College of Charleston Top Questions

From my experience, most professors here are phenomenal. Class sizes range from 5 students to 100, but I have never had a problem with professors not taking a personal interest in their students. We offer a wide range of degrees, and their are so many different forms of tutoring/after hours help programs, its hard not to do well if your genuinely trying (and regulate your partying)

The academics at the College are awesome. The class sizes are very small in most cases (I had 8 other students in my english 102 class). Each professor makes a great effort to get to know each student and meeting up with your professors socially is not uncommon. The academic atmosphere is highly competative. This pushes each student to do well and spend many hours in the library. I took a course in World Religion and my professor was very knowlegable about the subjects we studied due to her many first hand experiences around the world. Classes and professors like her help make things more interesting and add much depth to the course material.

The worst thing about the academics at C of C is the +/- system.

Students are not terribly competitive, professor's know everyone's name, town is small along with campus has a small feeling where everyone knows everyone despite large size, general education requirements are significant, lack of recruiters coming to campus from outside the Carolinas and Georgia

Professors at CofC are great! They all have office hours, and if you cannot make them, you can just speak to them about meeting another time. They're very flexible about this. Also, if a professor is not available, the Center for Student Learning in the Library is open. This Center offers tutors in a variety of subjects and if there is not a tutor available, they will find one for you free of cost for 2 hours a week!

Never studied, but now they have a stupid attendance policy so attendance is pretty much mandatory.

some professors will help...it can be very difficult at times

Classes are not easy, however if you are willing to work hard and put in the time you will be fine. Some classes are easier than others. We have smaller classes so the professors encourage you to speak up and come to them with questions during their office hours. The liberal arts experience gives me knowledge about other areas outside of my major and makes me a more knowledgeable and well rounded person. Their are tons of internships available in each department, and CofC is definitely geared toward the job market and the skills you will need to acquire.

All but one of my professors has called me by name. The one that didn't taught a strictly lecture class. Class sizes are small - about twenty students. I took ice-skating this past semester!!! It was a lot of fun. Sailing is also offered. The theatre department is the best in the state. I've learned so much already, and that's only from Acting 1 and Stage Craft! The school has the highest averages of GPA and SAT scores of all of the state public universities. The education is geared towards creating a well-rounded, self-thinking person. Critical and analytical thinking are incorporated in all classes. The goal is to get you to question what you believe so that you know why you believe it and are confident and passionate in your stand of believing and knowing it.

For normal prereq courses, the classes were rather large (70-100) students, so professors don't have the time to learn names of students. But, content courses are much smaller so the professors got to know me and I got to know them and other students. I never really heard any intellectual convos outside of class, and spending time with professors outside of class doesn't really exist much (not to my knowledge). As a BS major studying education, I heard that CofC is one the most accredited colleges and the professors really do work hard to help you. But, if you know anything about education, you know that "teaching" is not something that can be taught, so be prepared to be kind of bored during class and write tons of papers, because most of you learning will be during clinical practice and field experiences.

Professors are really helpful and friendly. There is a good student-to-teacher ratio providing a good education. Also, there is a lot of support from the Career Center to help with job exploration.

Small classes with personable professors

Most classes have at least a portion of the grade determined by participation and attendance. Many students are competative, but not to the point of being hurtfull. The education at C of C is directed to whatever you want from it.

Fairly difficult, depending on the subject.

My freshman year was probally the easiest year by far. Most of my classes were fairly small with about 8-20 students.

Academics...I could not say enough about my department (Health and Human Performance.) All professors knew all the students by name, and would speak outside of classes. They were more than willing to help and be there for the student not only for academics, but also for the life lessons that some of us have a hard time learning alone. The students in my department were very competitive with grading and projects. We all wanted to do well, and worked hard together to keep each other afloat. I would see my classmates and professors at many of the school sports events, seminars, etc. My department made seminars available for the students by bringing in guest speakers, having department meetings, and bringing us all together at least once a semester. The academic requirements were demanding, but easy to master if you just learn how to manage your time. I felt very prepared when I graduated this past year. Within one week of graduating I received a job in my field at MUSC. I have utilized something from each class within the last week at my job! It pays to pay attention!

The Academics at CofC are challenging, but give you a great sense of pride when you succeed. The professors are always helpful and the classes are small enough where you feel comfortable asking questions.

College of Charleston professors are great about making themselves available to you. Classes are relatively small, so professors do usually know your name. The honors college at C of C is amazing. It provides a way for you to meet other academically oriented kids. I highly suggest anyone that is eligible to apply and stay in buist, which is the freshmen dorm.

Every single one of my professors last year knew my name.... even in a lecture hall of 100 students. The classes are typically small... no more than 25. The only classes that are big seem to be intro science lectures. Math classes and foreign language classes and english classes are all relatively small. I'm in the Honors College, so the "intellectual conversations" and things may be more common among them than others, but I generally think people that go to cofc enjoy learning and discussing things. Other students, as well as all of the professors I've had, are very helpful. Everyone seems to want everyone else to succeed... there doesn't seem to be a lot of negative competition. I'm a biochemistry major (that's within the chemistry dept, not the biology dept). A lot of people don't know this, but CofC has the second best undergraduate chemistry program in the NATION!!! pretty impressive! I believe it too. The professors I've had have been really wonderful. Because it's a liberal arts school, you have to take a variety of general education requirements but you still get to specialize and pick a major.... so it works out for the best because you can do what you think you love and that's great, but if it ends up not being what you want to do later in life, at least you had some basics in other departments.

CofC is one of the best public schools in South Carolina, and it has a great academic reputation. I have heard from an employer that if there are two people that are applying for a job with the exact same qualifications, except one went to CofC and the other went to Clemson, he would hire the one from CofC. I believe this is true because I have talked to students that have transferred here from other institutions in the Southeast, and they claim it is much more difficult at CofC. Most of the classes only have about 15 to 30 students in them so professors usually do know your name, at least half the time. Most of the professors are very attainable by office hours or email. One of the things that I dislike about CofC is that there are so many general education courses that you have to take that you might be terrible at or not like at all, but this is the same with almost all liberal arts colleges. Also, I changed my major from Elementary Education to Hospitality and Tourism Management, which caused me to have to take another semester's worth of Gen-eds because they didn't overlap at all. So if you are considering two majors, make sure that you take the GenEds that are required for both of them first. The education at CofC is definitely geared toward getting a job, and the professors seem very open with advice on how to do that. Many of the professors in the Hospitality department, for example, were professionals in that field before they came to the College so they know what is important in the real world. I just took a Wedding Planning class that was held for the first time this summer, and I absolutely loved it. It was so interesting, and it was nice to finally take a class that nurtured my creative side and also taught me how to do business effectively. Charleston is a great place to study Hospitality because it is such a big tourist destination.

I found every class I took to be a challenge in it's own way. As i'm sure you can predict, the teacher has a lot to do with the difficulties you will face in a class. My biology 111 and 112 classes really focused on the facts, you had to know every minute detail. On the other hand, my theatre class really focused on creativity and hard work. The teacher recognized those who made the extra effort in the class. My marine geology class focused on application and understanding concepts. I found that class to be the most challenging because I couldn't just regurgitate the information. The tests asked questions about things I never learned in class, but yet I needed to be able to take what I did know and apply it to the problems. It was definetely one of the more difficult classes I took, but yet the most rewarding. I can not seem to remember half the stuff I learned in biology, where I crammed all this information in and then after the exam forgot it all, whereas I walk around like a dork referencing things and teaching my friends the things I learned in geology. My friend Ada and I always reference the strange facts we learned in that class like "Did you know that Oreos are made with titanium?" So my advice is, that no matter how challenging a class is, take a step back and think about why the professor might be teaching it the way they are, and try to get the most out of the class as you can. The classes are all what you make of them, they can be torturous or they can be educational and entertaining.

The class size at charleston is roughly small, which I think is great because it allows the students to truely get to know their professors. CofC has a great tutoring program, so if any student has any problems, they can go to the lab in the library, and people will be able to assit the student on their problems. If defiantly depends on what teacher you get when it comes to the difficulty of the class. I have had some fabulous teachers, and then some who were aweful.

Classes tend to be pretty small unless you're taking one of the big introductory classes (Bio 101, etc.), around 30 students. Professors do tend to know your name, especially if you participate in class. At the very least, they recognize you on the street when they see you. I'm a part of the Honors Business program so I get the opportunity to be in small specialized classes. Those classes have definitely been my favorite because I cared about the subject and my professors did too. The Honors College is really good at CofC, the administration will do whatever they can to help you out.

Yes, my professors know my name because I become engaged in my classes, no matter how boring. I wish the college actually had more people like me to be more engaged in class sometimes. It makes even the most boring class more interesting. Class participation is pretty good (see above). I've had many intellectual conversations outside of class. The Computer Science department is awesome. We have our own break room with computers, a plasma HDTV, video game consols, and there is always food in there. The professors and advisers will help you out at every turn and will even sit down and chit chat with you about pretty much anything. I even got hired for my current summer internship because my Java Professor, Dr. Buhler, put in a good word in for me and forwarded my resume to the right, connected people. I now see him almost everyday in the office and have learned a great deal in such a short time frame just by working and being around him. My education is geared toward getting a job (isn't that one of the side effects of going to college?), but it's not entirely about that. I've taken classes that had nothing to do with my major just because I wanted to learn more about that subject and become a more eduacted, informed, and responcible citizen in society.

The library is a very nice place to study. Each professor has a special/unique way about their classes. This helps when one teacher's style of teaching doesn't readily fit the way you are able to learn. Biology Department prepares you for the world/further education. Its diffecult in the sense that you will have to put time into it- its no piece of cake all the time.

I always say that the great thing about CofC is that you can really choose your level of academic difficulty and involvement. I love a good challenge, and I've certainly been able to find that here. I've never had a professor I didn't like, and in the two years I've been here, I've been able to form great relationships with my advisors. Class participation is encouraged, and most of the classes I've taken here have been discussion-oriented (keep in mind, though, I'm in the school of Humanities and Social Sciences, so I can't really speak for the other schools).

the education is geared toward learning, its incredible!! students party hard, but at the end of the day are pulling in incredible grades and making the most out of their experience here. the only thing that really sucks is the four semesters of a foreign language requiared for graduation. i think two is plenty!! students arent competitive with each other, but are always trying to do better than before, which is super important.

Most professor at CofC, due to small class sizes, are able and willing to learn their students names within a few weeks. I had a history professor for a general education course my freshman year, who still knows my name, says hi, and asks me how I am doing to this day, two years later. The fact that the school is a liberal arts school and requires so many general education classes in a variety of areas (from math to history to the humanities and so on) was helpful to me and my decision upon a major. I got to experience classes and fields of study in the spectrum of a liberal arts and sciences education.

The professors are amazing. Maybe I'm just really lucky, but I have had a few professors that have been great. I am a political science, Spanish, and Latin American and Caribbean Studies major. I am really tight with my poly sci professor/advisor, and really like my LACS one as well. We have had great, really heated discussions in class that reall piss some people off; they're great. You can totally go talk to professors outside of class to in thier offices, and they are always willing to help out with a problem, or just to talk. One of the main reasons I decided to come to CofC was that it has a study abroad program in Cuba. Yea, thats possible there. CofC is one of the only schools that offers it and I can not wait to go this spring. Kids definately have real conversations and arguments about topics in class too, so you can tell the people there are as excited and interested in the stuff you are learning about as you are. School is challenging, but it is not insane. You still have plenty of time to do all sorts of things that you want to, and meet tons of kids. My Spanish classes so far have not been very hard, however they are decent, and I really think they will pick up in intensity this year which I'm looking forward to.

Academics at C of C, in my opinion, are fantastic. I have had only one professor I have disliked, and I dropped out of their class pretty quick. Intellectual stimulus isn't something I find too much outside of the classroom though. A few are my friends have egghead conversations with me, but for the most part its a very laid back environment, which is good. Too much intellect makes you sick sometimes. My professors in English have also had a really good relationship with me as a student, and occasional I'll see my professors and strike up a conversation. Fairly nice.

I think class sizes at CofC are great. Once you get into the upper level classes in your major, the classes get even smaller or if you're taking a unique class without much interest. Studying is a must at the College. I usually study about an hour a day and I try to spread out my studying through out the week. Professors try their best to help you in whatever way they can and even schedule supplemental instruction appointments or office appointments if you need extra help. I feel our academic requirements are equally geared toward getting a job and also learning for it's own sake because of the liberal arts education we are provided with.

The classes are small. Students are not very competitive overall except in some majors. Finance is tough and everyone dislikes the capstone teacher and struggles to get good grades. Professors are open to and encourage visits to office hours. I feel like there are no major job prospects upon graduation from C of C.

The class size at CofC is wonderful, your professors learn their students names and continue to say "hi" when passing you on campus two years later. Class participation is common, many of the students are outspoken in class discussions. Professors are very good at making time to help students out who are struggling or students who just have questions. CofC education is geared towards getting a job, there is a huge emphasis on obtaining an internship after your sophomore or even freshman year.

The professors all know your name. Very small, close setting. If you need to contact your professors they are more than accommodating (usually). My favorite class was my first psych class with Veigel. My least favorite were the rest of them. Coming from the north, I find the academics a bit repetitive and high school level but with more work. Most students aren't competitive but do work hard to study. If they aren't there for the right reasons, they are usually weeded out by sophomore year. The academic requirements are a little much for the general classes, again a lot of classes or work but not so much substance. I think it is more of a school that is good major specific. Like I like my pysch classes and most people like their major classes but not the others.

Small class size, 20 to 30 people. Professors can tell if you aren't there the older you get. Acadmeic standards are right on, not too easy, not too hard. Most unique class at COFC - Sailing, Spoleto (Arts Festival Study)

C of C had an amazing set of facutly overall. of course there are professors who just dont connect with the class but the lack of connection doesnt mean you learn any thing less. at c of c on your first day of class, you will here 70{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the class say they are pre med, pre dental or something medically related; however that changes by the next semester. c of c has a very rigourous biology, chemistry, and physics departments, be forwarned. but they professors though they are tough, remain fair and are always there to help and offer advice, especially in the chemistry department. they are all very supportive and amazing people. myself beign one of those kids who came in premed and changed thier mind, found passion in psychology and english. my english professors have been very supportive of my writing and have truly been an asset to my time here. the psychology department has a lot to offer on the fronts of research opportunities and volunteer opportunities. at c of c, all the proffessor want the students to walk away more informed when they came in, not nessecarily in that particular subject area, but in life. knowing how to tackle problems with school work, people, and life are crucial for survival in the real world.

Yes, all of my professors know my name. The classes are generally small and professors tend to have flexible office hours for outisde questions and help. Depending on one's majore determines how often people study. I, for example, am a Biology major with hopes of going to Medical school in the near future and I study regularly and spend my share of time in the library. Students are competitive, especially in the Honors College. Students do tend to spend time with professors outside of class because most of the faculty are there to help you, the student, and will do mostly whatever it takes to help those who are willing to put in the extra effort.

The classes are pretty small, and they are what you make of them. I've never had a class that was overwhelmingly difficult, but there are a few professors whose expectations are very high. It's easy to double major, double minor, etc., and you can get a lot academically out of the four (+) years that you're here.

All of the professors try to get to know your name. Students who are at the college study like it's their job. There are some majors that don't require a lot of studying but for those who want to do well, studying is a vital part of CofC. My favorite classes were the English classes that I took. I majored in English so of course those were my favorite! Always major in something you enjoy, otherwise you are wasting time and money. I think that a few of the requirements for the degree were a bit much, personally. You have to take 4 semesters of language and that is a little steep. It is understandable but most people end up just breezing through their classes and not using it afterwards. I also hold two minors from the College and those were amazing as well.

I like most of my Communication classes, they are extremely interesting. I really think Geology sucks though. That guy I took it from gave me a D because he was being nice, my real grade would have been a Q.

The professors love to get to know you. They are very helpful and are very open and flexible. The students are studying all the time. The library is a great place where students study. Our students are very competitive, I think. Students are always having study groups for tests and projects. The most unique class that I've taken so far is Philosophy. I wasn't sure what to expect when I entered that class. I didn't do as well as I had hoped, but it was fun nonetheless. The class made you really think about things. C of C definitely prepares you for the outside world. They are very much geared towards helping their graduates get a job.

If you get a chance, take the Spoleto class. The most interesting class I've ever taken here. I love the teachers here (most of them) and most of the time, if you want an A, you're gonna have to work hard for it - meaning, being at the prof's office, at the library, showin up for class even if u're hung over and u've got a sinus infection.

The classes are small so students can get to know teachers better and work one on one. The classes are challenging (especially in science and math) but not so much that you can't have a social life. The school is becoming harder to get into and the classes are getting harder as well.

The professors at the College of Charleston are genuinely interested in the students they teach, especially if the students are interested in learning. My experience with every professor has been different, but each and every one of them has been invested beyond my expectation. The English department at the College is comprised of what can only be described as the coolest group of people you could imagine. They're all a little quirky in some way, but they are truly fantastic people who seem to teach not because it is their job but because every day they want to teach us something more than we knew yesterday.

C of C is definitely a challenging school, but with the help of the very qualified and high esteemed staff it's a well earned education!

Some pretty good professors. One problem is i don't think COFC is geared towards getting a job as it should be.

The school has just the right number of students to provide for a positive learning environment in which the average student to teacher ratio is 35 to 1. The professors are able to provide individualized attention to all students whom they know by name. The School of Education, Health, and Human Performance is nationally accredited by NCATE and provided a comprehensive background in preparation for future educators. The professors of this school utilize a multitude of teaching styles and encourage student participation through discussion and activities.

Most of the professors that i have know my name, but if you want them to know it you need to participate and talk to the professors. My favorite class is my japanese class because the professor (chikuma sensei) is absolutely amazing. My least favorite classes are all of the required history and science classes that i am forced to take. Students study as they see fit, those who are more dedicated study the most, those who want to make good grades study enough to where they will make the grades they want, and those who don't care don't study as much or at all. class participation is fairly common depending on the type of class, if it's a participation or discussion class than it's inevitable, and if it's a lecture class then it comes and goes. i haven't really noticed any competition between the students. My major is studio art because i could not find a more practical major that i could complete now, with only two years left decide upon and be able to complete with still having gen ed classes to take. i do not spend time with my professors outside of class unless it's a club activity or study help. i feel that cofc has way too many general education requirements to take and it makes it difficult for people who go into school with and undecided major to be able to try out a few different departments and pick a major and complete it in time.

Professors are great here. I visit at least one of my professors once a week. They are flexible and work around your schedule as well. C of C has a lot of basic requirements which some people complain about, but others like the new material i.e. even arts majors have to take a science and math.

All of the ten professors that I encountered this year were not only extremely well educated in their field they were also extremely passionate. All of my professors were willing to help me outside of class and in class. Class discussions are common--the professors WANT you to participate and they want to hear your opinions! I feel like CofC has a really good balance between preparing you for a job and also providing you with learning experiences and opportunities just for the sake of learning to became an educated and well-rounded, aware human being.