University of Nevada-Las Vegas Top Questions

What are the academics like at your school?

Eeraj

Average

melissa

The core classes are pretty easy and the professors make the classes easier.

John

Do I like the professors? In a word: Absolutely! I am an Accounting major. The undergraduate accounting program at UNLV has recently become 22 in the nation in the mid-size college division. I have had a ton of really great professors in my major. A couple have been absolute geniuses. Every professor at the Lee Business School has been fantastic. Before I changed to a business major, I had problems with a couple of my professors, but have loved every one of them since the change. Alumni of the accounting program have said that they are just as competitve as students graduating from any other college, and are only becoming more so. I really do admire all of my business professors and I plan to keep in contact with them after I graduate. My least favorite class was PSC 100 because the teacher was a complete idiot who directly contradicted the textbook on 5 of the 50 questions on the final exam.

Bryan

I have heard a lot of my friends complain about the professors at unlv and i agree with them a little bit. a lot of them complain about how hard the professors are or how much work they give or how mean they are but that is totally avoidable if you use ratemyprofessor.com which i do. that site usually gets me really good insight on what professors to take. some of the professors really care and are great teachers while others think they are too important to put their class above their research which i guess comes with going to a large university. a lot of the math and science professors are oriental and crazy hard to understand but after taking one or two courses like this you will have almost mastered mandarin. the students at unlv are intelligent but when not in class like to just hang out and not really speak intellectually. Then again that really depends on what major the kids are in. if you hang out by the engineering or physics buildings you will definitely hear some intriguing and impressive conversations. With the amazing library unlv has there are always a ton of kids studying in it but also bc the library is so amazing, it has become a hang out where a lot of kids don't study. I don't personally spend time outside of class with professors but I will shortly since i have to start doing research. i look forward to it. the school's academic requirements are not that high unfortunately but then again i live in nevada where the school system sucks.

Kendall

Part of what you take from UNLV comes from which professors you had, and how their teaching approach was set up. However, every professor at UNLV has office hours, which comes in handy when in need of assistance. I, being in the College of Business, have had (overall) great professors who have shared their experience with us, and showed us things that we can actually use in the business world.

Kelsey

All of my professors know my name, and even recognize me semesters after I have taken their classes. My specific department within the College of Fine Arts is rather small, which is great. We get a lot of individual attention, and class participation is a must. I do spend some time with them outside of class. We travel as an academic department together, and spend time getting our performances together outside of the class room. Also, sometimes I just need advice. I would say that my education is both geared toward getting a job and learning for its own sake. As a fine arts major, it is necessary to have a bit of both. We need to be prepared for the outside world, and we need to learn to be creative and think outside the box. I have had so many opportunities with in the College of Fine Arts. I have traveled internationally to perform, teach, and represent UNLV. I have also had the opportunity to put my work out on the stage thanks to UNLV.

Andy

The class sizes vary greatly, but I have always been satisfied with the size. Currently my English 101 Class has 8 people and it is wonderful I never would have imagined a college course to be that intimate it reminds me of 9th grade. I am taking Music appreciation I appreciate that they offer that as a fine art. If you are a hospitality management major, it really does not even matter if you graduate. For, if you take the basic courses and get your name out there and network, you can easily find a job without a BS in Hotel Mgt.

Sharon

In a class of over 100, the professors will not know every student's names. But they will try, and I mean they really really try. In a class of 60, most professors know their students' names or at least remember their faces. I think UNLV students are very hardworking. They are always in the library studying or at the quad areas. Class participation can be common if one to two person speak up first. If they speak up, then the rest of the class follows suit. I also think UNLV students can uphold an intellectual conversation outside the classroom because they learn in the classroom and learn from their jobs. Students can be competitive at UNLV, but we are competitive in a nice, friendly way. We all are trying to make the grades, but we understand the capacity of ourselves and each other. I am an Accounting major, and the Undergrad advising center is such a great help. They are always busy, and the staff can be a bit frustrating, but they are mean well. If you give them some time and prepare your question, they are more than willing to help. UNLV's academic requirement should be increased in order to create a better academic environment. UNLV has many programs that help students prepare for a job after college. It is amazing with what the Career Services do to help you be prepared for life after college.

Emily

Professors know your name if you want them to know your name. My biggest suggestion is using ratemyprofessors.com I always use it. It will help you avoid those hard grading profs and the ones that just teach straight out of the book (unless you like that). I'm an architecture major so there's a lot of competition between my class students. They study a lot. However, I have roommates that do almost all of their classes online and I don't think they have to study much (One is a hospitality major, one is in event planning). Overall I've heard a lot of positive things about other classes and my classes have been great. You get what you want to get out of your classes. The most unique class I took was a graphic software class. I learned how to use photoshop and illustrator and I looooved it. The school of architecture is pretty nice. I never took architecture classes in high school and I don't feel like I'm far behind at all. They really break it down for you and you get a good transition into it. It's a 5 year master's program from an accredited school and most students have jobs right after graduation. I don't spend time with professors out of class just because I think it's weird.... The academic requirements were nice. I liked taking gen eds just because I can't stand architecture all day every day and it allowed me to explore other areas. There are some weird requirements like Nevada consitution which was sucky, but the women's studies class is really really neat. I think the education at UNLV is geared toward getting a job for sure, but there's so many other jobs in hospitality and services that you can get caught up in.

Charlie

The Journalism department is fairly new but just like any other school, it harbors so much potential. We're only 50 years old but we still hang with colleges that have 100 years or so of history.

Andy

Pretty good

Kelly

whenever students need help outside of class most professors are happy to help the student in any way they can; Professors provide good contact information.

Amanda

My favorite class is political science and photography.

Kristine

I doubt any of my professors know my name except for one who was my Eng 232 instructor. However, I do believe that we have intellectual conversations outside of class. Its really fun to implement some concepts taught in class and break it down in present-day situations. Major/Department I do not spend time with my professors outside of class. I do beieve that the education is geared toward getting a job when you start to go further into your major. The academic requirements are still a little bit vague when it comes to general course credits.

Brett

Some professors know students names, only because some classes are smaller than others. Class participation varies from class to class, it's really up to the professor in most cases. You don't have to speak if you don't want to..unless it affects your grade.

Blanca

All my professors know my name. My favorite is all of them, except Philosophy. Students study very often. There is somewhat class participation. My friends and I have intellectual conservations some times. The education at UNLV will gear you for getting a job.

Susie

Sometimes it feels like the academic requirements for each and every single different major tends to be a little ridiculous. General requirements like english and math i understand, but don't make students take bogus classes that no one really needs to take! Like women studies, a physics major honestly doesn't need it!

joe

The only professor I have who isn't solid on my name is my Japanese instructor, who repeatedly confuses my name with an embarassing flower. It makes for a good chuckle.

Nina

The academics at UNLV entirely depends on the department, the class, and especially the professors. I've had amazing professors and then I've had not-so-amazing professors where I felt that it was better to spend the time reading the book instead of attending class.

Mary

Yes most of my professors know my name because i tend to make myself known

Jack

Most of my classes at UNLV are fairly difficult and require a lot of studying since my major is Biochemistry, so I can't say any one course is my less favorite over the other. Frankly all of them are easily unenjoyable.

Torry

Professors know my mom but forget it the minute I am out of the class The academic requirements of UNLV are pretty good. It's just hard to get over those stereotypes. You will most likely get just as good an Education from UNLV as a Bachelor then any other college. I'm not sure about Grad School

Amanda

Professors don't really know my name. My favorite class(es) are political science and photography, my least favorite is my english class, I don't like english. Class participation is sort of common. Sometimes I do overhear other peoples conversations and they are intellectual, its quite nice.

Jeremy

I have a couple smaller classes where the professors are very friendly and address you by name, and that is always nice. Class participation is lacking at UNLV. It seems like in most classes, the students are too scared, or stupid, to answer questions. Some teachers are condescending and aren't really into class participation. I think classes are UNLV are definitely more geared toward getting a job rather than staying in academia for life, which is definitely nice if thats what you are into.