In terms of its academics, Lafayette College is lauded for a number of things: its strong liberal arts program, stellar engineering department, and small student-to-teacher ratio, to name a few. Engineering is one of the College’s top five majors, along with English, psychology, and social sciences. Most humanities classes do not exceed 15 or 20 students, with engineering/science classes running 25 to 30 students. Introductory courses (general biology/chemistry/psychology) typically have the largest class sizes, which dramatically dwindle as students take more and more specialized courses. Grading is a product of many factors—professors’ policies, assignments, attendance, and participation in class being some of them. Most professors are not lenient graders; they are fair, and sometimes a little on the strict side. However, some professors do give students the opportunity to dispute grades (within reason). In that vein, the workload for each given class can vary—from a hundred pages of reading a day to 40 math problems, due at 10 a.m. every Wednesday. One thing to make note of: slacking off is not an option.
Curriculum depends largely on the individual student’s degree. Bachelor of Science degrees are generally more structured, with certain courses that need to be taken at certain points of the academic year. Engineering majors, for example, have a set agenda for the four years of their college career. Liberal arts majors, on the other hand, have more wiggle room in terms of what classes they want to take. Most Bachelor of Arts majors require nine to 11 courses in a given specialty. It is not unusual to find liberal arts students who are double majors; English and theater, political science (called "government & law") and economics, art history and classical civilizations—these are just some of the combinations with which Lafayette College’s double majors have graduated.
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Academics at Lafayette College
A+
Incredible Opportunities
Lafayette is what you make of it. We have majors all the way from American Studies to Mechanical Engineering. We also have the ability to create your our major. There are also opportunities for student-faculty research, honors houses, and studying abroad almost everywhere in the world. Honestly, Lafayette has incredible opportunities all around the campus. We really are the epitome of "seek, and ye shall find."
Feb 05, 2012
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Academics at Lafayette College
A+
Tough
The academics are really tough at Lafayette. If you want a good grade in the class, you have to work for it. Going to class and office hours is really helpful, and constantly reviewing your notes and staying on top is things is needed. The professors are super helpful though and there are other great resources to help you succeed.
Jan 14, 2012
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Academics at Lafayette College
B
Professors
Some of the professors are great but there are also a lot that are really bad and don't care if the class does bad
Nov 03, 2011
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User rating for Lafayette College - Academics is
4.6 out of 5
based on 31 user reviews.
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- Grad Year
- 2014
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