The University of Rochester

Date: Oct 23 2007
Major: Math (This Major's Salary over time)
I am a mathematics major and philosophy + compsci double minor, so I will provide some information about all three departments as well as the school in general. I am also a transfer student and commuter, so my experience at UofR tends to be much more academic as opposed to social, since I have a social life, work life, and family life outside of class.

UofR is a beautiful campus, with many great resources. The campus provides a lot of educational resources, has an excellent career center, and hosts many events within the departments and the school as a whole. The students and professors tend to be approachable. There are exceptions, but what can you expect.

The math department is fairly large. There is a good amount of electives and advance classes to take, as well as honors courses and graduate courses for undergraduate students to take. Professors generally have review sessions before exams, and mandatory weekly recitations (for homework or extra help). Undergraduate research is available, but not abundant. Most research is done through independent studies. I have a few problems with the math department. One is that the prerequisites for the classes should be stricter. In some of my classes, there has been excessive amounts of time spent on basic ideas of sets and proofs which are taught in less difficult classes because students have not taken these classes.

I also have not taken a class with a math professor who has stayed in the department for more than a year or two. This makes it difficult to get recommendations for graduate school or jobs. This is perhaps my biggest complaint. The department constantly has visiting professors (who are very good, mind you) teaching upper-level classes that just leave once they get offered tenure at another university.

The philosophy department is small and focuses heavily on analytic philosophy. The research interests of the department are very balanced in this area, but I feel the major areas of interest are Metaphysics with emphasis on Philosophy of mind and Epistemology. Some professors in the department are excellent, and others are forgettable, and even worse, self-absorbed and unhelpful. If your interests are in Foucault, Hegel, Marx, Derrida, Materialism, Historicism, Critical theory, or so called 'continental' philosophers, stay away from this department, as they do not cover any of these subjects in any philosophy course. There are a few classes like this in Modern Languages and Cultures department.

CS: I'm very new the the CS department. But it is great. Small department with ample research opportunities. The faculty is very approachable, quirky, and energetic. Languages that are dependent upon windows (like visual basic, visual anything else) are not taught. Application programming is not taught. Very academic feel to the CS program as compared to some other colleges.

Social life: A bit bland. Tons of activities, but lacking on the diversity of students. Sometimes it feels like I'm at a country club when I walk through campus. If that is your idea of fun you will fit right in. If it isn't, then it might depress you like it sometimes depresses me.