Southern Methodist University Top Questions

I think that the academics are wonderful.

Almost always. participation depends on what class you're in, lecture courses tend to require little to none, others, such as arts courses greatly encourage it. some students do, but thats mainly reserved to arts, law, english and engineering students. warfare and violence or international journalism, there was a demonstration of a traditional samoain war dance and a detailed scavenger hunt through london for both respectively. Not unless you plan on doing study abroad. They're fair. It's a fair split between both.

Yes, my professors know my name. Favorite class= Business Ethics. Least Favorite= Musical Concepts. Some students study frequently, some not at all. Class participation is VERY common. Lot's of outspoken conservatives. Yes, lots of political conversations and conversations about the engineering school. Yes, students are competitive. Most unique class= Modern Dance. I was a dance major, but then I dropped to a dance minor. I am now a Communications major. SMU education is geared towards getting a job, but the professors also encourage the students to challenge and analyze what they are taught.

Professors definitely know your name at SMU. The majority of classes are going to have less than 40 people, so there is a definite opportunity for one on one interaction. My favorite class was Spanish Conversation because it was relatively small, and the professor was extremely engaging. My least favorite class was Microeconomics, only because I'm not interested in Economics, and it was one of my largest classes at SMU. The amount of time students spend studying depends on the motivation of the individual student and his or her major. Most people study when they need to in order to make the grade they want. I would say that averages out to about 5-10 hours per week. Students having intellectual conversations outside of class is definitely not common at SMU. Most of the conversations outside of class at SMU surround what party or exclusive event people will be attending or some material possession. I think the education at SMU is definitely a great balance between preparing you for a job as well as learning for learning's sake. You definitely learn a great deal, but you also learn the importance of being successful outside of class. It's hard not to when your school is in one of the most affluent areas in the US.