<p>Hello, I'm an entering freshman. I want to know from current Rice students about the most impressive courses and professors. It would be helpful for new students on the course-selection aspect. Thanks a lot.</p>
<p>Math 427, a semi-graduate-level introduction to complex analysis taught by Bufetov (<a href=“http://math.rice.edu/~aib1/[/url])–the”>http://math.rice.edu/~aib1/)–the</a> best course I’ve ever had (in any subject).</p>
<p>has anyone taken FSEM 167 - NEWTON AND THE 18TH CENTURY ?</p>
<p>This course really has sparked my interest and would like to know how it is.</p>
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<p>Wow, yes, I’ve actually taken this course (last year as a freshman). Definitely highly recommended. Dr. John Zammito teaches it; he’s absolutely amazing and can make dry, dense material very lively and interesting.</p>
<p>POLI 212- Introduction to Comparative Politics by Dr. Ambler (tough class but awesome professor!)</p>
<p>^^Seconded. I also took his Comparative Public Policy seminar. We met on Tuesday nights at his house. Best course I’ve taken at Rice, and a fantastic capstone to the POLI major.</p>
<p>Also, any course from Douglas Brinkley in the history department. It’s basically “storytime with Dougie B.” He just knows so much, and he spits out as much of it as possible in the hour and a half you have with him.</p>
<p>That said, don’t worry about classes just yet. You’ll receive plenty of advice during O-Week, and you really don’t want to go in with a set idea of what you want to do, because you’ll receive lots of other opinions that will upset your carefully-planned future.</p>
<p>Hannon’s PHYS 111/112 classes were awesome. You really go in-depth on all the concepts and get the derivations of all those equations you use. He’s a great lecturer and really knows his stuff, and his tests are some of the most challenging (but rewarding) exams I’ve ever had.</p>
<p>sociology 101 with kimbro. that class was freaking awesome</p>
<p>Do they still have “Asteroids for Idioids”?</p>
<p>I took the Newton class as well. It gets a little repetitive near the end (once you’ve reached 24-30 hours of talking about Newton…) but it was enjoyable and easy. I don’t know if they have asteroids, but we definitely have “Rocks for Jocks” which I’m assuming is similar lol.
Best classes I’ve had:
ENG 379 - Third World Literature
BIOE 252 - Fundamentals of Bioengineering
Intro to International Relations with Stoll was also enjoyable, and Brinkley is AWESOME.</p>
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<li><p>For an introductory general chemistry class, Dr. Hutchinson taught it VERY WELL (he has all the qualities of an ideal professor). However, CHEM 121 is also a very tough class… so only take it if you are interested in chemistry/engineering/medicine.</p></li>
<li><p>If you plan on taking any Spanish classes, take Spanish 202 or Spanish 302 with Raquel Gaytan. She was so funny (and I’m not the type who usually laughs at Spanish jokes) and encourages a lot of discussion; she improves our speaking confidence.</p></li>
<li><p>HUMA 102 (only offered spring semester) was decent with Dr. Edward Anderson. He invited us to his house, and his wife gave an opera performance, which was really cool. However, I heard Dr. Harter is the favorite HUMA 102 professor, but I also think Dr. Anderson was a great professor (he also brought his dog to class).</p></li>
<li><p>I enjoyed EBIO 213, which was an introductory ecology and evolutionary biology lab module. The labs were fun, and the writeups were not too bad. Good if you are a biology major/premed or just interested in ecology.</p></li>
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<p>I’ve also heard that Dr. Kimbro’s SOCI 101, a class taught by Douglas Brinkley (this guy is a regular on CNN, CBS News, and has been quoted by tons of publications regarding his thoughts on the BP oil spill), the energy policy class by Dr. Amy Jaffe (probably one of America’s foremost energy policy experts), and Dr. Mikki Hebl’s Social Psychology class are must takes.</p>
<p>any particular professors or courses which are highly regarded in economics or in pre-med courses (biology, chemistry, etc.)?</p>
<p>Dr. Brown is a highly regarded economics professor (and he is teaching the introductory Economics class next fall). For premed classes, Dr. Gustin, who teaches BIOC 201 (introductory biology), is well-regarded by students and so is Dr. Hutchinson, who teaches CHEM 121 and CHEM 123 (Gen Chem I and Gen Chem II). However, Dr. Hutchinson was also recently named Dean of Undergraduates, so I’m not sure if he will be teaching general chemistry or not. Although these are all great professors, they are all tough graders though.</p>
<p><a href=“Welcome | Rice University”>Welcome | Rice University;
<p>It’s been a while, but I’m pretty sure that Dr. Hutchinson gave a terrific speech at Owl Days, back in 2008. He sounds perfect for the job.</p>
<p>Can a non-science, non-math major find happiness at Rice?</p>
<p>Absolutely! Happiness – as in thriving friendships, strong ties to terrific profs, lots of collaboration on campus activities, stimulating discussions … </p>
<p>The largest school at Rice focuses on social sciences … Baker Institute Student Forum provides access to speakers, planning and research opportunities … paid summer internships in D.C. through Rice, lots of collaborating… happiness happens easily!</p>
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<p>Nope. You will be routinely judged and laughed at meals.</p>
<p>Kidding. I know plenty of non-math/non-science people who have a great time at Rice (sometimes a better time as they don’t have those evil engineering problem sets :D). Rice has many excellent programs in the humanities. One of my favorite classes at Rice was Psyc 202 - Social psychology with Dr. Mikki Hebl. </p>
<p>Rice is an awesome place to be.</p>