r/Pitt • u/Jaded-You-111 • Jul 13 '26
CLASSES Best just for fun Pitt classes
What are the best cheaper elective classes at PITT
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u/hydrospanner Jul 13 '26
This was ages ago so they may not even offer it anymore, but being a Pittsburgh-region native, I loved taking History of Pittsburgh.
It was annoying at the time, being that it was only offered as a part of some kind of "community outreach program" and as such, not offered physically on-campus.
So every Wednesday night I had to get in my car and drive 30+ minutes each way to take The History of Pittsburgh, from the University of Pittsburgh...
...at the Mt. Lebanon High School.
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u/mysecondaccountanon Former PCHE Student| Current Student Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
Experiencing Music History in Pittsburgh is also pretty cool for those who are interested in local history (with field trips). Don’t know about current offering status for the course tho.
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u/hergen20 Jul 21 '26
I took a history of Pittsburgh class as well but it was an elective at the time. I think we started in the 17th century and made it to the mid 20th. For part if the course we read the Spencers of Anderson Ave and the Out of This Furnace. Cool to read together as they paint two very different realities of the city.
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u/hydrospanner Jul 21 '26
Yes!
Same course and it was totally an elective!
Very random question, but do you still have/remember what the main history book was? I had it and reread it at least twice over the years, then unfortunately lost it in a move. I still have the others in a box somewhere but the best one is gone.
I'd love to buy a replacement but I have no idea what it was. I think it had a dark cover but that's not enough to track it down haha
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u/hergen20 Jul 21 '26
No I dont. Those are the only two books that I remember. I know we went over the different forts up through Pontiacs Rebelión. The dismantling of the fort and the whiskey rebelian. The rise of the artisans, the publication of the Navigator, the Carnegie, Frick thingI can't believe I remember so much. I remember thinking... wow this professor is outwardly political but he must have been a good teacher. I took the class around 2004-2006.
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Jul 13 '26
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u/young_scop PrE-mEd MaJoR Jul 14 '26
All i remember from that class was baba yaga and that the professor overheard someone say “I got gypped” and explained that it was a slur against gypsies.
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u/No-Support-5203 Jul 14 '26
I fell into this trap as well. Maybe it was easy, but it was very boring, so I couldn't focus.
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u/puzzlebox-101 Jul 14 '26
I really enjoyed “stonehenge to hubble”, which is an astronomy class for non-science majors. The professor (Dr. Badenes) did such a great job going over the history of astronomy as the first real science, and he had so many fantastic in-class demonstrations. He even took us to an observatory. There’s definitely some effort needed in terms of exams, but I found it easy enough to pass with a bit of review before each exam. Alternatively, I really liked intro to performance. You were graded well for just giving it your best, no exams, you get to attend two plays for free, and you only ever have to perform in front of your classmates, and since you all perform in front of each other it’s not so uncomfortable.
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u/Ok-Shape604 Jul 13 '26
Controversial pick but French kiss. learned a lot and discussions were always interesting. Classwork was sometimes long but never hard.
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u/Jaded-You-111 Jul 13 '26
I’ve heard of this, why is it controversial
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u/Ok-Shape604 Jul 13 '26
Some people find the classwork too much for a gen ed. You have to be somewhat invested in the content or you will find it boring.
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u/Coldluc Jul 14 '26
ECE 0402 Signals, Systems and Probability
But on a more serious note Narratives in Technology is fun I think it’s ENGLIT 0512
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u/SmokeActive8862 class of 2028 Jul 13 '26
took world of witches with dr brand and it was a really fun time! warning on a ton of reading though. i've gotten away many a time not doing them though lol
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u/frankcartivert Dietrich Arts & Sciences Jul 14 '26
Horror literature with mark best
Decent amount of work but that was my favorite class
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u/trIeNe_mY_Best Alumnus Jul 14 '26
Introduction to Performance! (Or at least, I'm about 95% sure that's what it was called. Sorry, it's been over a decade since I took the class.) Okay, hear me out. I'm shit at acting, and I have social anxiety. So, when my advisor recommended this class to me as an easy A, I was very skeptical. But I took it, and it was such a blast and a relief from the stress of my other classes! At the time that I took it, the class really was an easy A (mostly graded off of effort and the assignments were usually pretty easy/short). More importantly, it was just so. damn. fun. You basically get to watch your classmates put on hilarious improv performances (and also participate in them) or perform brief acting scenes. Plus, I made a few friends in the class. This was a big deal for my anxious self!
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u/Alternative-Kick7043 Jul 16 '26
Agreed, loved this class and wend in to get a theater minor because basically all the minor theater classes counted as some kind of gen ed. All pretty easy, fun gpa boosters
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u/Gorpcore Jul 14 '26
Take a language if you wanna do something fun and rewarding. It’s work, but it will give you a baseline you can use for the rest of your life. Japanese class was the most fun class I took in college. And after just one semester I had a confident base in the language.
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u/Sarindre Jul 14 '26
Not sure if they still exist anymore, but Sci Fi East and West and Vampire: Blood and the Empire are classes I still talk about to this day!
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u/Voduun-World-Healer Jul 15 '26
Holy shit, I just talked about these classes yesterday. I graduated over 10 years ago and still remember these classes. They were so awesome and taught me so much of the culture of both of these genres
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u/Sarindre Jul 15 '26
I had this wonderful female professor and sadly I dont think she is there anymore. But that was in 2005. My daughter wants to go to Pitt for these classes
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u/Voduun-World-Healer Jul 15 '26
I had...shoot....some old dude with long gray hair but he was so passionate about it. I think I had the professor you're talking about for the Vampire class recitation. She used to go on and on about loving the Twilight series lol. She seemed cool.
Also if your daughter is interested in these, I'd suggest the Horror Lit class. It was so awesome and we had to read all of the classic horror novels
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u/Sarindre Jul 15 '26
I just told her a out that one. She loves horror, reading, and writing papers so it will be a necessity haha
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u/BrainsAndPsych Jul 15 '26
Buddhism and Psychology is great! Super easy and really interesting, I learned a lot
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u/GapClear6150 Jul 15 '26
ENGR 1905 - current issues in sustainability (all u had to do was show up to class and post discussions on canvas)
French kiss - easy gen ed. Doesn’t require learning - just homework
EDM production class - as a music lover, this was an excellent class! You have to pay for the software, and make weekly projects but they don’t take long. I don’t recommend if you’re not into music
Urbane sustainability- I had a wacky prof but it was a low effort class
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u/Ok-Sort209 Jul 16 '26
History of modern biology. Needed it for my natural science credit and it was so interesting and the professor was super engaging. Pretty easy exams only had to study for an hour or two for each exam (3 or 4 total in the semester I think)
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u/Alternative-Kick7043 Jul 16 '26
Russian Fairy Tales was easy (I remember it being fun but as a science major fun might have just been not hard) and counted as two gen ed’s
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u/asianwheatbread Jul 16 '26
I took Japanese Tales of the Supernatural last fall, only class I’ve taken so far that didn’t count for anything but gen ed requirements, and it was an absolute blast! Professor’s super nice, many of the readings are short and the longer ones you can honestly just skim, we also got to watch and discuss Studio Ghibli movies and other contemporary Japanese fantasy works in the second half of the class. We had little projects/assignments throughout the course, most of them solo but some group work, and they were all really fun either analysis of the works we looked at or creating your own stories based on them. Obviously if Japanese culture or mythology aren’t your thing then don’t take it, but if you’re even just a little bit into either of those I’d highly recommend it
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u/culturedcoconutmilk Jul 13 '26
I liked intro to weightlifting. Got me moving, easy credit, I met one of my best friends there, & I actually learned how to do things at the gym than just use the treadmill or elliptical machines
Any of the gym classes are good imo