Find out which classes top the list of most difficult college courses.
What are some of the hardest college classes? The answer to this question is largely subjective. You may find a course hard to comprehend while others find it easy, and vice versa.
However, there are certain courses that have a reputation across college campuses for being among the most difficult college classes for undergraduates. The following courses usually prove challenging even for students majoring in that subject.
Don’t let this list scare you away from taking any of these classes. But if you are going to enroll in a notoriously challenging class, be prepared to put in the work necessary to be successful.
Here’s a quick rundown of some of the hardest college classes you’ll find on campus.
Organic Chemistry: Potential Doctors Beware
Are you considering a career in medicine? Many an MD to be has tripped over the hurdle of organic chemistry. Organic chemistry is often considered to be one of the most difficult undergraduate classes – requiring a great deal of memorization. Thankfully for some, this class requires less math and more visual thinking than other chemistry courses.
Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics: Einsteins Only Need Apply
Even the name makes you go “Huh?” Philosophy of quantum mechanics pairs abstract, theoretical thinking with more practical, quantitative studies. The combination of right- and left-brain thinking makes it one of the hardest college classes you can take. Yet 85% of students at Harvard University said they would recommend the class to others despite its difficulty.
James Joyce: An Irishman Here to Make Your Major Difficult
As an English major, the most challenging literature you are likely to encounter is that of James Joyce. Entire courses will be devoted to a single book, usually Ulysses or Finnegans Wake, and even a full semester is usually only enough time to skim the surface of the material. A single word, phrase, or sentence can be derived from various languages with multiple, often contradictory, meanings.
Architecture: Late Nights in the Model Shop, Anyone?
At many schools, an architecture degree requires at least five years of undergraduate study, making it one of the most work-intensive majors you can pursue. Because of rigorous demands of the major, introductory architecture classes are often designed to weed out students, and have a higher rate of failure than most other courses.
Kant and Nietzsche: The Philosophy of the C Minus
Immanuel Kant is one of the most prominent philosophers in Western history, and any aspiring philosophy student will be required to take at least one course on his writings. Kant can be one of the more difficult philosophers to wrap your head around. In addition to abstract questions about reality, space and time, and the relationship between the mind and body, Kant relates the material to non-philosophical subjects such as politics and government. And the nineteenth century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche is no picnic either. His writings on religion, culture, science and human nature laid the foundations of many of the twentieth century’s (also difficult to understand) strands of thought including existentialism and postmodernism.