91³ÉÈË

I had an overall positive experience within my major (music) and even met some good professors outside the music building, but the university's bureaucracy was challenging at mulitiple points during my academic journey. My car was towed in the first two weeks that I was there, for parking lot resurfacing. That was a week before the start of the semester, and the only kids in the neighboring dorm were the marching band students like me. They should have come to the rehearsal and let us know, right?... Read More Then in my senior year, they wouldn't confirm if I had completed all course work to graduate in time for me to send out invitations. These bookend experiences left a bad taste in my mouth.

My time at The University of Tennessee was engaging, challenging and full of opportunities to grow as an individual to prepare me for the real world. As a transfer student coming into my junior year it was hard to jump in initially and get involved. I ended up joining a business fraternity that led to many friendships, networking events and neat career growth opportunities that I would not have had otherwise. The culture on campus was friendly and inviting. There was lots of diversity and truly a... Read More club for everyone it felt like. I loved the talent the school had through sports and the school spirit we had as well. I was able to be involved in our sports marketing internship and work directly with different sports on campus. Classes were rigorous and I felt constantly challenged. My professors were helpful but extra credit was hard to come by in a lot of cases. Class sizes were bigger at points but I didn't mind it. I loved my marketing classes the most. They were creative, hands on, simulated team building focused that worked at building us professionally to prepare us for the real world. I worked hard at UT to earn my degree and would recommend anyone to attend. The business program is great and would benefit anyone who attends.

As a graduate student at the university of Tennessee, Knoxville, I’ve found my experience mostly positive. Many students are of the notion that faculty are supportive and willing to help, and the programs offer solid research and professional opportunities. The workload can be heavy sometimes and stressful especially when trying to balance classes within research and teaching, and issues like housing and campus construction can be frustrating. Overall, UTK provides strong academics and a supportive... Read More environment, but it requires good time management to succeed.

I am submitting this review anonymously due to a genuine fear of retaliation, which itself reflects the environment at UT Law.

My experience has been marked by an unsupportive community, accessibility issues, and poorly organized courses. Several professors were inaccessible, dismissive, or outright rude when asked for help, and many emphasized abstract theory with little to no practical legal experience or real-world application.

Course organization was consistently weak, with unclear expectations... Read More and shifting requirements that made learning unnecessarily difficult.

I regret my decision to attend UT Law. Prospective students should carefully consider whether they are comfortable in a program with limited support, weak accessibility, and a lack of practical, well-structured instruction.

I earned my PhD in the XYZ department (not disclosing which department or exactly during which years to maintain my anonymity and protect myself). I will also say that I am writing this review with a level head and calm attitude at a certain period of time after I earned my degree. I learned a few things along the way. For one, the undergrads seem to have a decent thing going for them. Unfortunately, the grad students are generally swept under the rug and have to fend for themselves. Very few of... Read More the faculty seem be concerned with the success of the grad students. This is not to say that the faculty members are not contributing scientists or decent folks. Some of them are well-respected or otherwise well-known (or used to be) scientists in their field of study. Some are "famous" scientists. Coursework: there are only 2 or 3 relevant upper-level courses offered in the XYZ department for the grad students. Only one of these courses has any sort of analytical or critical thinking component. The other few are essentially worthless and commonly known as a joke of a course. Even the faculty will admit that the courses are a joke. There is a common trend for the faculty to spend most of the class time palling around with the grad students, casually and infrequently mentioning a "neat paper" (and then not bothering to dive into how and why it is so "neat"). Many times the grad students are expected to lead the class or teach a lesson. This is actually a good thing in practice. However, due to the complete lack of rigor in the department the grad students often don't know exactly what they are talking about. Again, this can be a good learning experience. BUT, there is never a point where the professor in charge chimes in to correct a mistake or to highlight something important that should be discussed more deeply. Important analyses are never explained in the slightest detail. They are casually mentioned and breezed over. There is no instruction whatsoever at any point. As long as the student-instructor does not completely butcher every aspect of their lecture they often earn full points. This invites endless opportunities to confuse the other students. There is a palpable sense of apathy in the classroom. It is bizarre. This is especially frustrating as someone who is desperate to learn as much as possible. There is no structure in the department. Each academic advisor essentially makes up some arbitrary way to say that, "yes, this person can have an M.S. or Ph.D", and they give their nod to whatever almighty power that prints the diplomas. There are no standards for preliminary or final exams or any specific qualifications or abilities you need to display. Essentially, any student that stubbornly survives the process gets their advanced degree. It doesn't matter how poorly they perform. Some branches are worse than others. I will not divulge exactly which specific branch of study in the department - but many of these advanced degrees are essentially given away. Some faculty will openly admit to this academic sin or refer to it casually. Ultimately (especially for PhD - level studies), the student should display an ability to teach themselves complex analyses and to learn how and why the scientific method is best applied their field of study. However, there is still massive gaping hole in the educational process. It is rather frightening and depressing to watch this hole expand. Part of my project suffered immensely because some folks over my head "lost" or "misplaced" tens of thousands of dollars that were specifically delegated to my research project. The issue was discussed and shrugged off in a matter of seconds at a meeting. This was federal funding that required a lot of work to acquire - completely dismissed and forgotten. How does this compare to other Universities? In the USA or internationally? The educational process seems to be incredibly diluted. I sincerely hope that these are isolated issues. If not, "advanced degrees" are simply a product of an automated factory process.

The social work school is horrible. They can be extremely stuck up. Multiple times I have been belittled and treated poorly for asking questions about my field placement or for asking questions in regards to a grade that was inappropriately placed but eventually was fixed. I was put into a very inappropriate field placement and then blamed. My field instructor did not even have a social work degree and the college allowed her to count my hours wrong all while shaming ME for asking for help on the... Read More matter. It is evident the professor of my field course has narcissistic tendencies as well, and I have no idea how she is a social worker at all at this point with her lack of ethics and lack of empathy. She comes off extremely robotic. I wish I could get a refund due to such a horrible experience. It was borderline traumatic and I am emotionally drained already just from attending this college. I have nothing positive to say. I am disgusted at how students are treated and made to feel. There is a general lack of support and no empathy, all while being shamed and called "unprofessional" if you have any emotions at all due to THEIR errors. They also blame you if they mess anything up. I was even attacked over email for being confused by a faculty members spelling error at one point! GLAD TO BE DONE! DO NOT GO HERE!!

The University of Tennessee has all of the resources of public university and the staff of a private university. While UTK can seem overwhelmingly large, professors and staff are committed to helping students succeed. Even after graduation, my professors went above and beyond to write letters of recommendation that helped me get into one of the most competitive masters programs in the country and went a step further to write a second letter to help me secure a scholarship. While I was at UT, I was... Read More in a sorority, a foreign language club, helped create a Minor in Leadership Studies, went on an alternative spring break, participated in endless volunteer opportunities and spent every Saturday of fall in Neyland Stadium.

My experience at UTK was pretty good. I enjoyed the friendships, the many opportunities to volunteer, and living in a college town. I loved the atmosphere of being around people who wanted to learn and better their lives. I'm sure I probably wouldn't recognize the school because of all of the construction going on, which was a negative for me. Also, I did not receive financial aid as an out-of-state student. However, I have heard they were doing a better job of that. As far as my program, I would... Read More say it was challenging, but that the software taught is not what jobs, at least the ones I applied for cared about (with the exception of SPSS). So, make sure you take the time to learn others. Most people I knew who were in the program had to continue to graduate school to be able to get jobs they wanted- mainly because you really do have to know what you are doing. I believe what could make the program better is if they make it a requirement to have internships with partner companies (in areas other than southern states) to give students that real world connection, so that grad school can be seen as a choice and not a necessity. Overall, though, I loved my teachers as they cared about my success.

The University of Tennessee-Knoxville (UTK) is a wonderful school with many majors of study for undergraduate and graduate degrees. The campus is beautiful and the athletics department is full of spirit. Knoxville has really grown since the 1990's and there are so many things to do on and off campus. However, you may not need to leave campus for amazing fun and you will certainly receive an extraordinary education! My experience at the UTK was in the late 80's/early 90's. As a minority student studying... Read More Electrical Engineering, there was an amazing support for students in what was then called the Minority Engineering Scholarship Program (MESP). It has since been renamed as a Diversity Program. The staff, professors and administration of UTK are par excellence. There are many opportunities to be involved in the UTK community. Whether you are interested in intramural sports, music, debate, theatre--there is something for you to be involved in at UT! Go Vols! You'll say that a lot! Our Big Orange colors and are school spirit are second to NONE! AT UT--camaraderie ABOUNDS! As a student on scholarship, I appreciated the financial services. As an out-of-state student, my scholarship did not cover all expenses, however, there are so many opportunities for work-study on campus to supplement financial assistance as a student. I enjoyed my experience and my education at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. I have life-long friends that I love and cherish today. We still speak of the wonderful times we had on campus. I wouldn't trade it for the world! Go Vols!!

I attended the flagship school of the state of Tennessee. One thing that really made my experience amazing was my involvement. I was in marching band as well as the treasurer of an academic honor society. I was a part of every game day experience and participated in the induction of the bright minds of very focused students. With school itself, it is always great to see new improvements being made. However, it would have been amazing to have something that lasts like the old university center when... Read More I started in 2012. It felt like I wasn't able to enjoy what made a great memory for more than 2 years. The professors were amazing and challenging. I will always remember how my first math professor helped me work through my work because he knew what I had the potential to do. I had a great start, got challenged in the middle, and had an even greater finish. The accounting and finance department is what I can comment on specifically. It was one of the most challenging yet rewarding moments I have experienced. It created a certain grit when you reach the end that made me thankful later down the line in my career path.

My time at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville was the best four years of my life to date! The professors are not only committed to providing their students with quality education, but they are also extremely accessible. Their doors were always open and I felt comfortable coming to them with any questions or concerns I had. The campus itself is beautiful and creates a wonderful working environment and to top it all off they are constantly activities, program, and organizations that will make you... Read More proud to be a VOL. The campus is constantly working on providing safe spaces to students and they are open to suggestions if any arise. "Rocky Top will always be home sweet home to me!"

My undergraduate experience was great. There were definitely ups and downs with professors and really tough courses, but as a whole, I would not go back and change any of it. I feel like things happen no matter what school you go to, so keep that in mind. The services at UTK are pretty spectacular. They have all the typical departments that are necessary to grow as an undergraduate. The Career Center is a vital tool for exploring options and resume building; the financial aid office (while usually... Read More very busy) still very helpful for understanding scholarship and loan requirements; the writing center is fantastic for building up your writing skills for numerous reasons; lastly, free tutoring through the tutoring center can help with difficult classes. Now currently at a graduate degree under a different university, I do see areas of improvement for my alma mater like a money education center and more professional development courses. However, it fits me well for what I needed during my time there.