University of Kentucky Top Questions

It really depends on the professor. Some of them can be the most amazing academic teachers that I've seen, and some just don't care to try to teach at all. If you can find good professors, the education is quite good. The students are somewhat unmotivated sometimes though. There are definitely some hard workers there, but there are also a lot of students who just don't seem willing to try and do well with their studies.

Depending on the major and college, it can be competitive or otherwise lacking.

Unless the class is in a lecture hall, most professors take the time to get to know each students' name. The amount of time students spend studying usually depends on what their major is and how difficult their classes are. Students are competitive with themselves more than toward other students. The most unique class I've taken was a German fairy tale class. My major is psychology with a business minor.

I always make sure that my professor at least knows my face, by shaking their hand and introducing myself after the first lecture day. My studio professors and architecture professors probably know me the most. (perhaps cause I spend most of my time there haha). I guess I'll try to explain what I've experienced in the College of Design. We study a lot (especially for history), that be said though we probably spend more time working in studio (aproximently 24-40+ hrs a week [just studio]) and it is pretty competitive just because everyone is trying to have the best project in the school, because one of the guest might see it and offer you a great job, not to mention were trying to build portfolios for grad school.

Students are highly competitive to get the top grades, to be mentioned in class for excellent work, and for the never ending scholarship and internship opportunities.

Not every professor knows my name. There are classes of 500 people. But the classes that are 30 or less know my name and know what my work looks like. Some students don't study, and some students study more than 15 hours a week. Honestly, it depends on the major and the student. Some classes the students stay silent in. But the great professors involve the students in discussion, and lead them to carry on the talk outside of class. USP courses are the classes required to graduate. They are not fun, they are large lectures, and they are hard to be motivated for. Cross cultural courses are the worst, the professors are peculiar and the work is not relevant to our studies. The best USP course is Com 101, it is fun and entertaining. Students are highly competitive to get the top grades, to be mentioned in class for excellent work, and for the never ending scholarship and internship opportunities. They are also extremely competitive in our intramural sports and competing clubs. My major is Integrated Strategic Communications (ISC). The major trains student in creative advertising, public relations, direct marketing, and account management. The department prepares the student for the big world. We have portfolios, project examples, and 60 hours of internships. When we graduate the department will always let us know about the newest job opportunities. I love my major, and almost all of the professors.

Academics at UK depend on a wide array or factors. Are you in lower or upper level classes? Is your major in the College of Arts and Sciences of the College of Engineering? Do you participate in class or do you sit in the back with your head down? All of these things have powerful influences. In the beginning, when your are taking COM 105 or SOC 101, the classes are going to be huge. Personally, I liked these auditorium classes because I liked the ambiguity, but it can be a problem if you are struggling with the concepts. But once you reach the upper levels class size really starts to drop, sometimes to as low as 15-20 students. Not to mention, the professors all really know their stuff. I have yet to have had a prof that I would consider 'inept'. And as for time outside of class, are you going to be a Comm major or pre-med. If you chose the latter, you might want to consider forfeiting your social life for the next 4-5 years.

UK academics are very different according to your major and your year in college. If you are taking freshman math classes, it will be huge, you will take your tests using a number, and your homework will be online. Once you get into Calculus 2, its much smaller. If you are taking a class where you write a lot of papers, you may have a teacher's assistant grade them. Chem 105... Well, we can say it seems overwhelming. Until you get into a bit more specific classes, there will be a lot of students and the professor may not know your name. However, all day, every day during the school year, we have "The Study" and "The writing center." These places have volunteer students and teacher's assistants who help you with your papers, your math homework, or your review for cell bio. They will stay with you as long as you need, and won't let you go until you are exhausted or completely prepared. You can go as often as you like, and they are very professional. Any student at Kentucky has no excuse to make a B, because every available resources is there for you. In addition to outside help, every professor sets aside three hours a week that they are required to be in their office, not doing anything except helping students. Sometimes they beg students to stop by. UK is a very accessible school, and they want students to succeed.

Sometimes I think students get nervous because UK is such a big school, but professors are more than willing to get to know you if you make the effort, even in big classes. Sitting in the front of class and going to professors' office hours is an easy way for professors to get to know you on a more personal level.

Academics at UK depend on numerous factors. It is a large university and I have had classes with 300+ students where the professor did not know my name. However, I also have had classes where there are only 20 students and they professor absolutely knows my name. It all depends on your major and the class. Studying is a must and I definitely spend more time studying than I ever did in high school. Accessing professor's office hours is advisable to get to know them as well as learn from them outside of the classroom setting.

the class sizes vary, as well as the relationships with the professors, you have to really try. My favorite class so far is Women's Chorus. Students study at all hours, some for days some just for hours. Students are competitive because the school is so large, you must work your butt off to get what u want. Depending upon your major, it is geared towards getting a job.

Academics are very important. There are plenty of different things offered in order to make sure you get as much help as possible. There are tutors, extra class, teachers office hours, free study sessions, etc. UK makes it easy to find opportunities to make academics the number one priority.

Academics are very important. There are plenty of different things offered in order to make sure you get as much help as possible. There are tutors, extra class, teachers office hours, free study sessions, etc. UK makes it easy to find opportunities to make academics the number one priority.

Class sizes are big starting out but get smaller as you go on. For me, I'm in the Honors track where class sizes are less that 20 people so that's nice to have at least one class where I'm always interacting with the teacher and other students.

At first the classes are huge and it is unlikely the professor will know you. As time passes, and classes progress into harder levels, teachers are much more attentive. Class participation in my major is kind of rare. I find that a lot of students have trouble speaking up. The most unique classes I have taken are those in French. In all actuallity I have found the foreign language students to be the most intellectual and though provoking. I'll be honest. I am currently living in New York City and most kids at UK in my major tend to think if they graduate with a degree, they'll get a job. I think UK sheltered us very much so. I am working at a PR firm and I had NO idea what I was doing at first. College can only take you so far. Experience is everything. I think that Kentucky also has limited opportunities. Up here, people get jobs through connections. It doesn't matter if you graduated with honors from UK and were in PRRSA.

In my experience, you had to work to get the best education possible out of UK. It is very possible to take the classes and do as little as possible, party a lot! and still make good grades. Theres also ways to skate around taking difficult upperlevel classes and I don't think any professor outside of the honors program ever knew my name. That, however, is as much my fault as the schools. IF you went to office hours and made an effort to get to know professors personally they seemed to be available.

Professors generally will make an effort to learn their students names in smaller classes. My favorite class was CLD 320, basically we argued about topics of interest at the time. One thing to remember, if you say something ALWAYS be prepared to back it up because even if the Professor does not ask for an explanation other students are entitled too (and will generally). Least favorite would have to be Chemistry. It is a class designed to weed students out of certain majors, very hard class. I use to study quiet a bit but the longer I am in school the less I tend to work at it. I will say that in HS I never had to study and I got straight A's. That is most certainly not the case at UK. You WILL have to study, sorry to bust your bubble. By the way, absolutely no one will care if you fail out of College other than your parents. Intellectual conversations do occur outside of class but normally not till a Junior or Senior standing, with the exception being the geeks who try to convience the world of how smart they are. Side note, no one (except of other geeks) cares about how smart you are, everyone is smart unlike HS. HAHA, the UK students are the most competitive people I have ever met in my whole 22 years of life! Students are always competing whether in class, driving, drinking, sports, etc. I would have to say Atronomy. Very interesting stuff and I only signed up for the class so I had something to skip and still get a good grade but I ended up going to every class... odd. The College of Agriculture is a lot more "down home" then any other College. Folks generally have a hospitality about them that makes the College very enjoyable. I will state that if you are not southern/rural folks there are fairly rude and you will always remain an outsider. I have spent time with my professors outside of class before, it is very educational and I would suggest it. But don't be annoying to the Professors, simiply be yourself. Well, UK's academic requirements generally are very low from what I can tell but you will get as much out of College as you choose to. From what I have seen the education is geared toward learning for its own sake.

There is a large variety of colleges at UK and many opportunities to pursue a career path of your choice. There are many resources available to assist you in choosing a major that is right for you. My freshman and sophomore year I had big lecture classes, with anywhere from 300-500 students in them. Now that I am a senior I am enjoying the small classes because it helps me get to know people in my college better.

I was a Civil Engineering major at UK and it was a very challenging program. Most of my teachers knew the students in their classes. It was a lot of work but helped prepare me for the future.

Strong to very strong