Undergraduate Focus?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
1

<p>I'm sure we all know that Princeton is well-known for their undergraduate focus largely because of their lack of professional schools.</p>

<p>So, naturally Princetonians would enjoy learning first-hand from those Nobel Laureates or Celebrity Professors.</p>

<p>Is Yale like this too? Do Yalies actually learn from the big shots? Or do TA/TFs mostly teach everything to the undergrads (like Harvard)?</p>

<p>Thank you for your time!!</p>

2

<p>At Yale, and at Harvard (contrary to what you have heard), the vast majority of undergraduate classes are taught by either tenured professors, adjunct professors, or professors under a university contract. TA/TF’s teach the individual sections of large lecture classes, labs, and some beginning foreign language courses. See:</p>

<p>Yale: [Standard</a> Meeting Times | Yale College](<a href=“http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/standard-meeting-times]Standard”>http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/standard-meeting-times)
<a href=“http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/standard-time-patterns#3[/url]”>http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/standard-time-patterns#3&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/availability-faculty-members[/url]”>http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/availability-faculty-members&lt;/a&gt;
Harvard: <a href=“http://www.fdo.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k3806&pageid=icb.page102334[/url]”>http://www.fdo.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k3806&pageid=icb.page102334&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I cannot find a similar link for Princeton, but under the faq sections, there is a note: [Prospective</a> Student FAQ ?*Princeton Engineering](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/engineering/undergraduate/faq/#faq3]Prospective”>http://www.princeton.edu/engineering/undergraduate/faq/#faq3)</p>

<p>Who will teach my courses?
“All Princeton courses are taught by professorial-rank faculty. Graduate students play a supporting role by assisting in labs and grading, and sometimes by leading precepts in the larger lecture courses.”</p>

<p>So, it would seem that the style of teaching is the same at HYP.</p>

3

<p>Perspective of a current senior:</p>

<p>There’s no denying that at Yale you will take a few lecture courses and have a few TAs (TAs rarely if ever teach actual courses–if they do, they’re small seminars and the students take it for the opportunity to study a cool, specialized topic).</p>

<p>As for studying with the “greats” at Yale, I would say it’s all about how smart you are during shopping period. The Yale professors are all aware there are brilliant undergrads at Yale who would be awesome to teach. As a result, nearly every legit professor offers, in addition to their large lectures, smaller specialized seminars that are available to undergrads. If you play your cards right during shopping period (something that’s not too difficult, but can be political and strategy-based) you’ll be fine. I feel like I’ve taken a GREAT mix of seminars and lectures from really important professors in the fields that matter to me.</p>

<p>If you care about it and try, you will get into courses with celebrity professors and they will write recommendations/connect you to cool people/teach you awesome things about their research. If you don’t care about it, you might float by in a bunch of lectures and never really meet those professors. I’ve had a great experience and have taken a bunch of seminars with professors I really admire (Don Kagan, George Chauncey, John Gaddis, John Farragher, etc.). My field is history, for what it’s worth.</p>