University of Missouri at Saint Louis Reviews

"I think it is a great school for Business and Nursing degrees, but probably not the right school for me if I had to do my pre-med degree over again."

"Overall, the education I received at UMSL prepared me for teaching. The classes were beneficial for the most part. I do think that all universities should include, in their elementary education courses, more classes specifically focused on teaching kids how to read. There need to be more focus on different strategies such as phonics versus whole language. I received these in my reading specialist certification classes. However, i think ALL elementary teachers should have those classes. I do think the advising program could be better organized."

"The program is rigorous and needs to be paced appropriately. Most of the professors that I had were working professionals. This was really helpful because they had first hand knowledge of what it would be like when you received your first job as an administrator. Many of the professors were easily accessible if you had questions or wanted to speak with them further regarding the content. The books that align with Pearson will help tremendously on the state exam for your principal certification. Overall, I feel like the program gave me a lot of preparation and content knowledge that I will need as an administrator and I would recommend the program. I have heard that UMSL is changing the program into a cohort model. I believe this will help with their lack of advising that they have in the College of Education. If students are able to register and know exactly when courses are offered, and they can take two in one night, it helps eliminate driving to and from campus multiple times per week."

"PROS: The faculty and staff are readily accessible and available. In spite of their academic and professional accomplishments, they have not forgotten what it takes to achieve those goals. CONS: The amount of class sections offered during the day are very minimal. This is not conducive to the non-traditional student who has an evening work schedule."

"I think UMSL was a good value for the money, but does not prepare students very well if you are pre-med. It is a wonderful school for nursing, business, and regular sciences, but it did not help me very much being that I wanted to go into medical school."

"My program has excellent teachers and academic support for emerging writers. I fear, however, that there are not enough minority students in this specific program, despite the diversity of the UMSL community as a whole. I often feel along, as a black woman, an LGBT community member, and a first generation American (Middle Eastern roots)."

"Pros are the great teachers who have created a great educational community. Cons are the limited classes available from semester to semester with some being mostly offered to fine arts majors versus standard master's degree majors."

"The teachers really want you to succeed but the programs here could be more organized especially undergrad nursing programs. Prices are much lower for Grad school though."

"I attended quite a while ago and continued on to earn my M.Ed. in Counseling after a BA in Psychology. Had transferred many credit from SLCC prior. At that time, I was in my early 30s which felt like I was old compared to the students around me. It did not matter really except in STEM type classes I was at a disadvantage compared to students just out of high school who had taken lots of math and science. They were bored with class as they had just studied it and yet I was overwhelmed although I studied very hard and still got mainly A's and Bs. UM-St. Louis is a very good school, constantly adding new facilities and technologies. Less prestigious than the big, private schools but well worth the tuition. All the professors were excellent! Especially in grad school. I would attend there again. Feel proud of your degree from there. Study hard, definitely get internships or work experience while you attend or you will have a harder time getting a decent paying job when you graduate. In psychology, get a master's degree too, but don't bother if you aren't gaining experience in the field while you are getting it. That is critical to compete. Older students of all ages can make it, but do some prep work if needed at the community college in STEM classes you need. They will transfer over and you will have fewer students in the class and get more individual help, such as in College Algebra which I took at the Community College after dropping it in an auditorium type class at UM-St. Louis. Most other classes after that are normal size. Loved returning to college!"

"UMSL does a great job challenging it's Executive MBA students, while also keeping their full-time jobs in perspective. The program is accelerated, so is fast-paced and students must take it seriously to succeed. Some classes seem to be like busy work, but overall the education is high quality and the teachers assigned to the classes are experienced and well-liked by students."

"Great program and for a great reduced cost compared to most other regional schools. Only drawback is the limited number of classes offered, with some of the grad school classes only offered to MA students when MFAs are done registering. So great school and cheap cost, but at higher levels sometimes classes are hard to get and sometimes one might have to wait a semester to take a chosen class."

"An absolute pro would be the faculty. They are some of the most well known criminologists in the field and are expertly knowledgeable in many areas. The staff are very well rounded. UMSL's criminology department is one of the only schools that requires qualitative research design for its doctoral students. It's great to know that they are not entirely focused on numbers and statistics and that graduates will be well versed in both aspects. One final pro that sticks out in my mind is the quality of education for the money you spend. There are quite a few "extra charges" from the university itself, but they are well worth it. Relative to nearby universities and comparable programs, the tuition is extremely fair. The department is also respectful and smart about the money it does spend, which is nice to know as a student. As a fourth ranked program, a considerable workload is expected. I would not necessarily consider this a con of the program, as I have learned and grown more in my year and a half in graduate school than I did in my undergraduate years. That's not to say that it has been easy. The criminology department at UMSL is also very focused on theoretical based research. This is not for everyone, so it's more of a caution than a con--theory is quite important in our field, but I've found, not everyone is comfortable with this notion."

"Ed.D. is a Carnegie model cohort approach, which allows students to develop deep connections with other members of the cohort, and focus in on a problem in practice."

"Before entering the program I had a whole different idea of what I thought counseling would be. This is a program that allows and encourages students to find importance in self-care and knowing one's true authentic self. It demands its counselors to find importance in becoming culturally competent while learning and celebrating diversity. The program has allowed me to reflect, process and engage in experiences and new situations that challenge me to think of other perspectives and interpretations and find them beautiful and unique. I wish the program offered the specialty classes (Play therapy, Counseling Sexual Minorities, Addictions Counseling, etc..) more often."

"I am a full time employed student and UMSL's online classes helped me to continue my education. I recommend it to students who work full time."

"The instructors bring their knowledge that is based on experience as well as their training. The fact that they have experience behind their training is a plus. I also found them to be accessible outside of the classroom, responding to any questions/emails I might have. The one complaint I would have is that several of the evening classes do not offer more than one section. Additionally, they usually start around 4:00 to 4:30 pm. Because I have a set work schedule that is full time I found these circumstances to be somewhat of an obstacle"

"The school is excellent, however the program I am enrolled in is relatively new. As with most new things there are a lot of bugs that still need to be worked out with the program. Overall, I feel as though it is a good investment."

"There are a lot of opportunities to meet new people, but I found that the staff don't know very much about things like number of credits to be a full time student."

"The program is ranked highly, which is a pro. A con is the night classes."

"I like the schedule. All part time MBA classes start at the same time and end at the same time. If I have two classes, I only have to drive to campus two days a week. This program is made for working adults. The workload is not that bad. It does make for some very long days every week."