University of Rochester - Academics

Quick Stats

College Prowler Take

Academics are one of the strong points at UR. Many students report that the professors are open and accessible as well as talented. Though it may be more difficult to have a personal relationship with the professor in a science class of 250 students, these large classes are uncommon and are balanced out by the many classes that seat 25 or less. Each professor has office hours, and many are willing to meet outside those hours. The workload is challenging, and students cannot coast through with ease, but the quality of teaching makes the work well worth it.

Many professors are highly qualified and extremely knowledgeable in their field of study. There are professors who are enjoyable to listen to for hours based on their amazing wealth of knowledge; many professors will also sign you into any class you’d like to take. The philosophy here is this: if you want to be in the class, you can be in the class. It’s left up to you if you think you can handle it. The curriculum at UR is very open, and even as a freshman you’ll have only one required class (which some test out of), so the students are free to enjoy any class offered. There is no math requirement and no language requirement, which makes many UR students happy. The flexibility and quality of the curriculum is unparalleled.

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Students Speak Out

Anonymous says:

The teachers are brilliant... The teachers are brilliant researchers, and many are leaders in their fields. Even more impressive is that many of them are actually good teachers, as well. Sometimes the lectures can be dull, but I usually find my classes interesting. 12345 Academics Report

Anonymous says:

I have been very lucky; as a... I have been very lucky; as a history major and an art major, my classes are very interesting. The teachers are very energetic, making you further interested. 12345 Academics Report

Anonymous says:

For the most part, the professors... For the most part, the professors are pretty good. They’re easily accessible through office hours and are usually good about scheduling individual meetings. When you get a professor that is genuinely passionate about his area of expertise, the classes are very good. There are those occasional professors that are either difficult to understand during lecture (usually due to a language barrier) or hard to reach because they do so many things. I can only think of one professor that I have come into contact with that I thought was being unreasonable. So for the most part, the professors are very good. 12345 Academics Report

Anonymous says:

Pretty much all the classes are... Pretty much all the classes are interesting, and most of the teachers are great. Some teachers seem to avoid undergrads, but in general, professors are open to talking to students and try to answer any questions that they can. I have had more than one teacher put their home phone number on their syllabus. 12345 Academics Report

Anonymous says:

The teachers here, for the most... The teachers here, for the most part, are absolutely fantastic. I love my classes, though the lecture style was hard to get used to as a freshman. Beware, though, the non-English-speaking TAs in intro bio and chemistry classes—they can make life annoying. 12345 Academics Report

Facts

Did You Know?

There are 3.3 million volumes contained in Rush Rhees Library, the dome that is the central point of campus.

For tradition, you never sing the second verse of “The Genesee,” UR’s school song.

A real boar’s head is used as display at the annual Boar’s Head traditional dinner—good photo op!

If you hear the word “clusters” a lot, you’ll soon figure out what people are talking about. Clusters are groups of 12 credits (about three classes) within either the humanities, natural science, or social science. This is the only curriculum requirement at UR.

UR is one of the smallest schools in the country to carry out intensive research in multiple fields.

Best Places to Study:
Rush Rhees Library, ITS Center, Art and Music Library

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