Creighton University

Academics

Omaha’s Creighton University is a Jesuit institution that prides itself on “shaping the whole person,” which means that students find themselves “extremely involved in academic and extracurricular activities.” As for the core class structure, all of its more than four thousand undergraduates must fulfill a set curriculum, with a variety of course options available for all requirements (other than a required one-hour oral communication course). By all accounts, this “sets you up very well for success,” with students adding that the process “nearly holds your hand into your first job” and “prepares you for the next step, whether that is medical school, law school, or going out to work in the real world.” Creighton “works so hard to make sure their students are successful learners and thinkers” by offering programs like EDGE, an all-inclusive tutoring, academic coaching, and academic counseling service that doubles as “a great platform for advisors to gear students to explore certain classes while remaining on track.” All of this helps in “cultivating a safe community where we’re encouraged to dive into what we believe, figure out what that is exactly, and serve others.”

Creighton boasts an 12:1 student-faculty ratio, which leads to “really awesome relationships with faculty and many opportunities for things like undergraduate research.” Professors go above and beyond in all ways, from doing their best “not to make lectures dry and boring” to being super receptive to students. Courses offered “are challenging to say the least,” but because teachers are “willing to work on your terms and help at all hours of the day and night,” both in and out of the classroom, it’s a “very rewarding and manageable” process. Dialogue is also crucial: teachers “love when you ask questions” and many utilize a flipped classroom, where peers teach the rest of the class, which “provides a broken-down and simplified way of explaining difficult topics to provide clarification and insight.” Adding to the variety and support offered, there are plenty of “field trips that [are] very interesting and insightful” and opportunities for “many upperclassmen [to] participate in research or internships.”

Student Body

There’s a sense of togetherness at Creighton, to the extent that, because there’s an “expectation that you go to class every day and on time...if you don’t, people will reach out.” In short, the community is “very goal-oriented toward their careers,” although not in an oppressive sense. If anything, students describe the atmosphere as “fun and light-hearted” and note that “wherever you go you will find a welcoming environment.” (This applies across all grades, with students noting that senior students “work hard to make [first-years] feel at home during the first couple weeks at school.”) Students are in it together, according to those who list “service and giving back” as a core value, and there’s an eagerness described for all activities: “When it comes to getting involved with student organizations and other things on campus, students will jump at the chance to do so.

Campus Life

The pace at Creighton tends to be a busy one, and not just because of academic or schoolrelated activities: “A lot of students work.” That said, things get a bit more relaxed on weekends, which “consist of sporting events, parties, fraternity events, and the like.” Creighton students are “very supportive of one another and go to all the home soccer, basketball, baseball, and volleyball games for both men and women’s teams,” and “people often take part in sports or group exercise programs on campus.” The city setting also means that the “campus is a few blocks away from Old Market and Midtown which are full of activities, shops, and restaurants,” and there are “also gorgeous outdoor places to go running/walking near downtown when the weather is nice.” Students “are encouraged to form clubs and join organizations,” and “the resources available to students are absolutely endless.”