It’s here again, registration time. The questions about which classes to take, which classes are easy, or which classes are actually worth waking up at 9 am for start to arise. No matter what your major is, there are always some classes that are worth taking. As for the gen eds, there are some professors that will make them more interesting than others. So how do you know which classes to take? Well here are some classes that students have really liked during there years at UIUC:
“ARCH 476, Professor Jeff Poss, Architectural Design Studio 6 credit hours: The professor has a process for project development that allows for the students to really find out what specific aspects of architecture that they like, which leads to a much more developed project in the long run. The project from his studio will end up being a large part of my portfolio from UIUC.” — Matt Paul, senior, Architectural Studies.
“STATS 100 with Fireman. She was an amazing professor who made stats so easy and understandable (i hate math and i ended up getting an A+ in her class). And it wasn’t like one of those classes where you take the tests and then forget everything right away. I actually remember a bunch from her class!” — Danielle DeBusman, senior, Nursing.
“My freshman year Human Sexuality (renamed Community Health now or something). Professor was nice enough to show the 500 people in the lecture the South Park sex ed episode, a Jenna Jameson flick, and issue an in-class assignment to write down “our best nicknames for male/female parts.” — Alex Tseger, alumnus, Political Science.
“My absolute favorite class, well, two classes, actually, in undergrad were definitely HIST 250 and 251 with Professor John Lynn. I appreciated Professor Lynn’s beret, mustache, and sunglasses, as well as his exuberant lectures. I learned many useful skills, such as how to successfully conduct a siege of of a fortified settlement (starve the population, construct circumvallation, contravallation, etc.), how to subjugate a native population (crush their military and spirits, take hostages to assure obedience), and how to get peasants to give up the location of their gold and supplies. For the ladies, there was a week-long discourse on the role of women traveling with medieval armies, who provided the soldiers with merchant, prostitution, and laundry services. Seriously though, I would highly recommend the courses as I found them extremely interesting and they were some of the only lectures I actually enjoyed going to.” — Chris Alfano, alumnus, Economics.
“ATMS 120 with Snodgrass. He is an awesome professor who makes class a lot of fun and interactive. His class is super easy and he gives a lot of extra credit assignments to make sure his students do well in the class. He also used YouTube videos and clips from movies to get the class interested in what he was teaching. He’s pretty good looking too, so that’s definitely a plus.” — Jillian Miller, senior, Psycology.
“ANTH 184: Asian American Studies. It was a Gen ed class but of course it was interesting to be in a class of all Asians practically. Also, we discussed openly stereotypes and racial issues Asians were faced with in both the past and today. We read a few books, one on even a transgender Filipino gay man. Also, films were a part of class including “Harold and Kumar go to White Castle” and we were asked to write down any stereotype of Asians brought up. I really liked how the professor was so relaxed and he seemed like he really enjoyed teaching.” — Cindy Nge, alumna, Recreation, Sport and Tourism.
“FSHN 120 with Rebecca Roach is one of the best classes I’ve taken at UIUC. It’s interesting and provides you with information that you can use for the rest of your life.” — Clare Hansen, junior.
A few classes that I would recommend are:
- CMN 321 with John Murphy is an amazing class. We read speeches and analyzed them. The tests are only over the notes taken in class. Attendance is required, but he is extremely interesting and a great speaker.
- Any class with Pat Gill! She teaches both CMN and GWS courses. She has an amazing life story, and is hilarious! Her classes are worth taking.
- CMN 230 with Professor Knoblach. This class is all about relationships and all the information is actually useful. It is a great class to add even if you are at 14 or 15 hours already.
Some of these classes may be a lot of work, but they are worth taking. So this coming semester, take a class or two that interest you, not just ones that fulfill your requirements (but it doesn’t hurt if they do both!). Because our educations are about what we put into them, and the knowledge we get out of them, not just the grades we receive.