<p>I heard great things about International Studies courses at my university. Lively debates, few black-and-white answers, interpretive essays where you have to defend your conclusions to the scrutiny of the class, group discussions, and team projects. </p>
<p>Yet the 2 upper-level International Studies courses I have taken have severely let me down. We get assigned 200-400 pages a week to read, which is fine by me if we are going to apply it in class or through assignments. Except that the only thing that happens in the course is listening to the professor speak for 3 hours with a multiple-choice examination consisting of only 20 to 40 questions every 3 to 4 weeks. </p>
<p>I thought that I was going to be challenged through innovative problems and original thinking about different political, economic, and social processes; instead all we do is memorize and recall generic facts. </p>
<p>I was thinking of minoring in International Studies but now I am not so sure. I am hoping that the 2 upper-level courses I have taken are anomalies at best.</p>
Yes. I was severely disappointed by all the three departments I considered majoring in at my undergraduate college (math, computer science and economics). Started taking classes at another college (through cross-registration agreements) and was instantly much happier!</p>
<p>If you can get your hands on syllabuses before you register for classes, only take classes that have a large portion of your grade based on essays, or that also weight participation >5%. If you don’t find any, you’re probably right to be disappointed in the department. If you can, that should help you pick courses. (Also maybe take seminars vs. lecture classes if you can.)</p>
<p>I have actually been pretty lucky so far in all of the areas I have tried (Mass Communication, Art, & Design). My worst professors I had were those I had while doing my generals.</p>