SUNY at Albany Top Questions

What are the academics like at your school?

Leslie

Academics in my school are very effective. Lots of the professors want their students to retain the information and give exams, homework and group activities that allow us to actually learn rather than remember. My favorite class was Culture diversity and human condition because it was a class that allowed students to teach one another. There were lots of students from different backgrounds and students had the opportunity to develop a new understanding of things we have only heard about sparking intellectual conversations outside of class. although i do not see my professor after class i feel that they are involved in my education.

Renee

Classes here are somewhat flexible. Depending on your preference, there are large classes with over 100 students, as well as smaller classes with under 50 students. Class participation is usually expected, especially for the smaller classes, but it is not always necessary. Some classes use "Clickers" which are a type of remote used to answer questions in class (professors use this to also take attendance). Some students are competitive. There are groups on Facebook for every specific school year (i.e. Class of 2014) where students who don't know each other but take the same classes can ask questions. People have formed study groups, bought used textbooks, asked questions about class, etc.

Emily

Professor's do not know your name because most classes are lectures. however, professors are helpful in office hours which should be utilized and more teachers are beginning to take in account attendance and participation through the use of iClickers, an electronic remote control to survey the class on questions. students are competitive, but willing to help each other when teachers are tough.

Rachel

SUNY is a very large schools, but it offers both large lecture classes and smaller classes in a classroom setting. While most professors in the larger classes don't know all the students names, if a student attends office hours the professor will most likely remember the students name. My favorite class at SUNY was Human Sexuality psychology, which may be controversial, but was definitely the most interesting class I have taken. Many students spend at least 4-10 hours a week studying outside of the classroom and often discuss materials and intellectual opinions outside of the classroom setting. School is very competitive and seems to be more competitive based on your major. My major is biology and psychology. Biology is extremely competitive and SUNY Albany's science programs tend to be more competitive, because of the extensive research options it offers to students.

Kimberly

At my school it is absolutely possible for a professor to know their students name. There are a number of professors that know my name. I make a point to raise my hand in class and participate when I can. My favorite class has to be right now I am taking an Intro to Policy Analysis course. I absolutely love this course because the teacher is extremely knowledgable and he teaches the course very well. My least favorite had to be my Macroeconomics and Microeconomics courses. The reason being that I was not able to understand the teachers because they were foreign and their accents affected their teaching. I always pass the University Library to get to the Academic Podium and you can always find a large number of students studying there. Especially during finals week and around midterms there is not an empty seat. Many students here do spend their time in the library when they need to, and you can almost always find someone at the library that you know. I believe that in every class there is always a number of students who participate. There will always be those one or two students who always have something to say, however, it all depends on how confident a student is. Confidence translates into their willingness to participate. Teachers always encourage class participation and it is something that can get a students name out there, and to put a face to a name on that roster. I have absolutely found students having intellectual conversations outside of class, especially after a very interesting class. I experience it more often because I am a Public Policy Major and we carry out our in-class debates outside. The Public Policy and Political Science Department at the university are quite competitive. The requirements to enter into the Masters program at the Rockefeller School of Public Administration and Policy is extremely competitive. I believe that is because there are many opportunities for good internships because we are in the capital district. I have not spent as much time with professors outside of class as I would like, however I have spent a lot of time with my Teacher's Assistants. I have used them as a very powerful resource to help me with my papers and assignments in that class. I believe that the education at this school is something that will absolutely gear me towards a job within my major. Many teacher's in my department have first-hand experience with the courses they teach, so I feel that the advice that they give is something that I can take with me within my career.

Michael

Professors know you by name once you get into your major. You also can reach them in the bigger classes during office hours. Academics also depend on the major. I'm in the library every week as a business major. Class participation is common in small classes. .The business major is super competitive and selective. There are plenty of unique classes you can take here for example I took a class on Exploration of Space and the Oceans. You also can choose an easier major like communications if that is more of what you are looking for.

Michael

Professors know you by name once you get into your major. You also can reach them in the bigger classes during office hours. Depends on the major... I'm in the library every week as a business major. Class participation is common in small classes. Students of course have intellectual conversations outside of class. Students can be competitive in certain majors. The business major is super competitive and selective. Most unique class I've taken is probably exploration of space. My major is one of the top at the university. They are building a brand new state-of-the-art business school. They accept less than 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students into the major. I don't spend a lot of time with professors outside of class, but you can. Academic requirements are challenging depending on the major once again. Upperclassmen have classes that are geared toward getting a job.

Ashley

Most professors are really accommodating. You'll find non-accommodating ones at every school and Albany is no exception, but overall I have liked more teachers than I have disliked. Usually there is an average amount of people in the library, but the coursework is educational, without being too overwhelming for most classes. The only time you see a surplus of frantic student studyers is during midterms and finals.

Amanda

we are in big lecture centers for most of your 100/ general ed. courses but after you become more major specific the classes tend to shrink. Or even when we begin to get further into the semester class attendance tends to be half then what it was the first week of classes. The only time you find out whose really in your class are on exam days. then i'd say its a full house. The professors generally make themselves available during their office hours or even before and after class. The school being a state school does make budget cuts due to the amount of money available which has made them cut some courses and some major all together but the University does its best to cope with the losses. Our School of Business offer a lot of great opportunities

Christine

Being in the School of Business, my initial classes were in the lecture center with about 100-200 students in the class, but once I got into my concentration courses, the class size became about 20 students in each of my courses. There were some bad professors, but they never stay with the university. Through student evaluations and class audits, I believe that the administration takes the steps to replace professors that are not up to standards. If you don't schedule your classes accordingly to fulfill the requirements, you won't have the opportunity to take elective classes that you are genuinely interested in. In terms of grading, most professors assess grades however they want to. There is still a large emphasis on exams, projects, and papers making up the majority of your grade.

Shoshana

It's challenging to get good grades -- at least for me. The hardest classes at this school are the hard sciences and the business classes.

Marisa

If you make yourself known to the professor he or she will know your name. In a small class of 25-50, he or she will usually remember your name without you having to make an effort. Students do have intellectual conversations outside of class. I learn a lot about science from my friends who are science majors, because I am not.

Andrew

The professors in the business school that I've had always seemed to understand that you want to learn something that will help you when you eventually leave school, and you need to do more than just get through the courses. My math professors seem to completely lack that understanding. It's all about getting the classes done so that you can say you had the class, and not necessarily about how much you're able to retain and apply, which is really counter-intuitive if you think about it. Math is like a box of tools that you need to know how to use, and not just know what they could theoretically do.

MIchael

The academics here are excellent. Most to all the professors are extremely passionate about their individual subjects/courses. This makes the lecture material extremely interesting. I am a biology major so I can only speak about the Biology department. There are some great professors here in the departments and there are some that are just there for research. The ones there for just research make the material more difficult than it actually is. To speak generally though, SUNY at Albany is highly ranked in various university polls as one of the best universities in the state and in the country in whole. There are some classes that might have as much as 450 students (mostly freshmen classes) and some might have as little as 15 students. The ones with less students tend to have more successful outcomes than the ones with a large number of students. This is mainly due to the difficulty in contacting professors.

Patrick

SUNY Albany has a number of highly ranked programs. The Nano College is #1. The School of Criminal Justice is #2. There is at least a dozen programs in the top 25. The thing is that it is up to you. New Yorkers love to complain and are often sarcastic so even success is sometimes not promoted by the students. Look at the numbers or ask an international student about academics. You may not get the true story from a New Yorker.

Albany

Academics are taken seriously. The business school has a strong reputation. We always have good recruiting on campus so I feel good about my job prospects.

Alex

The English department at UA is terrific - it's tight-knit and professors talk to one another and all know each other and are quick to share their opinions on their co-workers. There are some amazing English professors that I feel lucky to have had teach me. The GenEds are terrible and excessive and a waste of time - most students skip them as they're in 150+ lecture halls so attendance isn't mandatory. They tend to bring down your GPA because they're boring and useless. Professors that you get to know are great though and most that I've met outside of class are friendly and helpful. With the new nano-technology building, apparently graduating from UA looks great now. Hurrah for a waste of students tuition money, couldn't they have bought something useful to the students? Like ANOTHER fountain, perhaps?

Philippe

The economics department is pretty crap, but the business school is alright and their finance courses are good...

Ryan

Professors who teach general education, or lower level courses at Albany are painful and useless. However, those within my department were ideal teachers- challenging and interesting. The classes were fascinating with enough work to make you feel like you learned something but not that you were overwhelmed. Some professors enjoy the fact that the student body is apathetic and take that as a ticket to be a poor instructor.

Gene

GOOD

Lorie

The teachers are lazy (partly a biproduct of union protection and partly from being unable to make it in the real world). They take their frustrations out on kids who might want to learn what they are teaching, if they were ever given a choice...

Wes

GPA fact sheets seem to indicate that UA kids are above average, but the truth is tests here are just super easy (my program- ISP major, BUS minor, plus Gen Eds of course). There is a lot offered- someone could learn a lot if they wanted to, but testing is low to let people 'get through' and allow the university to make money. I've heard a dirty little rumor that most universities are money making businesses- and UA is one of those schools trying to make a buck over setting a high bar of academic excellence. UA fits the stereotype of adolescent baby-sitter University...

Alex

-Do I know my professors names? Yes, every semester -Favorite Class? Project Reniassance Freshman year. Best college course ever. Other than that, Social Welfare in the US -Least Favorite Class? Intro to Psychology. I never ever ever went because it was sooo boring. I hate biology but at least my professor is nice so I go.

becky

Classes at Albany vary. I've had classes where the teacher couldn't pick me out of a lineup, and classes where my teacher knows my name and even comes up to me on campus semesters later to ask how I'm doing. Like any school, office hours are stressed. The trick to going from a B to an A, is the ability to go talk to your professor and show your face at their office. Professors here are generally very interested in your overall academic and social well being. Since the school is large, professors come from all different places, countries, and stages in life. While graduate students do teach lower level classes, this usually ends after your freshmen year when you no longer have to take General Education classes that are often 100 to 300 or more kids. UA students do have intellectual conversations after class. They just might be a little hard to hear in the bar. Students aren't competitive, they're actually usually very helpful. Classes are often run by a curve, so if you meet a friendly classmate, they will most likely help you out. I've made a lot of friends in class just by asking if they wanted to share notes or study. There is no sense of 'me first', more or less 'shit, did you do that homework?'. At Albany internships are really stressed. Job fairs and Internship fairs occur throughout the year and the school really pushes them. Advisors will be quick to let you know right off the bat how important internships are, and professors are usually eager to help you land one. You get the feeling very easy that the school wants to do your best.