College of Charleston Top Questions

My professors always know my name and still do years later. I was forunate enough to have super small classes last semester. I saw one of my professors for the first time the other day in the library and he gave me a big hug, asked how my mom's kidney removal went back in December and told me to call him if I need a letter of recommendation when I start looking for a teaching job. That's the kind of professor relationship I like to have.

CofC's size is really conducive to a great education. Unlike some of the bigger schools in state, our class sizes are pretty small, therefore our tests are not always scantron. The tests usually have some kind of short answer section and really make sure that you learned the material, not just made good guesses. The professors I've had have always been helpful not only guiding me in their course, but also giving me helpful information for my college career, and life after college in general. You will find competitive students at the College, but unfortunately a majority are ok with getting by. This might be because there is a lovely tourist town surrounding the college and a beach only minutes away, and with warm weather almost year round this may be a cause of distraction for many of our students.

CofC doesn't exactly have the best reputation for outstanding academics. When I decided to come here, I knew that I was compromising a challenging competitive education for a really neat city, but to me, it was worth it. The Honors College is why I'm here. It is a really great program and I'd insist that any prospective students who are turned off by CofC's lower than average entry academic requirements apply for the Honors College. It's its own little world within the campus. I definitely think that CofC has the potential to be a much more competitive school. The professors are amazing, and really care that each student learns above and beyond the required class material. Classes are small, which is really neat because that means the professors get to know the students and the students get to know each other. The small classes make for a good, relaxing educational environment which encourages class discussion and personal expression.

My class sizes have ranged from 7 to 40 students. Most professors learn your name and are always willing to help. Depneding on how you view it, this could either be a benefit or a drawback because most professors will call on you in class and expect everyone to actively participate. Study time really depends on your major. Like any other school, Biology majors are going to spend a lot more time studying than Communications or Theater majors. I don't feel like students are very competitive. Most people are pretty laid back about everything.

Some people assume that no one here studies or goes to class, which isn't particularly true...it's what you make of it really. Some classes have a lot of participation and some none really at all. There are some great classes and great teachers, you just have to want to look into them.

I am a psychology major but I plan to attend dental school. It's a lot of work. I think the teachers here are great. They know your name and they care. They want you to do well. I can be very shy and I've never been able to approach teachers outside of class with questions until C of C. And the best part is if you really need anything they will bend over backwards to help you find your way.

So far I have had good luck with most of my professors. Some will never know your name and don't care to, but I think you'll find that at most colleges. I have really gotten to know some of my professors and made life long connections. I even had the chance to travel to Washington DC with two of them on an amazing school trip to meet and interview dozens of senators and congressmen and women to discuss politics and important issues. I haven't found that students are very competitive or study too often. Generally, Its not a very difficult or competitive school. There is no reason to fail a majority of the classes offered at CofC.

The classes at CofC are of a wide variety. I am an Athletic Training major which is a pretty small major. I basically have all the same classes with the 10 other Athletic training major students. Our professors most certainly know our names, however the larger majors might be different. I know my general education classes where a little larger in size, around 30 students, but once you choose your major, your class size gets smaller.

My classes are relativley small, but of course it depends on your area of study. Most of the business classes are larger (full of good looking guys) as well as the science dept. but the language and art classes are much smaller and more personal.

Oops. Did this already ... unless you take huge biology classes or classes with 30+ professors, they do know who you are. If you're the one student that looks different from the others (i.e. if you're not a caucasian female), be prepared to be called on more frequently or, be prepared to be ignored completely. Class participation is important in nearly every class and unfortunately ... so is attendance. Even if the teacher is lax, remember that some students can get away with skipping (and not be penalized) while others can't. My favorite class was with an encouraging professor (yes, they're hard to find) that really wanted her students to think for themselves and not to regurgitate useless facts. Basically, as far as grades go, a lot of it has to do with if the professor likes you and if you have an outside relationship with them. That can be the difference between an A and A-. I will say this now. A lot of the professors I've had have been sketchy graders. Don't be afraid to speak up for yourself and bring problems to the table as they happen. There is a grade grievance process, but I would recommend trying to get the professor to see things your way. If you have proof of mal conduct by the professor, then you go to the chair (after seeing the professor). Then, you talk to the dean of the college. Essentially, many students separate their lives from their classes. (unless they're pre-professional students) The atmosphere is pretty relaxed about school and this isn't the school you want to go to to really learn. However, you can make a lot of great connections here and the communications department, especially will help students find internships which equal job opportunities.

Academics are great at CofC. I graduated with honors at my high-school and did very well. I chose not to go into the Honors College here though. I've found that the classes are still pretty challenging! I think they are a great medium. Most aren't too difficult, but even the easiest require a good bit of effort. It all depends on your professor. I have gotten some great professors so far. They have always been extremely helpful and most know your name even though they have several students. My favorites have definitely been in the Arts department. The theatre and music professors are so helpful and really know what their talking about!

good mix of all different types of professors, psychology is a great department with some really great professors

Some classes are large lecture classes but never exceed 60-70 people at most. Other classes I've had, the professor knows exactly who you are, we even went to one professor's house for a cookout before finals. I feel like I put a good amount of effort in, but nothing that absolutely killed me. And teachers were very understanding about time management and/or extensions. They're also very approacheable, from personal experience. Also, I feel like each department tries extremely hard to have students active within their department, whether through clubs, internships, or jobs, they always want students to succeed.

Most of my classes the past 2 years have been General Education classes, so they're definitely bigger than the average class at CofC. So most of the time, I really made an effort to introduce myself to my professors and email them with questions or concerns (even if you already know the answer to a question or have to make something up, it's better than not trying!). My favorite class so far at CofC would have to be either my Intro. to Religion (Rels105) or my American Film Genre class (Eng 351). The religion class was SO interesting! We had to write a paper at the end of the semester that had to be no less than 7 pages and mine ended up being close to 16...I had so much I wanted to write about! My film class was really entertaining. My professor showed films every Thursday night and we would talk about them the following class--good films too! I got the opportunity to see so many classic films I never would have seen otherwise. My least favorite classes at CofC were definitely Art History 102 and Biology 102. My art history professor was fairly young and really boring. Reading from the book for an hour would have been more entertaining. It's a hard class though, I didn't study as much as I should have for the first quiz and test and did horribly. And where do I begin for Bio 102?? My professor was a complete idiot. She also taught 8th grade bio. at a middle school around here and treated us like her 13 year-olds. She 'dumbed down' the material, which would be nice in other classes, but coming from her it was just a joke. We spent an entire class period drawing chameleons in different environments to show what evolution was like...a pointless class for sure! If you have a chance, study abroad! It gives you a great opportunity to get to know some awesome professors and fellow students, especially if you go through the CofC programs!

Professors are passionate and some of the best in the nation. There are the bad ones but I personally have not experienced a single one.

Some of the students at the school don't take hard classes, skip, and don't challenge themselves, but those kids are struggling. If you want to do well, you can go to class, take challenging courses, and get to know the professors; they're ready to get to know you if you try.

All of my professors know my name. The Political Science department is very close-knit and personal. The are all very accessible, even the department head is always around to talk to. My favorite class so far has been an LGBT politics class that I took. My least favorite class was Extremist Politics. It really depends on your major and your class year as to how much you will have to study. I know some people who study constantly and some who rarely crack a book. It really depends. Class participation is very common and expected. The main focus at CofC is to teach and encourage critical thinking. Expect a lot of writing a research if you are interested in the humanities. I have many intellectual conversations outside of class, and many goofy ones inside of class. The atmosphere at CofC is competitive, but laid-back as well. It is more important to have meaningful insights and discussions than a 4.0 GPA. The most unique class that I have taken was a political science seminar course of the quest for the ideal society. We read many utopian and dystopian novels and visited planned communities and communes around the south. I am a Political Science major and a European Studies minor. I spend a fair amount of time with some of my professors outside of class, but not all of them. CofC has very rigorous academic requirements, but this is great for students who plan to go on to grad school, law school or med school. Most of my peers do not plan to end their educations with merely a Bachelor's Degree. I would say that academics here are geared toward teaching students how to research, write and think critically and be the best in whatever they choose to do with their lives.

Academically CofC couldn't be any better. Throughout my time here I haven't been disappointed in any of my professors or courses. Class sizes are perfect...on average about 25 per class - almost all professors really work to engage their students during class instead of just lecturing for the entire time...this helps to not only keep thing interesting but also enhances the student-professor relationships. CofC students are all different...however, with that said you can always find intellectual and well-rounded students to spend time with outside of class. Everyone is so unique but on the same not do not try to be so and therefore I do not believe our students are very competitive against each other but instead very supportive. I am in the Exercise Science department (which is TOTALLY AWESOME and the BEST decision I EVER made during college). All of my professors are so great - many of them I stop by just to chill and catch up.

One of the wonderful things about cofc is that most of the class sizes are around 30, sometimes even like 8. The professors there really care about what they're teaching which makes the material so much more interesting and they also care about the students. At USC, you are a number, and there is no personal relationship with the professors . Every professor, ive had so far knew my name within the first 2 weeks of the class.

good group of teachers

The classes are pretty small, way smaller than most schools. Most students I've had is 80 in an intro bio class, then 50 for astronomy class. The rest have had between 10 and 30. The professors are pretty approachable and actually teach the classes instead of grad-students. I enjoy the fact that they are so personable and very down-to-earth. Not too many students are extremely academically motivated so if you are, I suggest the Honors Program. Students are not very competitive outside of it, but in the Honors program students are much more academic-oriented and career driven.

for the most part, the classes are pretty small (20-30). the teacher are generally easy to get a hold of and speak to, and generally they know you name. Most of my professors are always available outside of class for help etc.

The work isnt too bad. It really depends on which teacher you have and how you set your schedule up. I start all my classes after 1pm and i'm done at 4. You have some good teachers and bad teachers- ratemyprofessors.com helps big time in filtering out the bad ones. Work-wise I maybe do 3 hours of random work a week, unless i have a test or paper. Exams are very stressful but when aren't they. You dont always have to go to your classes either, you just have to be smart about which you choose to skip.

Most of the classes are pretty small, between 15-35 students, unless you're taking intro to biology or something, then classes can be around 100. Most professors have office hours because they are required, but make sure you take advantage of their office hours. They'll get to know you better and you'll most likely do better in the class once you know what kind of work they're looking for from you. It is a laid back atmosphere and professors are usually very lenient when it comes to turning in late work and stuff.

The professors are really interesting and genuinely care about their students. There are also a lot of outside opportunities to expand the learning experience like lectures and discussions held around campus. The library is beautiful but it is organized in such a weird way that it's impossible to find anything. The residence halls have the local paper brought in every day and the New York Times, and USA Today on the weekdays, so its really easy to keep up with what is going on. The student body seems a little shallow at times. The kids talked more about the parties they were attending and how classes were killing even though they didn't do any work.

Professors are extremely helpful and most know your name after a couple weeks. Class participation is not a must and students don't have to study that much.

if one was to take a class over the attempt witht he best score should override and the others should be deleted from the record.

We have great academics here at C of C. You are in a smaller class enviornment where you get to know your professors and classmates. Help is easily accessible through the professors or other students in our learning center. Overall when I talk to my friends elsewhere (who tend to go to larger universities) they all feel as though they havn't learned anything in college. Quite teh opposite, I think that I have learned more than I could possibly learn and I still have a year to go. Every class has taught me something or another that will help me in life, whether it be how to compose myself in a business meeting or interview or that sometimes you just don't get along with your authorities and there's nothing you can do but ride it out and make the best of a bad situation.

Professors absolutely know who I am, I really like that about the school. Not cool if your skipping class and run into them at the Caf. though. :0 Profs are really involved and will always be there for extra help or even to listen to an idea I may have about a future project. My classes have been completely geared towards the "real world" I am an Arts Management major, which you don't have in your list but is like a combination of business and arts. I did my internship with Piccolo Spoleto, which is an amazing festival here. I took management and business marketing classes as well as gallery fundamentals, arts finance and creativity classes.

Not too hard. All my teachers so far have been very very nice. Go to ratemyprofessor.com before signing up for classes.

The College makes a great effort for the students and faculty to have a strong mentee-mentor relationship. There are mandatory office hours in place every week for every class to help strengthen that bond and almost all professors will go out of their way to help a student with whatever they need. I have had a great experience with my classes and professors, both inside and out of my major. Even my most challenging classes are enjoyable to attend because the atmosphere is inviting and encouraging.

Like I said earlier the College of Charleston has about 10,000 students. So its not to big!! The class size is normally 20-30 students, and the only time you have a large class is if you are a biology major (class size tends to be ab 80). Your professors learn your name in less than two weeks, and you really start to have a relationship with them and your classmates because it is small. Class participation depends on the Professor and the teaching styles they like, and in most of my classes class participation is part of your grade. I think this helps you as a student understand concepts more and it helps you think critically. Students often talk outside of class about things they are learning in other classes, which only helps you in the long run. I am a psychology major, and yes the classes are tough, but if you put time into studyig you should do very well. The psych department at the College is very helpful and interesting! Overall I think the College of Charleston's academic requirements are fair. The only part I personally do not like is that we are required to take four semester of foreign language (which is my weak point), but the Center for Student Learning (CSL) has tutors that I visit regularly!

Most classes at C of C are pretty small--20-30 people. The intros or very popular majors may have 70 people lectures but I've only had one that big so far. C of C does have gen ed requirements that can be burdensome, especially if you have an intense major. The HC has a fairly heavy load, too. But AP credit does count for lots of classes and has helped me out immensely, especially for satisfying requirements for classes that are outside my major/interests. Since I'm in the HC there are extra requirements like Western Civilization (12 hour course), special topics, math requirements, science requirements, but I've finished in my sophomore year. I personally like the variety required because it shows students disciplines they might not otherwise have gone into. I'm in the anthropology department, which is pretty small but I love all the classes I've taken and my professors. It's like a family because the students all have the similar interests, we see each other all the time, and the professors are very supportive, accessible, and helpful outside-of-the-classroom. They're always willing to talk about internships, grad school, their research, etc. during their office hours. My department will offer classes catered to students' and professors' interest and I've seen other smaller departments (even bigger ones like English) do that as well. I've taken medical and ecological anthropology which were fascinating courses. The HC college and some of the "minor" departments have really interesting special topics courses. Other big majors may have some trouble connecting with their departments; I'm not sure. The biology and chemistry departments are huge but excellent. We have a top-notch chemistry program, and obviously our marine and ecological program is very good if slightly small. A large number of students are pre-med, which is a demanding major in terms of time spent on homework and effort put forth. Intro classes for pre-med and also English are weed-out courses; they require lots of work. My friends have to work in the English department but if it's your passion you will do well because there are excellent professors. Other big programs are the business and communications majors, which are considered the "joke" majors or the ones that not very serious academics end up in. But both programs are very good, especially business with all of the tourism and hospitality connections, for a passionate student. Art is another big discipline, whether studio, theater/music/dance, historical preservation and art history. The theater department likes to be edgy in terms of gender roles, but I've enjoyed all the performances I've seen so far. The smaller departments like WGS, Jewish studies and other cultural minors, the more obscure languages (Hindi, Russian, Chinese) are growing and gaining more interest from students. Spanish is the big language major. A lot of people take classes with the physical education department. Electives like sailing, yoga, and dance are very popular and fill up quickly because they utilizes the water or the beautiful scenery. As for studying it depends almost entirely on your major. I have to work a fair amount, not for anthropology so much as HC and pre-med requirements. Class participation also depends on your major. The humanities and social sciences are definitely geared towards class discussion and interaction. Not so much in science or math as far I've seen.

I feel as if the academic requirements are a little too low for instate students. However, class participation is common and I have had many intellectual converstaions outside of class with my fellow college friends. Many people feel as if some of the general education requirements are unneccessary, and I agree somewhat. Two years of foreign language is alot to ask for...

Most professors will get to know your name. It is of course harder in the larger classes such as biology. Studying plays a big part in the students lives at CofC. Whenever I go into the library, it is usually packed. There are always atudents who do not do the work, but most students want to do well and put in the effort to do so. My most unique class is the two English classes I took this year. I had the same teacher for both semesters, and I liked her because she scheduled one-on-one conferences with each students for our major papers, and always made sure that if we needed more help that she was ther.

I've only had one bad experience with a prof. She taught Historic Preservation, but turned it into a class about African American studies. She made her assignments revolve around minorities and African American issues. Our final assignment was completely devoted to a small African American community.

The best part about academics at CofC is that the classes are all small. The largest class I've ever had was an Intro Biology class with 40-45 people. The smallest class I've had was a Micro Econ class with 15 people. The average class size is 20-25. You get as much attention as you'd like in these classes, and the professors are all available if you need extra help. You can choose hard classes or joke classes at CofC. You can challenge yourself, in which case you will be in a competitive environment. Or you can take yoga, sailing, volleyball, swimming, etc. in which case you don't need to worry about being competitive.

My freshman year was pretty much like high school, small classes, the teachers know your names, projects and group participation was required and you were only allowed 3 excused or unexcused days, or you fail. Some of the teachers hold office hours and I wish I would have gone for help more often. My favorite class was Gospel Choir.

The classes are usually small and the teacher are amazing. Very helpful and readily available. The business building is outstanding and the classes are good as well.

Charleston has decent academics, which are growing in recent years. It is a typical liberal arts degree with students being required to take a diverse set of classes to graduate. The curriculum can be as challenging as you make it. Some of my friends take 12 hours a semester and don't study often, and others are pre-med and study almost every night. Taking honors classes will provide a more stimulating experience. However some honors kids are super overachievers and make trying to compete with them impossible. Honors classes (depending on the class) can completely eat up all your free time. and in hind-sight i see no benefit to graduating with honors, just something that put a C and a few B's on my transcript. The classes are smaller, and the professors know my name (im a vocal student though). Depending on the professor (and the nature of the class, religions class vs. Calculus) some really encourage discussion and like students to make their own ideas and points of view. Other more lecture based professors give strictly lecture classes. The Anthropology Major is amazing. Almost all of the teachers are SO awesome (Ratemyprofessor.com will let you know the bad ones, AVOID them). The classes are small so you get to know your professors and there is no grad school for anthropology, so the professors are willing to give time and attention to undergrad students.

In the Political Science department, I've found complete inconsistancy. None of the teachers in that department can decide how they want things done, it seems as if the whole thing is arbitrary based on if the teacher likes your opinion or not. They remain unison in expecting really liberal projects, but they differ in almost everything else. That department really needs to find consistancy so that the students know what they are working towards and also need to offer all of the classes they list under their department. I have been there for 2 years and only see the same popular classes being taught over and over again. Overall the school itself over a large range of classes, which is interesting to be able to cross over into a lot of fields a lot. I think my favorite class at CofC was Chinese Foreign Policy with Dr. Lui, he is definitely one of the best professors I've ever had. He is really interested in teaching and being there for the students, unlike almost any other teacher in the POLS department.

Classes are good sizes. The business and sciences classes are pretty big (well pretty big at CofC, like 200 students). But in general, the classes are awesome. In most of my classes, I knew the teacher, and could recognize by name every student in the class (only 20 of us or so).

The library is almost always full, so studying is definitely a part of CofC. Classes are small enough so that professors almost always learn your name and encourage class participation. I've never had a problem with any class or teacher except Honors Western Civilization, second semester.

If you come from a small or medium size high school you will be a perfect fit. Majority of the profs are well qualified and know each student by name. Class participation is not well received at the school; debate and political upheavals rarely occur. Some students are very competitive and study around the clock, but most students coast by with only 5-7 hours of school work a week. This is a great school to come to if you have no clue what you want to accomplish as an undergrad. I would recommend looking at three different majors at the college, look at the requirements, and feel out which major is right when you get here. Students can easily finish in four years, especially if you take a couple summer courses.

The academics are tough, but not bad. There are certainly classes that will be very difficult to get a good grade, but no teachers are just there to give you a hard time. In my experience the professors are there to help you as much as they can, most are very willing to help during their office hours and they have other ways to contact too. Outside of class, most students do a fair amount of work, but usually none are too overloaded with work to not have a good time during the week. Come exam time though, that is when most students really buckle down and get their shit done... the students here really like to have fun, but they do care about their grades.

The academics at the college are pretty competitive. My professors expect the best from their students, and I strive to fulfill their expectations. My rationale behind working toward excellence is that we are being trained in the field that we would like to work when we graduate. If we want to be successful in our careers, then it is most important to understand and learn what is being taught. My favorite class so far has been my characteristics of students with emotional/behavioral disabilities. I didn't enjoy it so much on content, but I liked a few of the projects. We go to make poster and act out conceptual models. It was pretty fun. For content, I enjoyed my characterstics of learning disabilities course. I just enjoyed learning about the area of special education that I would like to teach. I found the concepts and research of learning disabilities extremely interesting. My least favorite class was English 102. I had to take in my junior year... not fun. It was just boring to me. I had absolutely no interest. As for studying, I don't so much study as I work on research and projects. My professors like to focus on application of concepts rather than memorization and simple understanding. In all of my classes we are expected to participate and converse using educational jargon. As a special education major, there are few of us. We are all very close considering we are all in the same classes with the exception of when we split into our area of specialization class. (IDD and LD) We are a very close group. During the semester we all stress together and we all overcome together. I have developed pretty good friendships with the girls and our one guy Ernest. I found my soon to be roommate. I dont know if we are all competitive, but I know that I am competitive with my grades. Grades are not typically openly discussed, but I strive for all A's. Ultimately, I am competing with myself.

CofC has alot of smaller classes, which I think is nice, because it gives the opportunity for more student/professor interaction and the professors are more accessible to the students. We do have an Honors College here at CofC, but I don't really know much about it. The students have to live in the honors dorm freshman year, which I think is kind of pointless, trying to isolate them from all of the other students. That's not what college it about, you are supposed to meet all kinds of different and new people, not be stuck with the same kind of people that you hung out with in high school. I think that most students on our campus are very aware of the political and environmental situations of not only our country, but the world. I think that CofC students as a whole are very aware and active in their concern for the environment and what we can do on campus to help. I think that this is a wonderful thing and it inspires me to help when I see other students doing activisim or promoting their causes on campus. Overall, I really enjoy the academic aspect of CofC, I do wish that we had more selections available class wise, but I understand that we are a small campus and the departments are doing their best to offer us as wide a variety as possible. I also love the closeness of our campus. It's nice to be able to walk into any department office and not have to go through endless other people to actually talk to the head of the department. I literally walked into the Psychology department and the head of the department was sitting in his office and welcomed me in to have talk. It was nice to see that he was interested in what was going on with me, even though I had never taken one of his classes. I feel like I have done well here at CofC, although I really wish that I had been given more information about the classes I took Freshman year. I took several classes Freshman and Sophomore year that I really didn't need and could have used for other classes, but I simply just wasn't aware of all the options. CofC definately needs to focus on Freshman more and that "Freshman Seminar" class is so stupid. It did not prepare me for the rest of my academic career here at CofC. I learned a lot of useless BS that I didn't need to know and it was BORING. I think that there should be a class that teaches first and second semester Freshman how to study and the different methods to use. That would be way more helpful that taking some stupid personality test that doesn't tell me anything anyway.

I found the professors at the C of C to be awesome. Most seem very educated in their area and try to learn who you are as an individual student. The workloads have been fair and rewarding.

academics are interesting -- it really makes a big difference on the difficulty of the course - depending on your teacher - overall though - except for first level classes and sciences most of my class sizes have been very reasonable - around 20 if that

Most of my professors this year knew my name. In bigger classes, they really don't have a chance to learn your name unless you make yourself known. My favorite class would have to be my french class and my math classes. My least favorite would probably be either biology, but that was because I did not really learn anything in that class and I already knew most of what was going on with whatever we were talking about. Students study very frequently, especially at or around exam time. Class participation is common in most classes. There are the regulars that choose not to show up for class. I haven't really seen many intellectual conversations outside of class, other than studying in a big study group for an exam or test. Students are somewhat competitive; it depends on what the professor is asking for and what rewards are involved. The most unique class that I have taken would have to be music appreciation. I really learned a lot in that class. My major is education, and I am very excited to go into field experience. I will spend time with my professors outside of class every once in a while. If I need help or I have a question, I usually can go to them just about anytime when they make themselves available. C of C's academic requirements are set at a high standard, which is very good. The education at C of C is geared both towards getting a job and learning for its own sake. C of C provides enough opportunities for on-the-job experience, while allowing your ability to learn.