty of places to study no matter whether you're the kind of student that needs absolute quiet in a secret place or a good study group. My favorite part of PC is the music department. I love almost all the professors - my voice teacher and I are close, and I love to chat with my theory professor and my advisor in the halls. I've found more than half of my friends at school in the music department. I relate to them so well and they're the greatest group of people.

I love the classes I took at PC. My favorite classes were Intermediate German, Music and Society, and Survey of British Literature. class participation is very common and students are competitive but not overly so. i think that it's not all that common for students to have intellectual conversations outside of class or outside of studying. i'm majoring in English and minoring in Music. I really wanted to minor in German as well but with all the requirements I don't think it's feasible. i think PC is geared toward leaning for its own sake but, at the same time, it gives a well-rounded education so students are well prepared for any job.

The professors at PC are very impressive. I am frequently reminded of the quality of the academic side of PC-institution. Most of them are personable and willing to meet with students outside of class.

Almost everyone of the professors at my school has known my name. My favorite class, well I have two. My African American Women seminar this semester was amazing. It was a discussion based class where we dealt with the issue of race in today's society, relating it to issues that have been dealt with for years. There were only like 10 kids and the class and I could discuss anything that was on my mind. I also really enjoyed my Logic class where my professor really made the topic interesting and easy to learn. My least favorite class probably had to be the Theology classes that we were required to take for the first two years of school. I would say that kids get their work done no matter what. There are some students who put a lot more time and energy into their work while others get by. I would say that I study a fair share but it also depends on the week because there are some weeks where I have much less work than others. It is important that you participate in class and there are many times where students have intellectual conversations outside of class. If we take interesting classes where there are issues that we feel like talking about, I would say that we discuss it with our roomates and our friends. I don't think that the students are that competitive but they do care about their grades. The most unique class that I've taken was probably the class that I mentioned before. My African American Women class was unique because it was a seminar where the student lead the class. We talked about the diversity issue on campus and got to discuss what is going on in the world today. My major is History. The department does a good job of communication to the people who are in the department. There are many talented professors who know a great deal of history. Outside of class, my professors will acknowledge me but as far as spending time with them, I personally don't see this happening. The academic requirements are a little unfair but you get them done. I wish there were more gen. ed classes that we could take and you weren't in competition with everyone to actually get into the classes. The registration system definitely needs some work. I think that PC education is absolutely geared at getting a job but is also geared at learning it for our own sake. It is a very good Liberal Arts school so you learn a lot of stuff, including what you are going to go into when you graduate.

Every single one of your professors knows you and your name. Even in DWC you are assigned one of the four professors to meet with once a week in a smaller seminar. Participation is counted in your final grade, and teachers will call on you if you don't speak up. If you skip class, you are expected to email the teacher and makeup the missed work on your own. Many classes have attendance policies. Students are studying 24/7. Even when kids go out- and they do very often- they get their work done before so they can really enjoy themselves. Students are not competitive with anyone but themselves. Everyone is a high achiever and expects to do well regardless of how other students do. The most unique class I've ever taken was a Religion & Magic anthropology class taught by a nun. The class studied Native American, Mexican, and Asian cultures and their beliefs. They class was interesting because it was not compared against the Christian religion or judged as right or wrong. PC's academic requirements are pretty over-the-top. Although you take DWC for 2 years you have additional lit, philosophy, and theology requirements. It is possible to test out of lit , though. It may seem overwhelming but it is manageable with careful planning. Although you are told you do not need to declare your major until Junior year, that is really inadvisable. I declared a Psychology major at the end of Freshman year and was advised to take classes over the summer in order to catch up. The administration does help, a little, in providing example four-year-plans for certain majors. Undeclared advising can be pretty bad. I got a computer science teacher for mine when I was interested in anything BUT that. Declaring as soon as possible has an advantage in getting better guidance in choosing courses, and getting to register for classes in advance. PC education is learning for it's own sake; the combination of faith & reason to find the truth. A friar told my class at orientation that they will challenge us to find reasons to back up our faith...and to develop faith in facts, not merely accept them.

The great thing about PC is how intimate the learning experience is. Teachers get to know you--well, you're not just a name on a roster. Most classes are built off of class participation, enriching each class. Students are very competitive, spend a lot of time studying and engage in intellectual conversation outside of the classroom. My major and department are quite small at PC (French and the Modern Language Department) so not only did I get to know my professors on a personal level, I was close with the entire department including the department chair!