SUNY at Purchase College Top Questions

What are the academics like at your school?

Jacqueline

Academics are as challenging as you want to make them. Great classes offered that you probably wouldn't find anywhere else.

Amy

You need to make the effort to become close to the professors. If you participate in class and sit in the front they will know your name.

Sophie

I think the best thing about academics at Purchase is how available the professors are to their students. Each professor has allotted office hours that students can utilize for extra help, clarification, or just to talk. Additionally, all professors give out contact information, such as an email address or work phone number, to their students. I have never taken a class in which I did not feel comfortable talking to my professor. Even in my larger classes, my professors always knew me by name. The general education requirements provide each student with a well-rounded education. There are lots of options for each requirement, which makes it easy to choose your classes. For example, you can fulfill your physical education requirement with one of the following classes: yoga, tai kwan doe, belly dancing, scuba diving, circus skills, tennis, and more. I have found that I enjoy classes most in history, literature, and sociology.

Tara

One great thing about Purchase College is definitely the academics and professors. The professors are so enthusiastic and passionate about what they are teaching and it really plays a huge impact on the students. Purchase is a very small school so the classes are very small as well. The professors know each students name and a very special professor-student relationship is formed. This has really helped me excel in my academics at Purchase. I am a psychology major at Purchase and have taken so many interesting psychology courses over the years. My favorite class would either be Practicum in child psychology, where I was able to not only learn about child development but do hands on work with the children in the Purchase College Children's center, or Philosophy of Good and Evil (so interesting and life changing). My least favorite class would have to be Development of the United States, a history course which I had to take for one of my general education requirements. Purchase's academic general education requirements are a bit annoying, however, they do allow you to broaden your horizons and learn different things which is a positive. The psychology program at Purchase is great! I have learned so much and have gotten to spend time with so many interesting people in the field. The program has given me the opportunity to do hands on work in the psychology field and work with children through class and in internships. The professors in the department are so helpful. I am currently working on my senior project which has been so interesting as well. Class participation is very common in classes at Purchase. The classes are very small so each student is encouraged to participate and speak their minds. This definitely adds to the class discussion and facilitates learning. Intellectual conversations are very common outside of the classroom. The students at Purchase are so intelligent, talented, and passionate in their different works. Therefore, they all speak about this even outside of the classroom. The students are not really competitive which is another thing that I love about Purchase. Everyone has different talents and we all appreciate each other for our different passions and talents. I believe the education at Purchase is geared towards both getting a job and learning for its own sake. I have learned so many interesting things but have also learned so much in my career path as well. It has truly been an adventure.

Matt

The education at Purchase is fantastic! It is definitely geared towards getting a job, but also towards encouraging students to continue their education. Whether it's going to graduate school or working for the government, Purchase definitely directs you along the past that fits your needs!

Brendan

My acadmeic schedule is delightful because I'm in a conservatory for film, meaning as a sophmore, I only have two more general education requirements (ie, social science and western civilization) and apart from that I'm taking all film classes. Our program is great for literally every reason: freshman students start shooting on 16 mm film the first MONTH there here, it's all hands on; all four years here you're graded almost entirely on homework---your films--- as opposed to papers and tests. I like it all I s'pose.

Tara

ALL of my professors know my name. The best thing about Purchase's academics is that the classes are small, and the professors are either PhD's in their field or working professionals. For example, my broadcast professor is a producer at NBC, and the class has 10 students in it. What more could I ask for? So its a great opportunity to build contacts that you can use when it comes time to get a job or apply for an internship. Another example is that a good friend of mine is a Bio major and he was offered an opportunity to do research with one of his professors over the summer. He will be published with her when she publishes her findings (which is almost unheard of in undergrad!) and he was also able to go to a national conference in Washington, D.C. to present their research to thousands of other scientist. Pretty amazing stuff going on at the undergrad level here at the Purch.

Devin

Academics here are amazing. There are so many interesting courses offered with amazing professors teaching them. You can really get an interdisciplinary education here because of the meshing of arts and liberal arts. The classes are generally pretty small, so it makes it really easy to get to know your classmates and professors.

Tate

Class sizes are small. Professors are challenging and there’s some crazy classes like circus skills. Classes range from Arts managment, bio-chemistry, dance, american history, sociologry, anthropology all the way to book binding in the visual arts conservatory.

Vick

1. All professors have office hours where they are more than happy for you to go to so they can get to know who you are. 2. Purchase education is geared towards whatever you want it to be geared towards. It can be used to get a job and it can be used for learning's sake. 3. All professors expect you to participate in class, it's even a major part of your grade in most classes.

Elizabeth

Professors at Purchase are great! All of my professors know me by name and are always available to meet with me outside of class to go over any work.