<p>The opportunity to interact with faculty is one of the VERY BEST things about Duke. I was in FOCUS last semester, and I had the opportunity to learn from some of the best professors (experts in their field) as a first semester freshmen. However, it is definitely not limited to seminars. I took organic chemistry last semester (~90 students) and am taking intro geology this semester (~90 students). I made a point to ask them questions after class and go by during office hours- as a result, they know me quite well even though they were relatively large classes. Classes at Duke tend to be very small. Most of my classes so far (with the exception of the previous two) have had 30 students at most, and 15 is the norm. My largest class next semester will have 14; my smallest class will have 8. </p>
<p>I just got back from a weekend field trip to the Marine Lab, so I'll do a promotion speech for it in addition to faculty interaction. It was absolutely AMAZING. Two professors and 5 grad students came on the trip. Considering there was only 18 of us, that was an extremely high faculty-student ratio. We spent the weekend poking around the salt marshes, hiking on Shackleford Bank (with wild horses), trawling on the Susan Hudson, examining our catches in the lab, etc. It was a blast, and I got to know my professors really well. Keep in mind that this is an <em>introductory</em> class and most of the other kids in there aren't even science majors!!!! </p>
<p>In short, this is DEFINITELY one area in which Duke excels. Professors are always willing to work with you. Next semester I'm doing an independent study with a professor who's been retired for several years, but he was very excited about temporarily coming out of retirement! I have yet to have a single professor that I didn't know very well.</p>