Have you taken a Religious Studies course that meets the following requirements or is close to the requirements: you 1) do not have to participate (contribute to classroom discussion) for a percentage of the grade 2) have to write no more than a 5 page long paper outside of class 3) Do not have to go off-campus for field work project like going to a church or religious event nor any project/presentation. 4) Has only tests/quizzes, short papers, and attendance or homeworks for grade. 5) (optional) Teacher has powerpoint slides or gives notes word for word which you can copy down and are on the test, no reading of book or very little is necessary. If you do know of a course like that let me know, thanks.

The reason I am asking b/c I may need to sign up one next semester for the Arts Letters college requirement and make sure its the right choice since religion is not my specialty. I don't want to have to go to class then drop it.

8/23/2010 11:25:28 PM

why do you specifically need a "religious studies" course if you aren't majoring in that or a related field

8/23/2010 11:49:34 PM

I took REL 300, a survey or world religions, my freshman year as a 3-hour class one day a week. Regarding your requirements:
1) I don't think participation was part of the grade, but I may be wrong. If it was, it wasn't a big part and most people in the class never participated anyway.
2) Pretty sure we didn't have to do any majorly long papers.
3) No out of class requirements. I remember he encouraged us to go to a temple or something at one point, but it wasn't required.
4) Every week (or at least most) we had to turn in a 2-page-ish short essay on some topic about the book we had read that week. Most weeks there would also be a short quiz at the start of class, and there were 2 or 3 bigger tests over the semester.
5) There was a lot of reading. The class had something like 6 books (a different one for each religion), but biography types rather than textbooks. They were easy reads, and most were short but I remember one was pretty long.

I think this was spring of 2005, so YMMV.

8/24/2010 10:08:03 AM

^ don't need specifically a Religious studies but it is either that or a Visual/Performing Arts (which I have 0 interest in taking) class to meet a general education requirement for anyone who is in a BA program in College of Arts and Sciences. Yes it is stupid because none of those courses are related to anyone's field, they are stupid classes like dance, art, music, etc. but you still have to take one.

^^ I looked at the school tool and looks like you took if with Orcutt who I do not know will be teaching the course again, but I signed up for that same class this semester with a new teacher I believe and had to drop it because of all the requirements. these requirements do not seem bad.

[Edited on August 24, 2010 at 10:29 AM. Reason : ]

8/24/2010 10:25:47 AM

^The point wasn't wondering why you had to take some class outside your major, just a class in that specific field outside your major that isn't some core area like mathematics

8/24/2010 10:32:09 AM

i took REL 320 ... thought it fit as an elective, then when i changed a major concentration, it didnt


regret ever taking it, got a B- or so and if i hadnt taken it i coulda been Summa

8/24/2010 1:02:02 PM

i took REL 332 - Buddhist Traditions with Schmidt.

I don't think participation counted for a grade. But there was no real way around it since he called on people during discussions.

i don't recall any papers at all.

No unorthodox assignments (field work). No presentations or projects.

There was a mid-term, a final, and a couple of quizes. This was kind of nice, but at the same time, you had no idea how you were/would do in the class until the mid-term (well past the drop date).

He lectured directly from powerpoint slides, so you could copy everything. Although, he often said "don't worry about writing this down." Problem was, he said that about 10 times a class and then talked for 5 minutes after each time he said it..... do the math, it was difficult to know what would or wouldn't be on the exams.

There was a SHIT TON of reading. But from what i've gathered in my time at NCSU, all of the religion classes require a qood bit of reading.


That all being said, he mostly gives (or most students get) A, B, and C. And I think mostly As and Bs over the years. It's kind of a show up, interact a little and listen, do at least a good bit of the reading and you'll get a good a grade kinda deal.

[Edited on August 24, 2010 at 1:46 PM. Reason : .]

8/24/2010 1:45:00 PM

You talking about this one? http://www4.ncsu.edu/~dnschmid/chin_rel_syllabus.htm
Anyway it looks like there is a 15 min class presentation involved which looks like it will be quite a lot of work/preparation... I'm also looking at REL 317 - Christianity, I've read good reviews on the course and if anyone has taken it would please tell me what the grading requirements in there are it would be greatly appreciated.

This is the requirements I had to do for the REL 300 class I was going to take do but dropped it right away: 5 minute presentation on reading; field work project going to a different religious event then writing a report-rediculous; must particpate in discussion; book report; 40% final essay 10 pages.

That is exaclty the type of class I avoid, too much work for a survey course & really no examinations that reflect what you learn from reading--all projects/presentation which are not all related to reading material.

[Edited on August 24, 2010 at 2:35 PM. Reason : ]

8/24/2010 2:26:16 PM

I think I used an ancient greek/roman mythology course as my religion course. I remember really enjoying the class, but its been several years so I don't remember if it meets the requirements you are looking for.

8/25/2010 2:11:18 AM

^^ Seriously, man? I gave you the course number and title.

Quote :

"i took REL 332 - Buddhist Traditions with Schmidt."

Quote :

"You talking about this one? http://www4.ncsu.edu/~dnschmid/chin_rel_syllabus.htm"

I clearly stated i was talking about REL 332 - Buddhist Traditions. It was the first sentence in my post. The page you linked to clearly states that it's the syllabus for REL 333 - Chinese Religions.


How the hell did you get into college?

8/25/2010 7:37:13 AM

Nope, must have mis typed the course number. is that a rehtorical question?

I was going to take the mythology course but now not sure when they offer it or which teachter they have.

[Edited on August 25, 2010 at 9:58 AM. Reason : ]

8/25/2010 9:57:33 AM

It seems from all the threads you make on here that you're putting an extreme amount of effort into making your college experience as easy as possible, caring only about grades and very little about actually learning, being intellectually curious or basing your decisions on interest in the material rather than requirements for evaluation. I understand your view of college being a short-term stop on the road to a career, but you're forgetting that GPA is only one data point that determines how successful you will be in finding the job you want. You're missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime to spend these years of your life collecting amazing life experiences and really expanding your mind, instead of viewing college so transactionally. I don't get your priorities; it makes me sad.

8/25/2010 1:40:33 PM

Well I understand what you are saying but I posted here to look for help, it is study hall after all, not for someone to worry about what classes I am taking or how easy my career will be. I realize GPA is one point but if I ever need to apply to a good graduate school in case then that will be most important aspect and I'd like it to be highest as possible. Yes I do care very little about learning things that are outside of my field or interest like religion so I see no problem with that. Also why do you keep looking at my previous posts or going into the threads if you cannot be of help? I don't see how some people have so many time on their hands to even do that. That is why I started the topic which "Click here if...". Yeah my priorities are different from yours and your right that I do see college as just a stepping stone; I plan to graduate early anyway.

8/25/2010 1:59:38 PM

You can think of me as trying to help, or you can take offense and think that I'm only criticizing; that's certainly your choice. But you're wrong in thinking that GPA is the "most important aspect" to getting into graduate school. So I'm trying to encourage you to broaden your horizons a bit and not let that be the guiding criteria for everything you do. If you have no interests outside your field, then that saddens me, because I think the world is a pretty interesting place and I enjoy learning. That's your prerogative, though, and I can't change that.

But I just thought that it's worth pointing out that being engaged in your learning outside of your major can still teach you a lot of the intangibles that will make you a better job candidate, grad school candidate, and employee in the future, and you're likely missing out on some things if you don't care about them beyond your letter grade. Maybe you disagree, but there's a lot more to setting yourself up for success than getting A's and focusing solely on your technical expertise.

[Edited on August 25, 2010 at 2:39 PM. Reason : ]

8/25/2010 2:39:07 PM

taking the bare minimum for your major does not make you a good candidate for grad school

8/26/2010 7:40:44 AM

The bare minimum? Are you saying I should graduate with more than the required 122 hours, if so you must be joking. I'll only use grad school as a last resort and I still value the high GPA more. Now I'll kindly ask you to stop posting in the thread if you can't contribute.

^^ I appreciate you trying to help. Unfortunately I don't like learning as much as you. I can't be assed to work harder for the same grade or lower. Its the grade that matters in the end, ex. is the people who take a difficult teacher and work really hard and still end up with a low grade or average grade, how is that fair? And you aren't going to retain everything you learn and use it later.

[Edited on August 26, 2010 at 9:03 AM. Reason : ]

[Edited on August 26, 2010 at 9:20 AM. Reason : ]

8/26/2010 8:58:44 AM

the flip side of that though is that you're taking an easy teacher, doing very little work, are far less likely to actually learn the material at a high level and are going to get a good grade. How is that fair to the people who actually work for it and actually learn the material?

it goes both ways. the difference is that an argument could be made that your method (taking the easiest path possible to your degree) brings down the value of an NCSU degree.

8/26/2010 11:38:01 AM

Well its fair b/c maybe they wanted to learn at a high level/do more work if they staye in the class, they could have easily dropped and changed to an easier course and plan ahead better, they had a choice in the matter.

The thing about value is no one can tell the value of your degree was brought down and that's all that matters to me, you graduate and the grades and honors are there, your grade will show and that will be how much people see you got out of the course or believe how hard you worked, there isn't gonna be a stamp on your diploma that says you took the easiest courses or the value is lower.

Basically its not my problem they have easy classes like the ones I prefer taking, I can take as many of them as I want, if they want the value of a degree to not be lower, don't offer those kinds of courses anymore because plenty of people will take them and drop the harder ones. I forgot to mention 6 people dropped out of that religion course after the first day because of the requirements. All this argument over one measly little religion course. It's not like I make a topic like this for every class I'm gonna take so what's the problem.

[Edited on August 26, 2010 at 6:32 PM. Reason : ]

8/26/2010 6:11:46 PM

Quote :

"The thing about value is no one can tell the value of your degree was brought down and that's all that matters to me"

You think that now. But if you're as unmotivated and as lazy as you sound in these posts, it won't take your employer long to realize that you're a dumb ass. And I hate to be mean in this section, but you really do seem like a slacker. It's not that you're trying to find a teacher who grades easily, it's that you're trying to find a teacher who doesn't make you do shit.

Quote :

"It's not like I make a topic like this for every class I'm gonna take so what's the problem."

It sure seems like it. It was like last month that you made a thread asking for a 4 credit hour class that gave you an easy A. You're not asking for a easy religion class (your second thread you've made about a religion class). You made a thread bitching about a teacher altering their grading scale, making it harder to get an A, and asking who you can bitch to in the university to remedy the "problem."

And you wouldn't be so annoying if you actually would contact your advisor once in a while. Do you even know what an advisor is? Honestly, if I have questions about what classes I can and can't take, I don't come here. I'll e-mail my advisor. It takes the same amount of effort, it might take a bit longer to get a response, and the information is a hell of a lot accurate than what I would get on here (not because people lie to you, but because shit changes).

I'm not saying you shouldn't look at a teacher's grade distribution, but for fucks sake, you should at least be willing to put some effort into a class you're going to take. Otherwise, I really think you should just make room for someone who actually wants to take the class.

8/26/2010 9:34:14 PM

Quote :

"there isn't gonna be a stamp on your diploma that says you took the easiest courses or the value is lower"

today's vocabulary word is transcript

you are the cancer that is killing /b/ "higher" education

8/26/2010 9:52:06 PM

Trust me, but I have taken plenty of classes where I had to do ton of work and still manage at least a A-, those classes have mostly Bs or Cs. There's nothing wrong with wanting to take some easy classes, I've got 77 hours so far and looking through my transcript and I've got to say at most 15 hours I have are classes where do don't do any work or very little, FS 201, PY 124, CSC 200, etc. lecture classes and they were mostly all for free electives. Only reason I want to take an easy religion is because I have no interest in religions but those are typically the only classes without pre-reqs that meet the visual arts requirement. I think your exaggerating a bit since a lot of my posts are asking about some easy class.

Well I just wanted to see what was out there when I was asking for a 4 cr-hr easy A but now I've gonna take an 3 cr-hr and a PE, and again that was intended for a Free Elective, which are supposed to be easy, because they are intended for classes outside your field that you are not expertise on.

I wouldn't have made another religion thread if I could still post in the other one, but it shows you that I only dread taking the visual art/religion requirement.

There's no need to contact the advisor, they don't know anything about classes not related to your field, which is what I am asking for help on here.

Again I've put effort into plenty of classes I've taken, obviously not every class is gonna be easy like what I requested for, but I still work a lot and get A's in them. But there are also some classes where you don't want to put effort in because you naturally don't like the subject.

8/26/2010 10:10:52 PM

this is part of my transcript from the degree checklist, as you can see 003=Section, PHI 205, 1/10=Spring 2010, and I don't have anything in Arts / Letters / Religion. looking at the grade distribution, it was the most difficult section to get an A in but I still took it and did the work to get an A and only 6 were given out of 45. I could have taken any other PHI course or section for the requirement as well so I could of took the easy path had I wanted, where a teacher just hands out A's or doesn't grade as hard. Now i've taken plenty of classes like this where teacher gives few A's and I'm using this one as an example

http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/5821/planle.jpg
http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/6064/dist.jpg

[Edited on August 26, 2010 at 10:58 PM. Reason : ]

8/26/2010 10:56:15 PM

Quote :

"The thing about value is no one can tell the value of your degree was brought down and that's all that matters to me"

gz390, You're absolutely correct. But they may associate your transcript with your value. And you're failing to realize or consider how that effects other people and the value of THEIR degree.

Quote :

"You think that now. But if you're as unmotivated and as lazy as you sound in these posts, it won't take your employer long to realize that you're a dumb ass."

I'm going to elaborate on what merbig said; Really high grades are usually related to 1 or 2 things - Intelligence and hard work. Some are really smart and don't have to work too hard in school. Some aren't as smart but bust their ass. Both make useful employees, and someone who is both intelligent and a hard worker is a great asset. If your grades lead someone to believe you fall into one of those categories and you disappoint them - because you actually fall under 3) guy who worked the system - that reflects on NCSU and all of us graduates... whether you think so or not.

It devalues the good grades of those of us who ARE smart or hard workers. Hypothetically, let's say you work for an employer who hires you partly because of your grades. And you turn out to be a slacker and not very bright so they fire you. - that may cause them to wonder how the hell you did so well at State, a pretty logical answer is that State must not be that challenging. And then let's say another state grad applies. Is their good transcript from NCSU going be as valuable of an asset for them as yours was for you? No, because you had a great transcript and were a lazy dumbass. They're gonna say "he was great in the interview and he did very well at NCSU." and a response may be "yeah, but so did that dumbass slacker gz390... so that obviously doesn't mean shit."

And look, I'm exaggerating some to make a point. I don't think anyone local who has probably dealt with a ton of NCSU grads will make too big of a deal of one guy here or there. Most people realize there are slackers who get by. Everyone knows some can just be lazy. But no less, it certainly has the potential to lower someone's opinion of the average NCSU grad and what a certain level of achievement at NCSU actually says about them. Especially to those who did not attend NCSU and don't know which programs are known to be a little easier and what not. And even more so to those who don't realize people can work the system and bullshit their way into good grades.


You're probably a decent kid, just looking to have the best grades you can at the end of college. I get that. But people are going to give you shit for working the system like this. Especially those who earned their high grades by pushing through these tougher courses, assignments, etc. and not just looking for the easiest courses available . Your threads and posts make it seem like you do this in every single situation. Again, I get why you do it. But some people have/will have a very poor opinion of your attitude/approach, and that shouldn't be of any surprise to you now or when you (most likely) continue to do this in whatever job you take.

and to some, you're just wasting your money. I couldn't let myself give up the cost of tuition for nothing more than a grade on my transcript. That's just not enough for some people. Some people strongly believe we should get more for our time and money from the courses we take.

I'm probably not going to change how you approach school. But I hope you do realize how this can effect a person's perception of our school/alma mater. And I honestly hope you kick ass at whatever you do so you're not out there hurting our reputation.

[Edited on August 27, 2010 at 1:24 AM. Reason : .]

8/27/2010 1:19:54 AM

REL 317 with cunningham...class goes as follows

1. she walks in
2. she opens her notebook
3. she talks for the duration of the class
4. you go home

the only grades are 4 tests

8/27/2010 9:33:29 AM

Cunningham is your best bet. Religious studies is not a department you want to be in if you're looking to avoid class participation, lengthy papers, excursions, etc. I've never had a professor in the department just read from PowerPoint slides (including three classes with Schmid who, by the way, isn't at State anymore anyway). I suggest you try to meet your requirements elsewhere if you can.

8/28/2010 6:24:30 PM

I don't understand why you're in college. A lot of people shouldn't go to college; they should go to a 2-year vocational school to learn a trade they're interested in; or they should just get a jump on a career. Start as an intern and work your way up, and by the time your friends are graduating, you've got 4 years experience.

I've seen so many people get into the "easy way out" through college, myself included the first time around (English degree? wtf...). It's like they're proving to someone they can do it - family, friends, whoever ever said they wouldn't amount to anything. College was the golden crown, the top of the mountain where these people could look down smugly and wave their degree, saying "I proved you wrong." But they've wasted 4 years, they got a degree like my idiot friend getting Religious Studies (now he bums around Wilmington).

A degree is a degree -- to an extent. If you haven't had co-ops, good internships, a minor that works well with your major, or knowledge from your major that REALLY helps you in your job -- you aren't gonna stay there (a job) long. Not to sound like a broken record, but "In this economy..." if you don't have the knowledge and experience to back up a GPA, you AREN'T getting a job.

Hell...even if you do have all that, we're competing with guys who've been laid off from 10+years at companies, willing to work at Kmart.

gz390, if you aren't paying for college (loans), and whoever is has the funds, awesome. Get a MINOR. Double major. Balance your CHASS degree with PAMS, Engineering, Agriculture, something! Because when you DO get out into the real world, you have to have something to boost yourself above everyone else.
If you ARE paying for college -- get out as quickly as you can. Get and keep a random job to help offset loan payments.


I'm not ranting at you to say "GTFO of college, you're an idiot". I'm saying not everyone is meant for college. I sure as hell wasn't until around age 24. I should've gotten into the workforce and saved 6 years of income, but I didn't.
THINK about how your major and electives will help you in your career. My employers haven't given a shit about GPA. If you really want to use college as a stepping stone -- get a good minor (usually 5 courses). Economics, Spanish, Business, Marketing. Something to make you stand out.

[Edited on August 31, 2010 at 11:14 AM. Reason : job]

8/31/2010 11:13:43 AM

First to answer your question.... I had basically the same goals as you through college, that is to get a degree as easily as possible with a high GPA. I ended up graduating with a 3.8 in Mech Eng with very little effort. I will say the one class that truly had any impact on me in my time at NCSU was Religion in American History with JC Bivins. I took it as a summer course with very low expectations, as most summer courses seem to just rush through the material. However this guy.... he was amazing. Religion was not my thing either, but he really put an awesome spin on things. I actually learned something and expanded my horizons a whole lot from that class. I would highly recommend taking anything he teaches (if he is still there). There was a weekly paper (that was summer so I imagine it's less frequent) and grading was based on pretty easy tests.

Secondly, I wouldn't listen to all the hate if I were you. IMO, college is nothing more than a stepping stone to your career. Ideally, we would all learn something from each class we take, but in reality, most of the professors aren't really all that good, and most of the subject matter just isn't that interesting. I personally wish I could have just went straight into the work force.... hell, I know I am smart enough. But society now tells us we have to have a degree to be successful, so we are forced to go out and get a piece of paper that says we can do our jobs.

To me, that piece of paper is just a goal. There are many ways to the finish line. You can work hard and take challenging classes, you can cheat, you can find the easy classes, you can sleep with the professors.... there are several ways to skin this cat. But the big picture is, I (as well as most people,) want to make a lot of money at a job they enjoy. In my opinion, people who fault you for your method are just, for lack of a better term, "holier-than-thou" elitists who think their method is the only way. In that respect they are kind of the Baptists of college.

For the record, like I said, I made a 3.8 (graduated in 2004) and now make about $125K a year. I am neither dumb nor lazy. I could have performed the exact same had it not been for college, but society said I had to have a degree so I got one. Good luck, and like I said, JC Bivins is the man.

[Edited on October 5, 2010 at 12:56 AM. Reason : ,]

10/5/2010 12:51:40 AM

While part of going to college (a big part) is jumping through all the required class hoops and cutting through a good deal of bullshit, you have a fantastic opportunity to learn how to learn and how to read. My final semester of school, I took four 400-level history classes, including my senior history seminar. I never want to read that much again, but I was able to do it, because I laid a really good foundation in earlier classes. It was only partly a knowledge foundation; it was mostly fundamentals of learning, reading, studying, concepts that will serve you well after you've graduated.

You're selling yourself way short if your biggest exertion is finding classes that have little-to-no required work. Looking at your other posts (complaining that your history book has no bold/underlined text, for example) shows that you really don't have a clue how to learn without someone holding your hand. You should have grown out of that shit after high school.

10/5/2010 6:15:37 PM