Easy Classes at the College of New Jersey

As a student at The College of New Jersey, you will probably have a wide choice of classes to fulfill your liberal learning requirements. However, some of the classes and professors are much harder than some of the others and in the end they all give the same credit anyhow.

I have found most of the basic psychology courses are pretty easy. Both courses I have taken in the psychology department have been taught by adjunct professors. These professors realize that most of their students are never going to use what they learn in these classes and have appropriate expectations. As a general rule you are expected to read a chapter a week in the book, but most people just read the chapter summaries. Usually there is a quiz each class on what you've read, but the questions are so basic that if you even glanced at the material you should be fine. The two courses I've taken were Intro to Psychology (PSY 101) and Abnormal Psychology (PSY 121). Intro to Psychology was a little easier that Abnormal Psychology, but that was largely due to the difference in professors.

As far as math and science goes, usually the basic classes are meant to fill general education requirements. These classes are therefore taught so that a potato could pass them if it could figure out how to pick up its pencil. They do usually have some out of class work, but it's not excessive. The weather science class is supposed to be really interesting, but its also really hard to get enrolled in. I believe you have to speak to the professor if you aren't a science education major.

To fulfill a performing arts requirement, you might consider Music and the Stage or History of Jazz. Both are taught in the music department and require minimal work outside of class. Another option is to take Musicianship 1, which is 4 credits. If you have any background in music this shouldn't be that hard. It consists of basic music theory and ear training. While the ear training is difficult for many people, grades are calculated such that if you can do the written work, you'll still get a good grade. Musicianship does have a lot of assignments, though.

To fill a language requirement, you might consider the college's poetry writing class. You will be asked to write a couple poems a week and also to review your peers' writing. This is not time consuming. However, the professor tends to be very critical in his reviews of his students' poems and many people find this frustrating at best. You will be required to revise your poems extensively during the semester.

With these tips you should be able to complete your general education requirements at TCNJ with a minimal amount of time and work.