Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus Top Questions

The criminology department is wonderful.

Make yourself known and all your professors will know you by name, You will not feel like a number here. I love all my classes because I picked a major that I love. Students here seem to study a lot but it really depends on the student. Like every college there is the dropouts and the honors students. We have a mix of everything but most students try! In class participation is common depending on the class, lecture or more hands on. The education here from what I have experienced is very hands on and I feel like I learn a lot from the teaching style of my teachers. I am a Fashion and Marketing double major and both departments have been excellent. We have foreign teachers in the fashion department which I enjoy because it gives you a different perspective on how fashion is throughout the world.

I am an education major and I have had very positive experiences with my professors. Every single one of my teachers has learned my name and I have yet to have a professor who hasn't gone out of his or her way to help his students. For all of you future education majors, know this: Communication is key! You HAVE TO talk to your adviser and your professors. The steps to becoming a teacher can be a nightmare, but having a close relationship with your teachers makes life way easier. I find this would be true with any major. The great thing about the Early Childhood/Special Ed major is that we are separated into cohorts. You will take all of your ed classes with pretty much the same people. We all rotate to classes together. Although this sounds like it could get boring, it's actually really great. We have all grown extremely close over the years and we have created a network of resources. We share ideas, articles, research, and thoughts with each other, recommend teachers, get together for projects, and create clubs together. We have become a very tight knit group. Each class has a different climate depending on the students. Some classes have little discussion and few students participate, but that same teacher may have a class an hour later where they fall behind due to the amount of discussion that takes place. It is up to the students to get the most out of every class. The same is true about studying. I know people who spend most of their time in the library and I know others who are perfectly fine with staying up until 4am the night before. I personally don't recommend either of these approaches, but it's more a matter of preference than anything else.

Yes, the instructors make an effort to know each of us individually but it helps to make yourself known by participating in class and visiting at least one time during office hours. Class size ranges from 100 like in my history class this semester to 8 in an english class I took over the summer.

The IUP academic life is very competitive and the teachers do their best for the most part to benefit you and your education. They seem to really care about their students and are always ready to help you out.

It's not easy. An IUP degree is comparable to one of a very high end college. So many IUP grads have gone on to various Ivy League Graduate programs, and really made a name for themselves.. Anyone know who invented YouTube? Yeah, IUP Grad.

Class sizes are small enough that most professors will learn your name. Most professors will remember you if you visit their offices repeatedly. IUP is best known for its music, education, and business programs. However, I cannot complain about my education in mathematics and physics so far. I believe that I have learned a lot in my first year. An IUP education is geared toward getting a job or into graduate school afterwards. Applying for admission here requires you to select a major, or else your application may be delayed. This is good for forcing you to select a major and get you on track to getting a degree starting your freshman year. However, this is not good for those who are undecided. My big complaint is the large liberal studies course load requirement. I have to take an awful many courses that are unrelated to my major, and greatly plug up my schedule for the four years of my education.

IUP HAS A WIDE RANGE OF EXCITING COURSES TO CHOSE FROM, AND YOU WILL BE GUARANTEED OF HAVINH ONE FACULTY MEMBER..YOUR ADVISOR WHO WILL AMAZINGLY DIRECT YOU IN THE RIGHT PATH, ASSIST YOU WITH THE PERFECT COMBINATION OF CLASSES TO TAKE SO AS TO ENSURE A STABLE HIGH GPA!

The professors are very nice. They seem as though as they care alot and I look forward to having a successful semester with them.

The classes are pretty small compared to other schools. the lecture classes tend to be larger but they're usually about 120 people max. My smallest class was about 15 people and that was a studio class but i loved it. The professors always have office hours and are usually avalible to talk to whether it be in person, the phone, or email.

class sucks lets face it there is never anything good to say about them but with all the new buildings going up they are much more talerable to go to now and as in every university you will run into good and bad professors but i have no complaints on the good ones iv had and the bad ones i just get changed

Studying is a big part of being a student at IUP but isnt it that way with any college? If you want to get good grades you have to put in extra time.

It has been my experience that the classes typically have about 25 students. Biology and other pre-requisite courses have had classes with about 100, but other than 2 classes during my IUP career there have always been 25 students or less. The professors are the best. They have always known the names of everyone in my classes and can even recognize you years later out around town. This may or may not be a good thing. My favorite class I received through IUP was taken at St. Edmund hall, in Oxford, England. There is a wonderful abroad program offered by the school and it is my recommendation that incoming freshman should look into them. I took one class abroad, Shakespeare, which lasted 1 month. I found this the perfect amount of time due to it being my first experience overseas. My professor was an IUP professor who I had in a previous class on campus. It was her suggestion that I partake on the adventure, and I will forever be grateful.

It's hard for me to give a good opinion on the academics at IUP because I am a music major...Cogswell Hall is literally my home. I usually see my professors for more than just one class, so it's not uncommon for them to know you're name. Music students are always studying - usually in the form of practicing. Class participation is pretty common. Competition is a little less common, but it depends on what instrument you're studying. As a percussionist, we all learn just as much from each other as we do from our professors, so there really is no competitive atmosphere among us. The only thing I don't like about my major is that they have it all set up to finish in four years, but it is nearly impossible to do. The degree is a five year degree, hands down.

Most of my professor know my name depending upon the size of the class. My favorite classes at IUP are usually the ones where the professors are very enthusiastic about the subject they are teaching and allow for in class discussions. I usually consume the most from those types of classes. My least favorite classes usually have the mandatory attendance policies and have professors that don't care about what they are teaching, just assign busy work during the class, or they have no idea what they are talking about. Study wise, I would say when I was a freshmen I hardly needed to study. However, as a sophomore and junior I found myself studying about 2-5 hours depending upon the subject. There is definitely students outside of class having intellectual conversations. I, myself is one them. I always love to meet up with friends for coffee at starbucks or the commonplace for intellectual conversations. Also, students at IUP are very competitive academically. Especially when you get into the upper level classes, you see a lot of competition. The most unique classes I have taken was a history of the renaissance and the reformation, a comparative politics class on western countries, and American Foreign policy. I'm a double major, Spanish and International Relations. I use to have a french minor but it conflicted with my spanish major. I love my international relations major, the professors, and the classes. However, I have grown to hate my spanish major, because of the majority of the professors that teach in that dept. I am only sticking with the program to become fluent in the language. Other than that, I don't care for the program anymore. Some of my professors, I do meet up with during office hours just to have intellectual conversations with. I do not mind IUP's over academic requirments but I do hate the spanish dept's. requirements. That is because it is all based on Spain and their Spain study abroad program that is only offered in the Spring. I think the education at IUP is geared towards getting job, learning, and taking knowledge from the classroom and being able to apply it to your own life which I find very beneficial.

Some people complain about the Liberal Studies requirements because they don't see how those requirements relate to their major or to their future career. My response is that not everything you take necessarily needs to tie in with your professional life. After all, you won't be going to work 24 hours per day (Let's hope!). If you become curious about a certain subject but never take a course in it, you might wonder after you graduate whether or not you would have liked it and/or succeeded in it. IUP's professors truly take an interest in their students. They ask about their social lives and about their future plans in a friendly way. The professors let students know that the content they will learn in their classes will be useful no matter what their career goals are.

The academics at IUP are pretty challenging. You do have your occasional blow-off class/professor, but mostly you really have to study hard and attend class regularly to get good grades. Most professors i have had are very good, but i have also had a few awful ones. but the good outweighs the bad. Class sizes are dependant on if it is a class for your major or a class that everyone has to take. but most classes you will have will be small around 30 or 40. It seems that it is difficult to graduate in four years because of the requirements, but no one seems to mind because no one really wants to leave.

Professors, gotta love 'em. Mr Rogers, my radio production professor. The most eccentric professor i had during my stay at IUP. Great teacher, and a great motivated, easy to talk to whilst having a laugh. Another one, i forget hes name now. Looked a bit like the Doc off of Back To The Future, with a mild New York accent, also eccentric. I loved their personalities, very captivating, which is always made learning fun! I personally found IUP academics veryyyy easy and had no trouble in succeeding well in my grades. It is very linear, and set out in what you need to achieve with enough to time to aquire this. I do feel buying text books can be unessercery. In one case i achieved an A without even picking up a textbook which cost about 40 dollars!

The classes are smaller so most teachers get to know you and your name. It's nice to know your teachers and have them know you too. I am a journalism major and I love it. The professors are so nice and helpful and I've really learned a lot so far. The teachers are always willing to help in any way that they can. They really care about the students and you as an individual. That's something that you definitely don't get in a big school. The one thing I absolutely hate is the liberal studies requirements. That is required in a lot of colleges though. I think it is pointless and a waste of money. I should be able to take my journalism classes and be done with it, not have to have all of these other classes that I will never need.

My major, Sport Administration, is the best major at IUP. It has to deal with the business side of the sporting life. Which is the perfect choice for me, because I was an athlete in high school and I am a big sports advocate. It is part of the Health and Physical Education department so I get to take classes that have to do with our bodies also. And if I was a little bit smarter then I'd want to be a doctor and be a heart surgeon, so learning about how the body functions is a real treat for me. But the Sport Administration major is also and large male dominant major, very few females are in that department, so I feel that I am breaking the mold of the norm that is the sporting life and trying something that maybe someone else wanted to, but was too scared to do it.

The academic atmosphere at IUP is wonderful. The classes are small enough that you feel like your professor has a chance to get to know you. Most of my classes had 100 students at the most, usually around 50. Most of the professors that I had knew me by name. In core classes, participation is expected, however during most of my liberal studies classes, it's common to remain quiet, just because in my case it's something new that I'm learning about. My major is Interior Design, ( I was an art studio major), and I absolutely love it. It's a small, actually 3, group of professors in the department, but I feel that they really know me and what to expect. The course so far has been demanding, but fun.

The academics are fairly easy at IUP. If you try, you'll do well. The classes are usually managable in size and some professors do know your name.

some professors take time to know your name some dont. I personally feel iup is helping me as a person better myself for my career and i feel that the courses that i am taking accurately represent what i will need when i get to my future career.

Most classes are small enough that students can feel like they are welcome and can be free to ask questions.

Being in the music department, we have very small classes. When I register on URSA, I can usually see that they are usually capped somewhere around 15, so all of my professors in the music department have always known my name. I am also in the Robert E. Cook Honors College, and my Core professors have also known my name, and I feel comfortable speaking with any of these professors about almost anything. Liberal Studies classes, however, it depends on what class it is. My Research Writing professor knew my entire class by name because it was not very large, but my Oceans and Atmospheres professor did not because our class was nearly quadruple the size. I believe that the academic requirements that are expected of my at IUP are not always challenging when it comes to things outside my department or the honors college. However, those requirements within my major are definitely helping to prepare me for my career.

Some classes have 30 kid others have 80 but if you go to class and a regular basis teacher will know your name. most of the teachers are willing to see and help you sucsedd. i love my major ( family and consumer science edu.) dr Mcombie is wounderful ( head of department) i love the classes that come with my major and minor ( child development) a lot of the classes i have taken, have tought me things that will be very helpful when i get a job.

Professors are pretty chill at IUP. They expect you to not be huge slackers, but most profs are easy-going sometimes. I've ran into a couple of my profs outside of classes like at the pool or the bars.

Academically I was surprised by IUP, I was disapointed to attend the college but no longer regret my decision to stay. Studying abroad is an amazing oppurtunity that I would suggest to anyone and everyone.

I ditto the above comments because it applies.

Yes, amny of my professors know my name. The faculty is actually pretty good from a qualifications standpoint but as far as applying what they know that becomes a different story. Most professors I have are foreign and don't speak the English language although they claim they do. They speak some other shit we can't understand that has some comprehensive words that pop up now and again but, the rest of it is total shit.

the small class sizes make it easy for the teachers to get to you by name, and a good bit about who you really are. it also makes it easier to get the classes going because the professor can gear the stuff s/he is talkin about towards personal experiences to help the stuff sink in.

Yes my professors know my name and are so nice when you need help with something. My favorite class so far has been Heath 143. We actually played red rover. Amazing. I did everything I was suppose to do when it comes to reading and I got a 3.0. I really didn't study before a test though that probably would have helped. Class participation is needed. They also have guest speakers that come to tell you about their lives or their books and that are great. My major is child and family studies. I have spent time with professors outside of class one of my professors is a sister of my soroity. They have many internships for every major so that you come out prepared.

I love my major. I think COMM media is the way of the future as far as how we view the world. IUP students though, are like zombie armies. They just come hungover, and try to pass with a C or D. its a shame. nobody is educated like before.

good class sizes, moslty good profesors who truly care

Go see your advisors and go to the professors office hours! IT HELPS!

Its a mixture of professors who care and dont care. Most of the professors I've had in classes are very approachable.

professors are very understanding and helpful, I feel that you get what you put in at IUP

For the most part, unless you get a general lecture class that is in the auditorium with 100+ students, the professors will know you. They will better know you if you participate in class and actually come faithfully to class!!! I have no complaints about the Accounting department.

Some of the classes at IUP are great. For english, the teacher knew everyones name and it was real nice to be able to talk to the teacher as if you knew him/her. My favorite classes are those where the teacher tries to get the students involved and gets activities going to keep the class excited. The worst classes are the ones where the teacher lectures the whole time in a monotonous voice--Pretty much puts you to sleep. SI sessions are study sessions given to students who want extra help with the core classes. The sessions helped me a ton when preparing for an exam or understanding everything I learned in the previous class. I think IUP has good academic requirements and it shouldn't hold us back from getting any kind of job we're looking for.

I have noticed that academics come second for most of the students at IUP. It is commonly known as " I Usually Party" for a reason. I would say you get what you give. If your attendance is poor most teachers lower your grade. If you don't keep up with the teacher and their specific course material you will also lose signifant points. Studying is a skill you must learn for yourself, ways that work for you, times, atmospheres, etc., but after you know how you function best school seems to get easier. I haven't noticed too many difficult teachers myself but I use ratemyprofessor.com. I also don't notice much competition grade wise and I have a 3.79 GPA

My liberal studies class sizes ranged from 20-50 people more or less, but I still had many one on one relationships with those professors. My classes for my major are wonderful. My professors are very close knit with their students. I have some of the most well educated and helpful professors I could possibly ask for.

I feel that IUP is fully geared towared helping us get a job and learning all we can about our majors so that when we graduate we can do the best we were taught. My major is among one of the least common in Pennsylvania. My major is Family and Consumer Science Education. IUP is one of two schools in the state that offer this major so I'm really glad that they still have it!

The most unique class I have taken is Myth/Religion in the Ancient Near East. I would recommend this class to anyone because it teaches about a time in history that is very interesting, yet very often ignored. The curriculum in the religion dept is very realistic, allowing you to graduate in 4 years even if you take those few extra "cool" classes. My favorite part about this dept is the Honors track because it allows you to substitute the internship requirement with an experience abroad. I'm going to Ireland next Summer!!! Also, the Honors track offers vital help for writing your thesis paper.

Allows for pretty well-balanced class size. You have to do work outside of class, that's a given, it's always do-able though. Languages are difficult.

Most of the professors I had in previous semesters remember who I am which is good because it means IUP has good student-teacher interaction. I have enjoyed most of my major classes. My favorite class I have took at IUP during my two years at IUP was Teaching Fitness and Gymnastics.

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My favorite class was English second semester, w/ the best Professor in the world, Marlen Harrison.

Some profs know your names. You really have to make an effort in some of the intro classes. I have met people who have never been to our library and some never do homework. I would say you can get away with doing about 5 hours of homework a week and get A's. I feel like people here want a degree and are less worried about getting an education. Overall it is what you want it to be. If you get to know your profs and stay after class to ask questions you can do very well. The profs are all intelligent and i've only met a few that weren't nice.

The classes at IUP can be hard and at the same time very easy depending on the professor so ask around when picking classes or use ratemyprofessor.com. That helped me a lot. My average class size was about 30 people but in some of my general studies classes there were between 75-100. My major was criminology. IUP is well known for it. The professors are nice and you learn a lot. They also have a Police Academy associated with the university. The biggest thing I learned was how to deal and talk with people from all walks of life.

Yes, the professors do know my name, when I take more than one class with them in it. My favorite class was a freshman course that was Geography and the teacher who taught it was very good. He explained things quite throughly with us and told the students what he expected of us. Plus the man has a funny bone and who doesn't apperciate a prof with a sense of humor. My least favorite class was in Fall 2007. My teacher, for Global Genres, was a nice guy, but I could not (for the life of me) understand just what he was trying to get at. Needless to say, 3/4 of the class felt that way too. Maybe I'm just not as open-minded as I thought I was.... Class participation is more than common; it's required. Most of the time, yes. Other times, some just complain about it and then decide it's a good idea to give up on studying and just goof off. I should know, I'm friends with some of these people. IUP really isn't competitive, we're rather laid-back, if I may say so. Now if you wanna talk to IUP Honor students, that is another thing entirely! Humanities Literature. That was a unique class and the theme for that term was "Big Brother: Is he watching you?". Now, for those who have read '1984', you'll understand this menaing, if not: read it! For the love of God, read it!! While the class was still an English class and we still had to read, our reading materials were very different from the usual Shakespeare and Blake. We learned about our government's thoughts about secruity, the USA's view on rascism and just how that ties in with ye-olde English literature. I'll be taking the same teacher who taught this calls again in the coming 2008 fall term. The education at IUP depends on the student's major. While the school does its best for introducing students to a variety of jobs or at least an idea for a job, where you go with what you have is entirely up to the student. Take my major for example: English. The department is good at what it does: teaching not only the language to foreign exchange students, but teaching the reading material and English education program is famous for producing English teachers of various sorts. English education is quite obvious, but just plain old English is quite different from education. With this, I have no idea just what I'll be doing in 5, 10 years down the road. That's up to me.