<p>I'm curious to see what current Jumbos have to say about the best classes at Tufts. </p>
<p>Are there any must-takes (regardless of major)? What about hidden gems? </p>
<p>What courses have you taken at Tufts (again, regardless of major) that have really stood out as the definitive courses of your college career?</p>
<p>bump......</p>
<p>if you're an engineer, then go for EN10 freshman year for your first semester elective... chris rogers is the man</p>
<p>I'm in a class now called Contemporary Studies in Terrorism and Counterterrorism. It's in the ExCollege (EXP 60) and it's without a doubt the best class I've taken at Tufts so far.</p>
<p>Intro to American Politics (PS 11) with Dean Glaser - it made me want to be a political science major. Also, School and Society (Education 001) was a fantastic course and the final project (designing your own high school, at least when I took it) was the most interesting thing project I worked on at Tufts.</p>
<p>I’m going to bring this back from the grave, I’m sure I’m not the only incoming freshman who whats to hear which classes upperclassmen/grads think were the best/most memorable. Which professors did you like best?</p>
<p>Also interested in hearing this- especially suggestions for math/economics kind of student.</p>
<p>
If you have an early enough registration time, get your math class with Kaufman - never had her but she has the best reputation. I had Borgers this semester for math 12 and he was amazing - unfortunately he goes on leave next semester.
<p>What are good math and science classes for students who aren’t oriented toward those areas but need to fulfill the distribution requirement?</p>
<p>RE: science classes for non sciencey people, look to the Civil Engineering department. I found a few amazing classes there that still have a tremendous impact on me today. I took two on epidemiology, and they even ended up counting for my International Relations degree.</p>
<p>I also second a previous poster’s rec of Chris Borgers for math classes. Math of Social Choice was fascinating and fun. It’s too bad he’s on leave next semester, but plan to find him when he’s back!</p>
<p>Also: Jonathan Wilson’s classes in the English Department were amazing. He is hilarious and has a really good sense for post-modern literature as well as for picking out fantastic contemporary writers. I also highly appreciated Lecia Rosenthal’s class on Ulysses – but I probably wouldn’t recommend taking that until you’re an upperclassman.</p>
<p>Economics of International Migration is great – particularly timely in this political climate. I wish I had taken more philosophy classes. Also more with Prof. Devigne in the polisci department. </p>
<p>Take advantage, once you qualify, to take classes at Tufts’ graduate schools. Some of the courses I took at Fletcher were just amazing.</p>
<p>Finally, Paul Joseph of the Peace & Justice Studies Dept. is great, too. If you’re lefty-leaning, you’ll enjoy his progressive take on politics, justice, and the like.</p>
<p>Lolabelle – how does one get to take Fletcher courses as an UG? Does one have to apply for the MALD program, or is there another way?</p>
<p>Reply to above poster: I can’t remember the specifics right now as it’s been a few years already, but I am pretty sure you have to be at the top of your undergraduate IR class and receive permission from the IR department to take graduate-level courses at Fletcher.</p>
<p>You don’t have to be at the top of your undergrad class, you just need a professor’s permission and usually need to be a senior. </p>
<p>I recommend philosophy classes to anyone who enjoys thinking. Susan Russinoff’s logic class is not easy, but if you take it seriously it WILL make you a more convincing persuasive writer and a more critical thinker, and it counts for a math credit. Patrick Forber’s Rational Choice was the best class I ever took at Tufts. Really cool young guy with a Master’s in biology and a Ph.D in philosophy, and the subject matter is amazing. It’s where economics, philosophy, and neuroscience come together to create a theory of how people make decisions. For anyone who feels that they will need to make decisions of any kind at some point, this class will help you to make better ones. I could literally feel myself getting smarter during that class.</p>
<p>I also highly recommend virtually any class whatsoever with David Art in the political science department. Tufts has no better professor, for my money.</p>
<p>^^^ Snarf is right about the only hurdle for Fletcher being professor’s permission and the awesomocity of the Philosophy department. I am amazed, every time, by the professors in the Philosophy department and how seriously they take their teaching responsibilities.</p>
<p>What’s the rational choice course listed as?</p>
<p>Also, as far as philosophy, I would highly recommend taking intro with Chris Robichaud. He’s a little slow at getting papers back, but he’s a great philosophy instructor and made the class really interesting. We’re hoping we can get him to teach a Philosophy of Superheroes class, too.</p>
<p>It’s Phil 38, and just called Rational Choice. It’s not offered every semester.</p>
<p>Almost everyone in the phil department will pretty much rock your socks right off.</p>
<p>I am current tufts student. I am a math and cs double major. Also, I have taken several econ classes.</p>
<p>For Math, I really like Todd Quinto, Mary Glaser and Misha Kilmer. Very good lecturers and very involved in the learning process.</p>
<p>The CS department is very atypical for a couple of reasons. First, the profs have a light lecture load and really get to teach in their areas of speciality. Second, this department is loaded with very high quality faculty. Diane Souvainne, Carla Brodley, Lenore Cowen, Sam Guyer and Ben Hescott are all rock stars. In terms of just great lectures, it is a toss up between Brodley (any machine learning) and Hescott (anything).</p>
<p>For Econ, I am a fan of Norman, Ioannides and Garman.</p>
<p>Outside of those departments, my must take classes at Tufts are:</p>
<p>Intro to Yiddish - Sol Gittleman
History of America’s Pastime - Sol Gittleman</p>
<p>Intro to American Politics - Dean James Glaser</p>
<p>Gospel Choir - David Coleman</p>
<p>Also, take a class at the museum school.</p>
<p>I am a freshman at Tufts.
there are so many great classes here that if you look under your area of interest, you will always be able to find some amazing classes. Also, Tufts students are able to cross-register at Brandeis, BC, or BU, so you can exploit all the resources there, if you’d like.</p>
<p>Here are a few that I’ve heard a lot of great things about on campus:</p>
<p>Languange & the Mind - taught by Daniel Dennett, one of the most renowned philosophers alive today</p>
<p>EPIIC - listed under the ExCollege, this is a very demanding year-long course that examines a specific global issue (this year i think it’s something to do with nuclear weapons), and it’s organized by the very well funded Institute for Global Leadership. They are able to get some of the world’s most authoritative figures on the issue to come speak to the students, and I think students also travel to conferences to discuss and research extensively on the topic. look it up.</p>
<p>Intro. to IR - I’m taking it this year with prof. Malik Mufti. Not an easy course, but it has completely shifted my paradigm on international politics</p>
<p>International Law - (in response to the above discussion) although you have to get permission to take graduate-level Fletcher courses, there are often courses taught by Fletcher faculty, such as this one, which is for all Tufts undergrads.</p>
<p>Haruki Murakami - a very popular class on one of the best Japanese novelists of today. he taught at Tufts in the 80s, and prof. Hosea Hirata who teaches this course is apparently a close personal friend. the japanese department also offers a class on Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro, etc.)</p>