University of Arizona
- Academics

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University of Arizona - Academics - Academics - College ProwlerCollege Prowler3.08

Academics

Quick Stats

Student-Faculty Ratio 20:1
Full-Time Student Population 33,070
Part-Time Student Population 5,697
Full-Time Instructional Faculty 1,546
Part-Time Instructional Faculty 407
Total FT Faculty 2,613
Faculty with Terminal Degree 90%
Average Faculty Salary $89,759
Full-Time Retention Rate 77%
Part-Time Retention Rate 36%
Graduation Rate 60%
Programs/Majors Offered 222
Average Course Load 5 courses
Academic/Career Counseling? Yes
Remedial Services? Yes
Class Sizes
  • Fewer than 20 students: 35%
  • 20 to 49 students: 48%
  • 50 or more students: 17%

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

So let’s get this straight: The UA is a large public university. General education classes tend to be ridiculously large, and the instructors can sometimes be unapproachable. Hope you're not looking forward to starting your major anytime soon, either, because for most students, it takes nearly four semesters to get through all of your general education courses. Yep. Two years. You’ll get both good and bad professors, but the same could be said of teaching assistants, employers, and other University personnel. You just have to deal with it. Unfortunately, over the last several years, the UA has been steadily dropping in academic rankings all over the world due to budget cuts, scattered departmental support for students, awful advisers, and misuse of funds. In short? Not much has been going right for the UA in this way lately.

For the most part, students at the UA like most of their teachers and find classes to be somewhat challenging, but this isn't always for the right reasons. Often teachers will require attendance because the course material itself isn't enough to keep students in class. While the UA used to be a full-blown university, over the past several years it reflects more of an accelerated high-school mindset. It really seems to be worth the effort to do some research about particular instructors and classes by asking around, since students will remember both their good and bad instructors and can tell you which of them to either pursue or avoid. A recent student-created website, www.whichclasses.com, compiles all relevant information for every department, professor, and class at the UA—with data taken directly from required surveys taken by the student body at the end of each semester. In the end, while the UA has been in an academic freefall, it's still a worthwhile university to attend for the time being. Let's just hope it stays that way.

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Arizona Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Academics at University of Arizona

beardown11

Business Management '14

2.7
C+

Academics at the U of a

The academics at the U of A are satisfactory. However, the registration process is a nightmare. It takes a long time, if you are from out of state it takes over 3 months to claim residency because they need so many annoying papers and things. The workload is definitely bearable and to help with it they offer study sessions in what they call the 'Think Tank' as well as tutoring. The worst part is that there is a large fee to use the library. I personally believe the library should be a free perk to any student.

May 23, 2012

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Academics at University of Arizona

beardown11

Business Management '14

4.6
A

Pre-Medicine Courses

The science professors are very knowledgeable and are sometimes hard to get ahold of but they are helpful when you do finally contact them. The only downside is that they will only meet with you for 20 minutes each time it seems like so it is important to write down all of the questions you have prior to the meeting.

May 23, 2012

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Academics at University of Arizona

suddarth1

Pre-Medicine Studies '16

4.2
A-

Online Assistance Unparalleled

With the exception of housing, there is nothing I would complain about at UA. They offer work study programs and have notify us on their website well in advance, as well as relevant laboratory assignments.

May 09, 2012

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User rating for University of Arizona - Academics is 4.6 out of 5 based on 84 user reviews.

Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

Rate your school’s professors on the following topics

Rate your school’s academic environment on the following topics

Facts

Instructional Programs Occupational: No
Academic: Yes
Continuing Professional: Yes
Recreational/Avocational: Yes
Adult Basic Remedial: No
Secondary (High School): No
Special Credit Opportunities Advanced Placement (AP) Credits: Yes
Dual Credit: Yes
Life Experience Credits: No
AP Test Score Requirements Possible credit for scores of 4 or 5
Undergraduate Schools/Divisions
  • College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
  • College of Architecture & Landscape Architecture
  • College of Education
  • College of Engineering
  • College of Fine Arts
  • College of Humanities
  • College of Medicine
  • College of Nursing
  • College of Optical Sciences
  • College of Pharmacy
  • College of Science
  • College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
  • Colleges of Letters, Arts and Science
  • Eller College of Management
  • Honors College
  • Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health
Degrees Awarded
  • Bachelor's degree
  • Doctorate - Professional practice
  • Doctorate - Research/scholarship
  • Master's degree
  • Post-bachelor's certificate
  • Post-master's certificate
Most Popular Majors
  • Political Science and Government, General: 1%
  • Psychology: 3%
  • Registered Nursing (RN): 1%
  • Speech Communication and Rhetoric: 1%
Graduation Requirements
  • Arts/fine arts
  • English (including composition)
  • Foreign languages
  • Humanities
  • Mathematics
  • Sciences (biological or physical)
  • Social science
Special Study Options
  • Distance learning opportunities
  • Study abroad
  • Teacher certification (below the postsecondary level)
  • Weekend/evening college
Other Academic Offerings
  • Accelerated program
  • Cooperative education program
  • Cross-registration
  • Double major
  • Dual enrollment
  • English as a Second Language (ESL)
  • Exchange student program (domestic)
  • External degree program
  • Honors program
  • Independent study
  • Internships
  • Liberal arts/career combination
  • Weekend college
Best Places to Study
  • Caffé Luce
  • Epic Café
  • Espresso Art Café
  • Integrated Learning Center (ILC)
  • Main Library, fourth floor
  • Rogers College of Law Library
  • Student Union Memorial's lounges

Online Courses

The UA has Outreach College, which includes individual credit courses, professional certificate programs, degree programs, and professional development courses (non-credit).

Did You Know? The student-run website, www.whichclasses.com, compiles all of the freely available data from the TCEs (Teacher-Course Evaluations) administered by the UA and taken by each student at the end of the semester. Its clean interface and easy-to-understand way of finding the information you need makes it a top resource for any UA student curious about any facet of academics.

Become a Contributing Author Learn more »

Most Recent Student Author View all

Name
Joe Dusbabek
Hometown
Scottsdale, Arizona
Major
French/Linguistics
Grad Year
2012

College Prowler is seeking talented student authors to assist with writing and updating the College Prowler guides to their schools. This is a great opportunity for a student to gain experience and tremendous exposure, utilize new media techniques, and share advice with high school students about what life is really like at your college.

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