Classes purposefully designed to demoralize students — think Organic Chemistry or Dynamics — are antithetical to the goals of higher education.

Why, then, am I qualified to talk about weed-out classes? Because I am evidence that they work.

We both plan to attend law school, which we are sure will teach us new things and expose us to new perspectives. Still, nothing is quite like an undergraduate education in the liberal arts. Our lives are dedicated to learning. We are encouraged to follow our intellectual curiosity without the pressure to turn all of those interests into lucrative careers.

Next week, WashU students will register for the Spring 2026 semester.  Doing so successfully, however, means planning ahead. Charting out integrations, scouring pre-eqs, and trusting Rate My Professors with months of your well-being can get in the way of the real goal: finding great classes. To help, Student Life Editors have prepared a list of the best WashU has to offer.

So, you’ve made it to college and now have a world of amazing courses at your fingertips — exciting! While coming to college and adjusting to new, rigorous classes is scary, being a first-year student gives you so much freedom to explore. Coming from someone who had no clue what she wanted to study in college and was overwhelmed by all of the course options, if there’s any time to take a random class, challenge yourself, or bomb a course, it’s your first year. 

Congrats! You made it through fall semester alive and (hopefully) unscathed. After what felt like a much-too-short winter break, campus is back and bustling. Classes are brand new, meal points have been reset, and to top it all off, it’s zero degrees outside. How will anyone survive? Although we can’t fix the janky heating systems on the South 40, we can certainly try to answer some other burning questions. 

With Fall Break’s slow arrival and swift retreat, the midpoint of the semester is quickly approaching. This means it is also another time of year — course registration! Alongside the handy-dandy resources like PlanIt and Rate My Professor, the StudLife editors have got you covered.

This week, WashU students are picking their courses for the Fall 2024 semester. While they may be last-minute, we hope that our Student Life editorial staff recommendations can help you make final scheduling decisions.

Whether you’ve already carefully planned each semester until graduation or if this is the first you’re hearing of the course listings being open, here are some of our favorite offerings for spring 2024.

Whatever other factors are affecting your decisions, don’t let the pressure to study STEM eliminate the possibility of studying another field that you might care about.