San Francisco State University Top Questions

What are the academics like at your school?

Iridian

They are very versitile. You can become a social worker, be a bio major, study economics, it is all up to you.

Silvia

The academics are very challenging, you have to make sure you know all of the subjects requirements or else you are left out. No matter what class you take, you have to get yourself involved.

Alex

BUDGET CUTS ARE RUINING THE SCHOOL. It's hard to get classes because instructors and classes are always being cut. Generally, instructors are easy to get a hold of and I have had a positive experience with all of my professors. SFSU isn't that difficult of a school, at least I think so. The class dictates what the students will be like..for example, in my English 114 class no one ever spoke but in my Philosophy & Religion class, no one ever shut up. It's also hard to graduate in 4 years at SFSU, a lot of people I know are on the 5-6 year plan because of the difficulty in getting classes.

Katherine

I am apart of the Accountings Students' organization, which is has professor as a faculty advisor. So we meet up with him and some of the other accounting professor to discuss our organization. Or we see alot of them at our end of the year banquet or during our large recruiting event during the semester. But otherwise I really dont see processor outside class until they are passing me in the halls. THen i will stop to talk with the ones who know my name, mainly my accounting professors.

James

Although the stereotypes are out there, and perhaps there are many students that hold them true, there are certainly other students out there that shatter them. There are students at SFSU that are just as academically savvy as any other students at other universities.

regina

there are a variety of class types at SFSU. To my surprise there not only were regular lectures, but ones in theaters which housed hundreds of students, and online courses where actual attendance was optional. I feel as the larger classes are impersonal. that you do not learn much from the course. In classes such as those, the professor is nearly someone who lectures and it is extremely hard to build a relationship with them because you are nearly a number who fills a seat.

Andy

In terms of admissions, SFSU is an easy school to get into. The challenge then comes from maintaining your gpa and excelling. There are many resources on campus and it is hard for students who just come and go to utilize the. We have tutoring sessions which help you understand material in class, we have the career center which will aid you in finding an internship, part time job or career. They also conduct mock interviews and such. There are many hidden jewels on campus. So a little exploration will lead to a big reward.

Blake

business department is pretty challenging. most teachers are nice and help you learn

Albert

classes are very practical towards real life, but we always get compared to other expensive school in the bay area.

Tate

Many of the professors are willing to help. If we have questions they are available either through email, or office hours. Some of the accounting professors do participate in the organizations a that are offered there they even help organize events. They bring in real life experiences to our classrooms which help us learn more and make the lecture more interesting. Class partizipation isn't required but they all encourage us to do so. Some professors do call out on people to get discussions going and just a few professors take attendance.

Alex

Most study study a lot, but most students have to work in order to support for their education. Therefore, they can't study often as they like. Class participation are common.

Kelly

My favorite classes are business classes....There are a lot of organizations at school, where you can meet a lot of people.

Cameron

The business faculty is top notch, the teach from experience

Bevan

never experienced yet

Christian

I have met some great professors at SFSU. The requirements should not be so different from teacher to teacher. Everyone should have the same goals and requirements for a level playing field.

Cody

Students at SFSU ate very competitive. When it comes to the graduating seniors and juniors on the verge of graduation the competition gets stiff. There are an abundancy of resources on campus in regards to career counseling and professional development. When you join academic organizations they will generally have there own resources in terms of recruiters and so forth.

KJ

They are friggin vampires.

christine

The business department is filled with a variety of individuals. We have a lot of foreign exchange students studying business at SFSU. You get to meet people who come from all over the world. Students are very articulate and outspoken at SFSU. There have been times where intellectual conversations go from the classroom to outside the college campus and the conversations persist. I believe that the professors in your upper division courses are more helpful in regards to any academic questions you may have and especially in preparing you to acquire jobs. They keep us posted on any new job offerings, scholarships, recruitment events and much more.

Andy

I am taking English 410 and 412 class for my requirement, and it is required the attendance. If you absent the class 4 times, you will fail the class. My classmate in that class are so lazy to do the homework, and half of them usually turn in the homework not on time or stuff like that.

Andy

I am taking English 410 and 412 class for my requirement, and it is required the attendance. If you absent the class 4 times, you will fail the class. My classmate in that class are so lazy to do the homework, and half of them usually turn in the homework not on time or stuff like that.

Casey

Courses are very informative, professors are knowledgeable, and most teachers are helpful.

Justine

In general: 1. Classes are hard to get/fill up quickly 2. Students can only sign up for 8 units (2 core classes) during priority registration 3. Registration order is unfair (Seniors, Freshmen, Juniors, Sophomores; it should be Seniors, Juniors, Sophomores, Freshmen) 4. Teacher aides may grade inconsistently 5. Library facilities could be updated 6. Teachers are knowledgable but often do not seem to care about their students doing well 7. Business courses require too much group work 8. On-campus recruiting for internships/jobs 9. Large international student population (particularly Asian) Specifically: I am an accounting major. The accounting major has many well-qualified, knowledgable, experienced teachers, but many of them do not care how students do in the class and make it nearly impossible to get an "A." However, there are a lot of opportunities to get internships/jobs due to on-campus recruiting by a number of accounting firms. I would recommend joining the Accounting Students' Organization to gain exposure to these opportunities.

Carson

Everyone is intelligent by nature. There just need to be enough incentive for everyone to do well. If for example, the school guarantees a job for people who are outstanding in their major or their class, then students will try to outperform another and SFSU will be competitive in the market. That's how some universities do in Lima. They offer jobs to those who are in an outstanding level

Robin

My name is not very common, so most professors know my name. I try to be a good student and study hard, but some classes that I am taking are very hard. I also try to make friends from my classes, so I form study groups.

Harper

The professors are overall nice and friendly. Some do remember our names.

Jessie

most of professors remember students' names. depend on departments, some students will spend a lot of time talking with professors, ans some dont.

Nancy

Professors knows names of students who ask the most questions in class because they are called on often. They make an effort to know students name if the class is about 30 students or so, any larger than that, it would be harder since sometimes they teach more than one class. Class participating is highly encouraged by most professors and usually part of the grade assessed for the class. Students do talk intellectually outside of class about the topics discussed and very helpful towards anyone who needs help. The education at SFSU is geared towards getting a job, there are a lot of recruiting events on campus to help assist us in that, as well as workshops and mock interviews.

Jefferson

The best thing about SFSU is the Asian American Studies professor. They work hard at educating students about the importance of learning and knowing about one's culture. None of it is sugar coated and real learning takes place in those classes.

Christina

My favorite class is my language class. Intellectual conversations do exist; however, they're once in a while rather than often. Students are somewhat competitive... sometimes a bit too much, other times, not enough. I don't know my professors that well. In my smaller classes though, my professors know my name somewhat.

Kendall

Academics at SFSU is definitely pretty decent to say the least. I was surprised when I first transfered from UC Davis to SFSU, many professors at SFSU really want the students to succeed. Professors are generally very approachable, and are more than happy to help you with anything. Students are SFSU are not competitive, I have noticed many students complained about the professor if they received a bad grade. I was working 30 hours a week, and taking a 12 units load. I attained a 3.75 GPA, and I would hear people in my class talking about how horrible the professor was. I think comes down to it, it is really what you make of the education here. If you want to succeed and learn, then there are PLENTY of resources on campus to help you. Other wise, you can just come and get by for 4 years to receive your bachelor degree.

ron

Some courses need a lot of improvement, including quality of teachers, course materials, and textbooks. These courses need to improve because they are negatively affecting the learning process of students.

david

large class size, and not enough professor.

Jesse

Most of my professors, in my larger classes do not know my name. The professors of my smaller classes, or lab, do know my name. Class participation is more of a must in smaller classes. However, in larger classes, class participation is common among a few. Some students are competitive... not all though... and I kind of prefer it that way because when students are overly competitive, they don't always realize that creating friendships is also part of school... not just "winning." The most 'unique' class I took was BECA 201 - Life on TV; A Critical View. We viewed television from different perspectives that we normally wouldn't. It's outside my major and minor which may be why I found it most unique. My major is Business Administration, concentration accounting; minor: Japanese. I'm only taking the first semester of Japanese and it's becoming more difficult. I so far, enjoy my business prerequisites except for economics which I'm finding extremely frustrating at the moment. However, I enjoy my accounting class. I don't spend time with professors outside of class except for the occasional "hello" or if I'm asking a question after class and following them to their next class so that they will not be late. I feel SFSU's requirements are reasonable but somewhat irritating. I would rather not take three science classes nor certain social science classes. However, others would prefer to not take three humanities classes, while others would like to avoid some other classes. Again, on the other hand, some of the classes that are prerequisites for our majors, fulfill some of the general education requirements too. Education at SFSU is geared towards both... While GEs do allow people to take some classes that they might want to while not being in the major, some of them are frustrating as I mentioned. It also depends on the professor and manner of teaching.

Rory

Since our department is the strongest, I think the intensity level in accounting is much better than other department that I've seen. However, even though the school want to show that they are really helping the students to find job, I do have feedback from alumni which they have trouble to find job. They feel the school isn't prepare enough to get them ready for the real world.

Gene

I've had a very wide range of professors, some of them very good, some of them very bad. Overall, the teaching quality is good. A lot of student do not spend much time in their studies and it is contagious. SFSU should look into ways for encouraging students to form student study groups

Alex

There are good teachers with the passion to teach, while some others are a pain in the behind and should not even be teaching, especially those who teach a class when it's not even connected to their degree.

Toby

My favourite class is clinicals, which is off-campus. Students in the nursing program study very hard. Students are competitive. I have spent time with professors outside of class.

Kendall

Academics varies here like on all campuses. Some departments are small enough where professors learn your name pretty quickly. For some, it takes a while. Class participation has always been open in all my classes. Students aren't as competitive as some other schools. It has a lot to do with self motivation. One thing I do like about SFSU is their accounting program. Very few schools have it, at most it's a minor. Our professors are really knowledgeable, and they challenge you.

candice

I have only taken one class at SFSU.

Eric

My favorite class at SFSU is Acct 507, Information System Audit, with Professor Stephen Spalding. He is the greatest, down to earth professor. He's there to teach, not there to drag your grade down. He brings you a real life scenario, where we go to a clients office and shadow a audit. Finally we can apply what we learn to the real world.

Jay

most favorite DS 412 with Mehrotha. least isys 263 with homan.

Harper

Yes, most of my professors know my name. My favorite class was Taxation. I particiapat a lot eventhough I am kind of quite

Brian

Classes at SFSU is definitely geared toward getting a job, and I believe that is what it should be exactly doing.

Misha

The professors here, at least in the biology department, are probably the nicest set you'll find.

Philip

Professors do not really know my name. My favorite classes are accounting classes since they are practical and professors seem to know the materials and know how to teach. The other classes are somewhat useless. Class participation is very common. Students are competitive and have intellectual conversations outside of class. I am accounting major and sometimes ask my professors for advices in future career. The education at SFSU is geared toward a job.

Brett

SFSU is a very diverse campus. However, you have to make sure you study hard since professors really make sure you work hard for their classes.

Shawn

Professors have a little trouble remembering my name because my name is not that common. Either way, they do recognize my hard work. Such as my accounting instructor. She recognizes that i am an increadible student. Therefore, this accounting course is by far the best class I have this semester. The least favorite is my Internation Bussiness class. The instructor teaches exactly what is on the book. She tests us on EVERYTHING. She has a low voice and monotonous. She is making the hard harder than it actually is. I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THIS CLASS ONLINE! Everyone in that class is strugleling. She hands out the study guide for the exam a class before the Exam. HOW HELPFUL IS THAT? Big mistake taking her. I don't know about other students, but i study a lot. I mean, I study too much. I do not have a social life anymore. I have not gone to the movies...due to the fact that I do not have time or the money to do so. I espect to change to my old self once the semester is over. I am going to party hard once i finish studying hard.

Sam

The class sizes are fair but increasing due to the budget cuts. Professors in upper division courses are more interactive and personal. There is much more dialogue that occurs in the upper division courses.

Chris

I am a Liberal Studies major because I didn't want to have to pick only one area of concentration. I've enjoyed my ETHS 100 and Women and Politics the best so far because it gave me a real perspective of society and something I can work toward to make change. While I'm not very good at science, each science class I've taken at state has been really stimulating. As a whole, I've enjoyed my professors. As far as teachers knowing my name, it's only in small classes where that's been possible or apparent which I guess is understandable for the size of many lectures. My key frustration is registration for classes because students keep getting added instead of classes, though that has to do with budget cuts and fee hikes, I know. Many people at SFSU are the first to go to college in their families so for some, it's more about attaining a degree and not just having the luxury of learning, although because of that, it also goes the other way. I just think it's too hard to generalize whether people are here just for the sake of learning when American society dictates what we have to do in order to get from point a to point b--go to college= be successful.

Casey

Two of my favorite class experiences: Imagery, Metaphor, and Symbol with Professor Langton. The whole class grade was based on your final research paper...no homework, no textbook, no tests or essays. And the final paper was no easy task, 10-12 pages, and to get an A he said the paper must "delight and amuse" him. But students still showed up, because his lectures were so interesting. He used to read snippets of great poetry and talk about how many words in English weren't English at all, like "canoe", "kimono", "gazelle", etc. I also loved Lord of the Rings as Epic, taught by Professor Tuma, who had created the class with his wife over twenty years prior! He was a specialist in really old English, Arthurian and medieval and stuff. He wanted to retire when his wife fell ill but admin. convinced him to stay because no one had accumulated the kind of broad but specific knowledge needed to replace him. This class was the last he ever taught at SFSU, and the last class was a retirement party for him with champagne and spiced wine and everything. So in general, faculty and students care about personal academic growth over competition. They want you to have IDEAS, and there is always an exchange of ideas occurring, whether between students or between students and teachers.