Teaching@Ohio State: Students-Environments

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Unique Learning Environments

During their time at Ohio State, students have several opportunities to participate in academic and enrichment programs, as well as to take advantage of special support units. The university's spring 2007 re-accreditation self-study report mentions the following support units and programs.

Honors Programs

Ohio State's Honors Programs give our most talented students the opportunity to enhance their undergraduate experience, and interact with a gifted student community that includes more than 500 National Merit, National Achievement, and National Hispanic Finalists. Currently we have about 6,000 Honors students. The university offers more than 350 Honors courses each year, in classes averaging 18 students per course and generally capping at 25 students. Qualified students typically come from the top 10% of their high school classes and have a 29 or higher ACT composite or 1300 SAT combined score or higher.

Scholars Programs

The Ohio State Scholars Programs give first-year students the opportunity to integrate their academic work with their lives outside the classroom. The programs bring together students who share similar academic and professional goals, enabling them to attend selected classes together and live in specially designated residence halls. Scholars typically have ACT composite scores ranging between 26-28 (or 1180-1290 SAT critical reading and math scores) and come from the top 20% of their high school classes. In 2006-2007, the programs were:

Architecture Scholars Program
Arts Scholars Program
Biological Sciences Scholars Program
Business Scholars Program
Communication Technology Scholars Program
Environment and Natural Resources Scholars Program
Health Sciences Scholars Program
Humanities Scholars Program
International Affairs Scholars Program
The Mount Leadership Society
Politics, Society, and Law Scholars Program
Pharmacy Scholars Program
Tomorrow's Teachers Scholars Program

Living/Learning Programs

Ohio State offers a variety of academic, cultural, and lifestyle residential environments--called Living/ Learning Programs (LLPs)--in residence halls across campus. The LLPs include academic communities like Engineering Focus Community, Pharmacy House Learning Community, and Visual and Performing Arts Learning Community; cultural communities, including International House and Afrikan American Learning Community; and one lifestyle community, the Substance-Free Living Community.

The Honors Collegium

This program assists Honor students in securing high-profile internships, gaining acceptance into leading graduate programs, and obtaining premier fellowships and scholarships.

Freshman Seminars

Ohio State freshman seminars were introduced in autumn 2003 to enable freshmen to learn from distinguished faculty in small, discussion-based classes capping at 18 students. Senior faculty come from a wide range of disciplines. In 2004, 230 students enrolled in 24 seminars. In 2006-2007, almost 1,000 freshmen enrolled in such seminars.

The Office of Undergraduate Research

This office was created in 2006 to provide assistance to undergraduate students who wish to learn about research opportunities at Ohio State.

The Denman Undergraduate Research Forum

The Denman Undergraduate Research Forum was created in 1996. It provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to share their research with the Ohio State community and its friends. The Forum has grown from about 60 presentations ten years ago to over 300 in 2007.

Service Learning & Internships

Opportunities for service learning and undergraduate internships are supported at Ohio State. For example, the Service-Learning Initiative established in 2000 provides enhanced learning experiences for students through service-learning courses in 11 colleges.

Interdisciplinary Majors & Minors

Growth in interdisciplinary programs at the undergraduate level has been promoted with the re-organization of the Colleges of the Arts and Sciences, and at the graduate level through the attribution of awards to support the development of such programs.

Study Abroad

Approximately 16% of Ohio State students participate in a study abroad program. The university's long-term goal is to have half of Ohio State students study outside the U.S. for some time.

How Students Choose Courses

Students will enroll in your courses for many reasons. Before scheduling at orientation, academic advisors will introduce students to the curricular requirements in their chosen field of study. Some fields require many specific courses; other fields are more flexible in the courses that students can take in their program. Students may be required to take your class for their major or minor. Students may choose your course to meet an undergraduate General Education Curriculum requirement (GEC) or they may choose a course because of an interest in the topic, because the time is convenient, or because they have heard the course is easy (and then they discover how hard it is!). In summary, the students in your classes will be there due to various motivations, and their level of interest in your subject matter will vary. An important part of your job as an instructor is to stimulate enthusiasm for your subject among those students whose interest may be low.

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