Texas Tech University Top Questions

What are the academics like at your school?

David

Our political science department is very legit. It has a great program, very diverse classes and also great opportunities to work abroad. We have had adminsitrators work for the CIA, Ambassodors in South Africa, Politicians, etc. The professors are grat and you will always find a great conversation to be had. You can always walk into a random professors office and just start chatting about the political system, life, and/or just classes. It's a pretty homy feel and we all get along quite well. I've bumped into professors outside of class and it's all good.

Nicole

My honors professors do since classes are small. My favorite class is spanish 1507 because our professor makes the class fun. My least favorite is chemistry because chemistry is just boring anyway. I don't see anybody making it interesting. Class participation is not common usually. If a professor asks a question, the response is silence. But classes vary. Some do, but most do not. Some is dealing with how drunk they got the past weekend and how drunk they are going to get the upcoming weekend. The people who do have intellectual conversations are usually looked at weird. Students are usually not competitive; they are just trying to pass.

Tessa

The professors here at Tech definitely know my name, especially those in my field of expertise, as one would say. I am an Apparel Design and Manufacturing major and have to take many sewing and tailoring based classes over my next few years. My least favorite class would have to be english, i used to love it in High School, now, it's just a pain in my butt. it really isn't that much fun and i wish i'd takin the time to test out of the rest of it. I'd say that students study about one-third of what they're supposed to do, or of what they need to do. Class participation is common only if the class feels comfotable around each other. It takes a great professor to break the ice with a class and some great students to keep the ball rolling and make the class enjoyable for all. Texas tech students definitely have intellectual conversations outside of class, with each other, with the professors, with whomever. Students are slightly competitive, depending on the course, assignments, and their personalities. The most unique, and by far my favorite class so far is Design 1. I loved my professor and the unique assignments that she gave us.I spend a litle time with my professors outside of class, maily discusiing assignments and extra opportunities. I think that Texas Tech's academic requirements definitley provide a hearty challenge, but i think that some professors and some course material can be overwhelming. I think that the learning here at tech is geared more toward getting the ducation than landing any one certain job.

Kyle

Every one of my professors know my name. My favorite class was Anatomy with Dr. Julie Rosenheimer...she is possibly one of the best professors at Tech. Teaching undergrad anatomy with a Ph.D in neuroscience, she made sure we knew our stuff. I studied many many hours for that class. I go see her every week just to talk with her. Education at Tech is competitive and is geared toward learning...for example in anatomy, she would sometimes relate to clinical fields and pathology which was more job oriented, but stuck to the necessities she promised in her syllabus.

Jamie

Yes professors know my name. My favorite class I have taken was probably one of my ag leadership or education classes and my least favorite is definately biology! I don't know how often students study, but if they are like me, probably not enough. Class participation is common because the class sizes at Tech are smaller. I know for a fact that students have intellectual conversations outside of class because I walk by and hear them all the time. Students are very competitive, especially when it comes to things like internships, leadership positions in organizations, and scholarships. My major is Agricultural Leadership and the department is great. The teachers are actually our advisors in the Ag College so that gives us a huge benefit compared to other colleges. The professors are also amazing and so much fun, both in and out of class. I think are academic requirements are average...I wish we had higher standards for admissions though. I think the education definately varies depending on your major/department/college, but I would say my college is geared towards being prepared to go out into the work force.

Devin

Some professors do know my name, usually in my smaller classes. My favorite class would have to be Ornithology. My least favorite would probably be Evolution. Ornithology is the study of birds and it was fascinating to see the behaviors and various ways of life that birds have. Many of my teachers will have student interactions in class which can provide a better understanding of difficult topics. You can find very competetive students here but also very helpful and generous students. Some of the more intelligent students are always willing to help others with uncertainties about their studies. I am satisfied with the requirements that I have had to fulfill while being at Tech. They have provided me with a better understanding and a more interesting outlook on issues that I will encounter in the future.

Royce

It depends on the size of the class, but if the class has under 50 students then the professors know the student's names. My most favorite class so far has to be Introduction to Drama, and my least favorite class is Chemistry 2 Lab. Honors students study about 4 hours a day while the rest of the university study less than 2 hours a day. Class participation is common in a small class, but not in a big class. Tech students, having intellectual conversations? Only in the honors college! Like I said, students in the Honors College (and possibly some other specific majors) are very competitive, but that's about it. The most unique class that I have ever taken is Drama because we watched at least 2 different film adaptations of each play we read; it was loads of fun! I am a History/Pre-Med major with a minor in Portuguese and I will possibly add a Theatre Arts Minor. I spend time with my Portuguese professor because she is an amazing teacher! Texas Tech's academic requirements are laughable just to be nice! Texas Tech education is geared towards a combination of both towards getting a job and learning the information for its own sake.

Harper

I have a few professors that know my name because I have introduced myself and attended theit office hours. My favorite class is anything in psychology or yoga, while my least favorite class was english. Core classes in english consist of contually writing papers, somtimes 4 a week. Studying is a hard subject because on average, most students study for 30 minutes to an hour. In the case of my immediate friends, we study hours at a time to achieve our high GPA's. You are who you hang around, just remember that. In class, many professors require participation and as much as that may not sound interesting, you tend to retain the information better. Some students have intellectual conversations outside of class about anything and everything. There are also many independent coffee shops that create the perfect atmosphere for these kind of conversations. I have not met many students that are ademically competitive, but sports wise, YES! I have taken Sexual Behavior psychology and that was the most unique class I have ever been in. I enjoyed the material, even though reading the material made me feel like I was doing something wrong. My major is psychology and it is the best department on campus. The undergrad advisor is wonderful and helpful. i rarely spend time with professors outside of class unless I am in their office hours. The academic requirements for Tech are usually 2.5 and although that is low for my standards, it is a attainable goal for most. I do not focus on the minimum and instead look towards getting the maximum grade possible for my imput in classes. Eductaion at Tech is geared more towards learning rather than getting a job. The getting a job aspect is near graduation when we attend career fairs, but before considering the job, we need to learn about the field of study.

Jackie

Some of my professors know my name. Biology is my favorite class because it interests me the most and keeps my interest the whole year. My least favorite class is organic chemistry, the teachers do not teach very well. It really depends on the person as to how much they study, I study at least 6 days a week. Classes are mostly lectures. Sometimes there are intellectual conversations outside of class. Students are competitive. The most unique class I've taken is psychology. I am a biology pre-med major, the advisors in the pre-med department aren't great but the biology advisors are, I have to take a ton of biology classes but it's fun! I don't spend time with professors outside of class. I think that Tech has good academic requirements. Texas Tech education is geared toward learning which will help you get a job in the long run!

Karl

I can't speak for the other departments and/or colleges but Chemical Engineering at Tech is incredible. All the professors are like Cal Tech, MIT, Harvard, Yale, etc. graduates. They are brilliant and the classes are great. I learn a lot and my professors are awesome. I would dare say that most of them are so called "badasses." I cold care less about general education classes. I think it's a waste of time but I guess they want students to be well rounded. We have requirements from the standard English, History, Math, etc. to multicultural, technology and applied sciences. It's interesting. In the undergraduate levels the classes are definitely more practical and hands on. They have a lot of job fairs to help you get a job, no problem.

Sara

The academics portion of Texas Tech is extremely strong. After all, that is what people come to school for. However, while academics are important, the administration and faculty encourage students to get involved and learn outside of the classroom as well. I was in the College of Human Sciences, and thoroughly enjoyed my experience. We have some of the best advisors in the nation (that is not just me bragging, they have won a lot of awards). Texas Tech focuses on furthering the university and its contribution to the pool of research. For instance, the creator of TCBY attended Texas Tech. With the exception of your core classes, classes are very manageable, most of the time no bigger than your high school class would have been. There are many options to help you with your classes so that everyone can excel, such as free tutoring, and the University Writing Center. Instructors also encourage a great deal of real world experience, such as internships, or experience in the field through classes. When you graduate from Texas Tech, you will feel that your education was worth all the money, time and effort that you spent. Not only will you be satisfied, you really will have a skill set that will prepare you for whatever it is that you want to achieve.

Brad

My favorite class so far has been History of the U.S. after the Civil War. History interests me anyway, but the teacher I had, Travis Childs, was great. Class participation is common as long as some time before 11 AM. I remember occurrences where students were talking about politics and such outside of class, too. I can't say I've seen very much competitiveness though. The most unique class I've taken has been English in Film Studies. I love it.. and I normally hate English! My major is Electronic Media and Communications, which is in the College of Mass Communications. Its fairly new, but I think its already become a good college. My major focuses on mass media, communications, and the electronic means of communicating that media. I hope to get a career in sound/video for a TV or radio broadcast company or maybe work at a record studio. Texas Tech's academic requirements aren't the highest, but I think they are still up there with other schools in the state. The education at Tech is VERY geared toward getting a job. The advisors here start helping students with finding careers early and will help any time with that sort of thing.

Christina

Texas Tech has a solid academic program. Just like any university unless you want to be known your professors will not know who you are. In the lower division courses the majority of my professors only knew me because I spoke up in class and stayed actively involved in various discusion. In my major courses all my professors know me by first name, last name, major and even future career goals. The professors are always willing to speak to you and get to know you on a more personal bases. There have been several times in which I randomly walk into a professors office and talk about life. They're humans and they love working wiht you. Texas Tech has an amazing career center that can help you find anything from internships in west Texas to six figure jobs in New York. Many colleges have developed their own career center so there are twice as many opportunities for students to find a good job and/or internship. Career fairs seem to be occuring every month. You will find workshops on resume writing, etiquite dinners, mock interviews, and so much more almost every week. The mock interview program at Tech is incredible. When students have an interview they can contact the Career Center and inform them of the company they will interview with and for what position. The career center will then emulate the company and perform a mock interview with the student. They will then advise the students on answers, clothing attire, expressions and so forth. College of Mass Communications is the youngest college on campus but it is the fastest growing and one of the top programs in the nation. My public relations department chair is one of the best PR practitioners in the nation today. The majority of the people in the college have real world experience and have either owned a PR firm, owned a newspaper agency, worked in some of the most complex situations. The college has four computer labs with brand new computers for students to learn and study in. Major classes can be as small as 10 students to a professor. There is incredible research occurring in the basement of the college at all times and you can always find a professor sitting around waiting to have someone to chat with. This is one of the best colleges at Tech and without a doubt the best professors in the Texas Tech University system. The only flaw of Texas Tech academics is it's lack of classes in Asian studies. They offer slim to no opportunities to study abroad in Asia. The minor: Asian Studies is lacking. There are approximately 20 classes offered in the minor but only about six classes are offered each semester. Usually of the six 3/4 are scheduled at the same time making it impossible for students to take a well rounded amount of classes. The university seems to not want to make the expansion towards bringing in more diverse courses and offer more opportunities to study abroad in Asian countries. The irony of it is that we have the Viet Nam Center which is growing to be the largest center on the Viet Nam wars in the world. We have also signed contracts with Vietnamese universities for students to attend Tech graduate schools. We give opportunities to foreigners but seem hesitate to give similar opportunities to our students. There are also some advisers who seem to forget that their jobs are to help the students receive a diverse and intellectual education. Some advisers forget that students pay their salary and they should work with the students to find the best route towards graduation and a strong academic career for the future.