USM Classes I’d Take Again: A Student’s Picks Ahead of Registration Week
October 26, 2026
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by Charlotte Cullivan
Registration Week for spring semester runs Nov. 2-6, which means it’s time to start building out your schedule. Choosing classes can be tough, especially if you’re a freshman and not quite sure where to start. In my time as an English major at USM, I’ve found a handful of classes I’d recommend to anyone, whether you need to check off a requirement or just want to try something new. Here are a few of my favorites.
When I sat down to choose classes for my first semester at USM, Intro to Game Design initially stood out to me because it fulfilled a course requirement. The real reason I picked this class over other options? I love video games.
The course walks you through the entire game design process. You learn to pitch an idea, form a team, and playtest what you’ve built—the same steps designers go through in the industry.
It was really cool to find a class at USM that showed me how something I already love could become more than a hobby. To me, that’s what college is all about. This class gave me a new appreciation and respect for the work that goes into creating video games, plus it was just so much fun.
To non-English majors, this class might sound like a doozy, but I promise it is a lot of fun. I originally signed up because I’d had classes with this professor before and really enjoyed them. At first, I felt pretty intimidated by the reading list. Every book was a title I recognized, each a “literary classic,”, so I expected them to be dense, complicated, and, honestly, boring. Instead, I loved them. They’re some of the most interesting books I’ve read, and have really stuck with me over the past year in a way I didn’t expect. I would definitely recommend it for any English majors or minors!
To non-English majors, this class might sound like a doozy, but I promise it is a lot of fun. I originally signed up because I’d had classes with this professor before and really enjoyed them. At first, I felt pretty intimidated by the reading list. Every book was a title I recognized, each a “literary classic,”, so I expected them to be dense, complicated, and, honestly, boring. Instead, I loved them. They’re some of the most interesting books I’ve read, and have really stuck with me over the past year in a way I didn’t expect. I would definitely recommend it for any English majors or minors!
I’m actually taking this class right now, but I already love it enough to put it on this list. The course focuses on Geoffrey Chaucer, the medieval poet behind “The Canterbury Tales,” and the world he was writing in. We read everything in the original Middle English, which is absolutely wild to look at and even harder to understand at first. Luckily, the professor is excellent, and if you feel even a tiny bit clueless about what’s happening, there’s a high chance that everyone else feels just as clueless.
Out of everything on this list, this class surprised me the most. I signed up because it checked off a core curriculum requirement, but I learned so much from it. The course looks at the role schools play in a democracy, from who gets access to education to how schools shape the way we think about citizenship. It was also refreshing to take a class outside of my major filled with students from different programs — it’s a nice change of pace every now and then. I ended up loving it way more than I expected, especially for a subject I knew almost nothing about going in.
