Hi guys,
I’m currently deciding between Oxford College of Emory University and UMiami CAS. I’m not too fond of Oxford’s location but then again the academics are Emory and I continue to Emory anyway in two years. One thing I like about Emory University is the liberal arts based curriculum in which you can take courses in different fields. At UMiami I am entering Freshman Year as an International Studies major, however, I am interested in taking courses in Economics, Biology etc for at least two years before I decide to really focus in on my major. Would this be possible at UMiami, or is the curriculum more focussed on the major itself? This may seem like a stupid question, but I did a lot of research on the UMiami website and I really couldn’t get much of a definitive answer on what the freshman year curriculum would look like.
Anyone?
I am a parent of a UM student. Most students spend freshman year getting their general education requirements taken care of. These vary by major and school but typically take the form of “cognates” or three-course sequences of courses of a similar topics. You should be able to take courses in Econ and Biology either as part of a cognate or an elective to see whether you like those better.
Also, just as a word of warning, UM is not a strong liberal arts university, it’s strengths are more in the pre-professional majors. You will get a much better education at Emory/Oxford College where you will be surrounded by better professors and smarter students. Good luck.
^ Agree. If the costs are similar for each school, go with Emory. You said it yourself, you want a liberal arts education. Most liberal art schools are in the middle of nowhere. Oxford is only what like a half an hour from Atlanta?
Sounds good to me.
@AimingTop50 @londondad yeah buy I visited Oxford and it seemed to be very dead and apparently grading/workload is very tough there. At Miami I feel as if I’d be able to earn a much higher GPA and the social life wouldn’t be as depressing. What’s UMiami’s reputation like? Is it respected as an academic institution or is it more just considered a party school?
@siii432 It depends who you’re asking.
I consider it a solid academic school. It is a top 50 institution for a reason. It also is known to be a chill school. I think that’s pretty awesome.
Let me just clarify: you can take different classes from different fields. In fact, you have to. There are three “Areas of Knowledge” from which you have to take classes.
- Arts & Humanities
- People & Society
- Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM).
From my understanding,
Arts and Humanities cover Foreign Languages (if you wanted to learn, say Chinese), Literature, and History
People and Society comprises of psychology, communications, ethics, and politics
STEM speaks for itself.
You need to take at least 3 classes from each of these areas to fulfill this requirement.
“At UMiami I am entering Freshman Year as an International Studies major, however, I am interested in taking courses in Economics, Biology etc for at least two years”. UM can be hit or miss with Arts and Sciences majors, but from what I have seen/heard the above subjects at Miami seem fine, the Econ dept seems pretty good there.