1. The Walking Encyclopedia
This lecturer knows everything about their subject. They’re like a real-life Charlie Gordon from Flowers for Algernon – knowledgeable, confident, and everything short of a ‘walking encyclopedia’. Want to know the exact date of the discovery of a chemical composition of a rare mineral, or an extremely obscure fact about a certain material property? They’ve got it covered. Just don’t ask them to simplify it, as their enthusiasm often comes with a lot of jargon.
Pro tip: bring a notebook or something to write on, because their lectures are gold mines of information (if you manage to keep up).
2. The Absolute Bore
You’ll know who the ‘bore’ is when you tune in on a lecture, realise that the professor is only reading off the slides, and resolve to power through all the following lectures. Their slides are usually very good, but you’ll quickly realise that you’re not gaining any new information by going to their lectures and that all you need to do is read and understand the slides. You’ll also notice that there are fewer and fewer students in the classroom each week, and eventually, you’ll feel like you want to stop going as well.
Pro tip: If you do end up skipping their lectures, make sure you keep up with your studies and allocate the same amount of time outside that period to that subject.
3. The Tough Grader
You’ll know you’ve met them when you get your test back and see a sea of red ink (or when you realise that nearly everyone failed). This professor has sky-high standards and isn’t afraid to grade every student accordingly. This can mean two things: either the professor means well, and is trying to push their students past their limits… or the professor’s just a right piece of work, and there’s not much you can do about it, sadly.
Pro tip: Follow their instructions to the dot and go over the grading scheme. You’ll probably know who the tough grader is through word of mouth from upper years or your friends, so make sure you prepare.
4. The Tutorial Magician
Their lectures… leave much to be desired. Flat, monotonous, unengaging, and straight up boring – you might be asking yourself why you bother coming to the lectures at all. Then you remember that you went up to them during the break to ask a question and got an extremely enthusiastic response back, and then followed up with an awesome tutorial session. It’s like they’re completely different people between lectures and tutorials: suddenly they’re approachable, insightful, and teach as though they have no greater joy.
Pro tip: stick with their tutorials and ask plenty of questions. Come to their lectures, too – if you ask a good question, they’ll remember you and may (unofficially, of course) prioritise you during the tutorials.
5. The Storyteller
Without fail, every lecture by these professors will be interrupted by one of their stories. You’ll always get at least one ‘Back in the field…’ or ‘We did a lot of work on…’. Sometimes the stories seem only tangentially related to the material, but hey, at least you’re entertained!
Pro tip: their exams might not match the vibe of their storytelling. Study anyway.
6. The Invisible Professor
They’re technically on your Canvas page, and they’re technically still part of the course, but still. Sometimes you’re left wondering if they really exist or not – usually, associate professors or other substitutes end up teaching the class, and a TA or two might be handling the paperwork behind the scenes. It’s like they’re perpetually on a sabbatical.
Pro tip: show up to the tutorials, and don’t be afraid to approach said TA.
7. The One Everybody Loves
The golden retriever of lecturers. Sometimes, their lecture slides are straight-up horrible, but they make up for it by being friendly and interacting with the class. They’ve got a way with people that makes them a beloved figure within the course. They might give extremely easy examples during the lectures and tutorials and raise hell during the exam, but still – how can you hate them?
Pro tip: don’t let that smiling face fool you. Study up, because professors like these usually teach hard courses – courses that are also hard to teach effectively.
8. The Infamous One
Older students tell you stories of this professor to scare you. Whenever their test results come back, word spreads, and you hear of the abysmal passing rate. When you finally get their class during your module, you soon find out why everyone’s scared of them, and the subject they teach.
It doesn’t even have to be a weed-out class. It can be something that catches you completely off-guard with the content, the grading scheme, or just the professor themselves. It’s likely that every programme has at least one professor who’s gained infamy, so again, make sure to prepare.
Pro tip: don’t let the stories of older students scare you. You have to experience it yourself to make your own judgement – until then, prepare accordingly.
Finally, don’t be scared of any professors. At the end of it, they’re just there to teach and grade, and once upon a time, they were students like us, too. Of course, sometimes a professor comes along that makes you scratch your head. If that happens, then I’m afraid that the only thing you can do is grit your teeth and let go, move on. Most professors, however, are generally nice, curious people, and they’re genuinely interested in what they teach and love any opportunity to answer questions or talk about the subject.
