Class Types & Requirements

Updated Fall 2020

Required talking points

• Seminar-style classes, lectures, traditional classrooms, and labs

  • Average class size (overall) is 32​

  • Average size for lecture halls is 120 students; the largest has 295 and the smallest is 60

  • 80% of classes have 40 students or less, and 50% of classes have 20 students or less 

  • Average first-year schedule has 2-3 classes in traditional classrooms, 2 lecture halls, and a seminar style room.

• General Education Requirements / Distribution Requirements

  • Quantitative Reasoning​

  • Foundational Writing & Information Literacy

  • Sustainability

  • Diversity

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Additional optional talking points

• 98% of classes taught by full-time faculty (2% taught by graduate student TA or visiting professors)

• 90% of full-time professors have the highest degree in their field ​

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AdvoCat Stories

• Lecture classes

  • I like to share this story because it highlights how easy it is to connect with professors, even in large classes. I was in Environmental Studies 001 my second year, which was a 100+ person class. Every time I went to lecture, I really loved the professor and the work that she was doing. Because of this, I wanted to form a deeper relationship with her but wasn't sure how to because I was intimidated participating a lot in such a large class. One day, the professor offered up an opportunity for students to join her at a conference for renewable energy. I signed up and went, which allowed me to meet other really motivated ENVS students and get to know my professor more. After the event, the professor decided to start a close-knit environmental group that discussed current climate events and provide opportunities for research and internships. It has been such a rewarding experience to see the professor and students each week, and I never thought it would be so easy to develop a strong relationship with a professor even in a large lecture.​ - Charlotte Graf

  • When I was a first year I was in a huge psych lecture class in Billings Lecture hall. There were about 200 or 300 people in the class and it was very intimidating for me coming in from a small high school entering this huge classroom with so many students and one professor. So many UVM students take this psych class and there were many outlets like study groups, TAs, etc to help you. The one class period I will never forget is our professor sat down in front of the entire class and licked the bottom of his shoe to make a point about a certain concept we were learning. It really showed me that your professors will do ANYTHING to help you understand and grasp the concepts they are teaching you, and they are really care about you and your education.  -Sophie Handloff

• Office Hours

  • I took my honors college seminar HCOL 085 with Lisa Schnell. My transition to uvm was a little bit rocky, I had a lot of self doubt and doubted that I was ready to transition to college life, even being so close to home. But whenever I went to her office hours to talk about an upcoming assignment or just to chat I felt really safe and at home. Her class and her presence really changed me as a student and a t thinker. At the end of the semester I wrote an essay about Frankenstein and how perceptions of scientists are vital to the world and the advancement of science. It was the first essay in my life that I felt was original, that I thought was powerful and unique. I could tell how proud Lisa was of my essay once I read her feedback, and it really affirmed that I was worthy to be here and that my ideas mattered. I still go to her office hours to this day to chat and catch up. She really has been a transformative person in my life, I have grown so much because of her. -Aidan May​

  • I once went to my professor's office hours to get help with an assignment for my African American Science Fiction & Fantasy class. We talked about the assignment for like the first 10 minutes but then we got distracted and started talking about Little Red Riding Hood. This spiraled to us just watching an episode of Looney Tunes in her office. It was really nice to connect with her on a new level and went to show that professors really are fun and do care. -Micayla Nadeau-Williams

• Relationships with professors

  • My first year I took a computer science class with Jim Eddy that really didn't have anything to do with my major or minors, I just took it to fulfill my computer literacy requirement for CALS. I really enjoyed the class and participated to a moderate degree, but I never really spoke to Professor Eddy much outside of class. Fast forward to spring of my sophomore year, I'm walking down the sidewalk and he recognizes me, addresses me by name, and asks me how school and life are. Just goes to show that UVM professors care about their students even after they've left their class! -Kira White​

  • Coming into college I always had this perception that professors were this untouchable group of people who would want nothing to do with me. Throughout my time at UVM I have truly been able to see how kind, humble and gracious professor have been with not only their time but also their resources. Professors (who aren't event my advisor) have always made a real effort to check in on how I am doing as a person, not just as a student. -Julianne Lesch

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For more information...

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