Out of all the classes I've taken, this has been one of the most useful! It consists of just one 50-minute lecture per week from UVA Systems Alumni in various career paths. I appreciated the diversity in speakers we had -- although 80% of UVA Systems graduates end up working in consulting, we were also able to hear from Systems graduate students, CEOs, data and analytics professionals, sales engineers, business analysts, and product managers. In terms of grading, as long as you show up to each seminar (you have to sign in on an attendance sheet) and respond to one discussion post per seminar, you are guaranteed an A. My only gripe with this course is that it meets at a somewhat undesirable time -- 5:00 pm on Thursdays, and if you miss even one seminar or discussion post, you are bumped down half a letter grade (with exceptions only for illness). If you like having Thursday evening plans (sunset series, weekend trips), you'll have to plan them around this class.
SYS 3055
Systems Engineering Design Colloquium ILast taught: Fall 2026
4.3 Rating
1.0 Difficulty
3.95 GPA
Instructor
4.5
Enjoyability
4.5
Difficulty
1.0
Recommend
4.0
Reading
0.0
Writing
0.0
Group Work
0.0
Other
0.5
Total Hours / Week
Hours 0.5
Grade Distribution
Average GPA 3.95
Students Measured 468
Sections
12 Reviews
4.33 Average
Instructor 5.0
Enjoyability 4.0
Recommend 4.0
Difficulty 1.0
Hours/Week 0.0
4.33 Average
Companies come to talk to you about their careers and experiences. The only grades are attending the seminars and then writing discussion posts about them. The meetings usually last only 1 hour and the discussion posts at an absolute maximum are a paragraph. Super easy, just show up and it is a guaranteed 100%.
Instructor 4.0
Enjoyability 5.0
Recommend 4.0
Difficulty 1.0
Hours/Week 1.0