University of Michigan - Academics

Quick Stats

College Prowler Take

At any major research university, one is bound to take classes taught by baby-faced grad students who didn’t necessarily come to teach. At Michigan, this certainly holds true. GSIs (Michigan-speak for TAs), for the most part, are not well liked, but some students seem to luck out with a young, starry-eyed prodigy every once in a while. At a school the caliber of UM, the brilliant professors far outweigh the egotistical, narrow-minded ones. Even with some less-than-stellar GSIs, everyone agrees that UM’s academics are first-rate. Students are bound to have quite a sampling of professors, here. Sure, you’ll have an unenthused GSI now and again for staple courses such as calculus, but there are more good professors than bad, and GSIs only teach discussion sections of larger lectures. Although you’d expect some of the best experiences to be found in small classes such as seminars (of which there are plenty), some large lectures have surprisingly engaging professors. Students pack the lectures halls and fill the hallways outside simply to catch a Ralph Williams lecture on Shakespeare or the Bible as literature. Simply stated, at a school as reputable as the University of Michigan, you are bound to find amazing professors who really care about teaching. They may have even written the book for the class you’re taking.

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Students Speak Out

Anonymous says:

My business school professors are... My business school professors are amazing. Since our BBA program was rated number one a few years ago (and it’s been in the top three ever since), the quality of education is great. Business school professors are a mix of academic and working professionals. It’s a pretty good mix, too. 12345 Academics Report

Anonymous says:

Overall, I’d say academics here... Overall, I’d say academics here are pretty good. I’m in kinesiology, and I’ve taken courses in the business school and LSA. I’ve had good professors in each school, but none of them will coddle you at all. As long as you’re on top of your stuff, teachers will respect you, and it will be apparent with your grades. 12345 Academics Report

Anonymous says:

I went to the Mechanical... I went to the Mechanical Engineering school and the teachers there were great. I was always able to talk to them by going to office hours. My non-engineering classes were usually very large, and I had less contact with the teachers. Some classes were excellent, and others were just okay. 12345 Academics Report

Anonymous says:

My program, musical theatre, is... My program, musical theatre, is known as one of the top three in the country. We have amazing professors with incredible credentials, and we have workshops with some of the biggest names on Broadway quite often. 12345 Academics Report

Anonymous says:

Most of the teachers here are... Most of the teachers here are phenomenal—except for first-year calculus GSIs. A lot of the intro math courses are so large that real professors can’t teach them. They hire grad students to teach the courses, and a lot of times they can’t speak English. This is the biggest problem at the University. I would ask around, especially before registering for second-semester classes where you can definitely get the better professors. I’ve had some great, world-renowned professors who have made a difference in my education. 12345 Academics Report

Facts

Did You Know?

Freshman seminars, which have fewer than 20 students, are reported to be among the most rewarding academic experiences. There are dozens from which to choose, including titles such as “I, Too, Sing America: Prejudice and Racism in American Society,” and “The African Francophone.”

Make sure not to step on the “M” in the center of the Diag (center of campus). It’s said that if you do, you’ll fail your first bluebook exam.

Michigan has the largest alumni population of any school in the world, with over 425,000 living alumni.

Best Places to Study:
Law Library, Grad Library Reading Room, UGLi (pronounced “ugly,” stands for undergraduate library)

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