| nceph, I am not trying to pick an argument, but rather to correct an apparent, and oft repeated, misconception. There are many differences between a university like UNC and a small liberal arts school like Williams which should be considered by a student in making a school selection, but I do not think the likelihood of having any significant number of course taught by a graduate student is one of them.
To answer your question, my son has been at UNC for more than three years. In that time, he has had one course taught by other than a professor, and in that case the class had a very narrow focus and was taught by a PHD candidate who specialized in that subject; he has been one of my son’s favorite instructors. He has had a number of classes where graduate students led recitation sections. Whether having TA’s teaching recitation sections is a negative or not is, I suppose, up to the opinion of each person. In my experience, some graduate students can be just as good, if not better, teachers as full professors. Unfortunately, being awarded a PHD does not seem to automatically confer great teaching skills.
I doubt my son’s experience is materially different from that of most other students. If you have any information to the contrary, I will certainly stand corrected. |