Way to scare them Chad! Jeeez!

Thats cool feonateresa! How did you hear about MacInsiders? I'm curious!

For now, I suggest checking out the McMaster virtual tour.

1. Go here: http://registrar.mcmaster.ca /virtual/
2. Click the big orange button that looks like it's from an arcade lol
3. Click on the 'lecture halls/classes/labs' link in the menu
4. A bunch of arrows will pop up. Click on the one behind the student center which is TSH
5. Then on the left the word of the building will appear and photos of the building both INSIDE and outside will show up that you can check out and zoom in on larger. You can see classroom pics too

Enjoy!!!

Originally Posted by lorend

Way to scare them Chad! Jeeez!

lol, well with their handy pocket map from compass they'll be alright

Originally Posted by Chad

Thats cool feonateresa! How did you hear about MacInsiders? I'm curious!

Hmm. I can't remember, I'm trying to though. ;P I think it was a few months ago when I was stressing about universities, and I was borderline obsessed with getting all the information I could about each university that I applied to. I think through that I ended up here hehe. I think I will be accepting Mac's offer really soon.

Yaayyy!! We've recruited another one! Haha! I'm happy for you! McMaster is amazing. If you need help with anything we're all more than willing to help ya out!

OH! Do you plan on living in residence? If so, WHIDDEN Hall's the way to go!

I second that.

And third it, if possible.

Originally Posted by Bobble

However regarding the social sciences, they're NOT a priority at Mac. Recently, most (if not all) of the contract faculty in the social sciences were told that their contracts would not be renewed next year, meaning that several departments will be short 3-5 professors when offering their courses next year.

This will probably mean larger classes and a reduced course selection. *le sigh* Despite this, the profs seem pretty approachable and like generally nice folk. Hope this helps some. Take care!

Um... that definitely influences my decision. I also applied to the social sciences and I wouldn't like to go to a school that will have larger classes and reduced course selection... can anyone elaborate on this?

It's only for first year. My classes had over 300 people first year (but keep in mind that you also have tutorials first yr which have like 20 people). Second year my classes are less than 100 and the prof knows your name. It gets better with time.

Being someone who is in Humanities, we're in a similar situation as Social Sciences. It's no secret that the arts aren't given the same level of funding or recognition as those of Sciences, Engineering, and Business (the top 3 faculties here at Mac). The atmosphere is definitely one where engineering and sciences feel overpowering, however it doesn't necessarily mean that the quality of our education is any less. Sure, the culture would be neater if I went to a school that is more arts-focused like... OCAD or Ryerson for example. But I'm satisfied with what we do have. McMaster is a great university, and they've hired some fantastic professors. I think the professors in Humanities are definitely some of the best and are very open and willing to talk to you and know you on a personal level. This is the biggest selling point, and I'm willing to overlook some of the pitfalls in light of the fact that we have excellent profs. Adding to this, Mac is planning on building a brand new Liberal Arts building (it's about time we got a new building!) ... and it's possible that once this building is made that we'll be put in the spotlight a bit more.

As for social sciences, I don't know much about the professors or the program, but I'm sure Danielle could shine some light on her experiences (being not only in Humanities, but in Soc Sci as well!) As for course selection, if the demand is there then Mac will most likely hire interm professors to teach the courses. In first year, however, courses are general and are required to get into the upper year programs, and thus are all necessary to be taught. In terms of class sizes, having a few hundred students in some of your first year classes seems pretty standard to me. Other universities are no different in first year and have large class sizes for 1st/2nd year courses. Once you start getting into your upper years and start specializing or going into streams, etc. then your classes get much smaller in general.

McMasters grading for class sizes in the Globe And Mail from last year was low compared to the other universities. Whether these ratings reflect the actual sizes of classes I have no idea, but I'd think that Mac would grade higher than it did. Suppose it all depends on what program you're in, sciences I'm sure have a lot larger class sizes than Social Sci also the smaller universities probably have smaller class sizes but I like being in a larger university with more exciting things to do and one that has a good reputation. So far I have no complaints!

As a Soc Sci AND Humanities student (way to go, Chad...and you call me your friend ), I can tell you that they recieve more or less the same treatment and class sizes.

The largest class size I've had is around 400. I had one in first year, and one in second. In fourth year, I had a class of 19, a class of 18, and a class of 13. As your degrees get more specialized your classes get smaller.

And tutorial classes (classes where you have a teaching assistant go over what was taught by the professor in lecture) are also on a small scale, which makes up for the large lecture size. Having large-sized lectures is only bad if they are the only way you can interact with your profs.

For both of my degrees, most courses are offered. Sometimes though they are offered every other year, especially if they are of a different topic than what most students would take. For example, Science Fiction is offered every other year as a class.

Did I say you were only in Soc Sci?

It was implied!!