University of California-Berkeley Top Questions

I am part of the English department, and it truly is about learning for the glory of learning. I have no idea what I am going to do career wise, but I love going to class. I have not had a professor who isn't perfectly happy to return e-mails, talk to me out of class, or give advice. Furthermore, oftentimes I feel like I am at the foot of the master during lectures. In fact, I feel that I get so much out of lectures, that I have begun to dislike discussion groups.

I hate to stereotype, but it does differ depending on your major. MCB (molecular cell biology), engineers, and hard sciences will most likely work quite a bit harder than social science or humanities majors. Business majors (pejoratively referred to as "Haasholes" in reference to the Haas business school) can be amorally cutthroat at times. Engineers often don't see the light of day for weeks. However, I still say Berkeley is the place with the most intelligent professors and students I've had the pleasure of meeting, all across the board. Definitely the right place to study if you enjoy discussing moral relativity on the bus or the consequences of the Fed's latest interest rate change.

The professors are knowledgeable and (mostly) helpful. Some of the difficult classes (stats, for instance) were made manageable by forming study groups. They really saved my butt. In the GSE, students were not terribly competitive, except that funding decisions were based on what the professors thought of your efforts each year. Knowing that your best friend was competing with you for a small pool of grant money was depressing. But I have to say that I have met many graduates of other graduate education programs who did not learn nearly as much as we did. Part of the reason is that there is no undergraduate education major, so the GSE students had research assistantships, not teaching assistantships. We learned so much by doing real research. Of course, if you're planning on a career in academia, this is a bit of a disadvantage because you've never taught a college-level class. However, my fellow students managed this by teaching as adjuncts at the many local colleges that train teachers. The downside is that the normative time to graduate from the doctoral program was 6 years! That's a long time to be in school, especially if you're making it partly on loans.

My favorite class was probably Modern Jewish History. My least favorite class was a freshman seminar on the concept of love in Russian literature...with the worst, retired-Navy officer, crotchedy professor. Students study a lot. I mean, I would see students already in the library, studying, during the first few days of classes. This totally affects the social climate, too. There tends to be a small window of time at the beginning of each semester when people don't have much work...after that week or so, there's usually a constant tide of essays and exams and a lot of studying going on. I found that many UC Berkeley students don't necessarily have intellectual conversations outside of class, but I think it all depends on who you hang out with (ahem, German & Rhetoric double-majors). I knew many people who seemed uninterested in talking about things they might talk about in class outside of class - they wanted a break from classes. That said, I tended to have a lot of "intellectual" conversations with people in my "off-time". Your relationship with a certain professor depends on the type of class you're taking - if it is a seminar or smallish course (with +/- 30 students), the professor is likely to learn your name, though it depends on the professor and on your effort to get to know the professor (through going to office hours, participating in class, etc.). Aside from office hours, I never spent time with professors outside of class...In fact, seeing my professors outside of class, walking on campus or around Berkeley, was totally mindblowing to me and almost a celeb-sighting experience. Whether your education at UC Berkeley is geared toward getting a job or learning for its own sake is dependent on what you study, though I'd say that the larger emphasis is probably on learning for its own sake. Overall, Berkeley is a "choose your own adventure" place - academically and socially. If you're an Electrical Engineering major, I imagine that your education is somewhat geared toward getting a job. I, however, majored in Art History, and the education I received was largely devoted to learning for its own sake; the practical skills I learned were practical in academia. Basically, if you major in the Humanities at Berkeley (and to some extent, the Social Sciences as well), your education could be considered geared toward getting a job if that job were becoming a professor/researcher, or doing something dealing largely with content (writing, editing, teaching, etc.).

My favorite classes are MCB 150, Immunology; MCB 62 Drug and the brain; Optometry 10, the eye and vision. My suggestion: always look up the list of the recommended classes before you register. The book tilted "Resource: a reference guide for new Berkeley students" helped a lot.

Well its considered the #1 public university in the country by most recent polls, so right there you know that is going to be tough. Generally the science and math classes are the most challenging during my experience, but despite the amount of student here, most professors are not aiming towards maintaining a curve. If you work hard and do your reading, its not THAT bad.

at such a big school it is hard to get to know your professors on a personal basis, it is really up to the students to attend office hours and get to know them one on one. I however have taken the initiative to get to know my peace and conflict studies professor. first of al i loved her class, i even took another class my second semester because she was teaching it. i honestly never missed one of her classes. Peace and Conflict Studies 10 has changed my life, as cliche as that sounds. you really learn about the world issues, some of which i had no idea were going on. i think everyone should take this class, it is very unique and not many schools have this major.

Since the classes can be large, especially for general requirement courses, students have to make an effort to get to know their professor. Fortunately, they are very approachable. The reason for having a few professors to many students seems to be that you'll be getting instruction from some of the smartest people in their field. As an EECS major, I find that students help each other out a lot. Old exams, courses/professor ratings, and peer tutoring are all available from student organizations, so it's always possible to get more out of a class if you put in the work.

Ethnic Studies is an amazing department, which will open your eyes to a different view on the world. My favorite class has been ES 101B: Humanities Methods in Ethnic Studies. The class has enabled me to rethink my perception of the world. In my experience UC Berkeley students love to have intellectual conversations and relate their lectures to their real lives. But it is not in a way where you feel obligated to have something "intellegent" to say. It is in a way where you are constantly learning from your peers and appreciate the new knowledges you recieve. It some cases students can be competitive. This is a competitve school that has competitive majors. It is an environment where one may sometimes question their place and feel like they have to justify their intellegence. It is important to remember that everyone belongs here and that everyone has worked hard to make it here regardless of how you make an argument or if you make struggle with certain readings.

I once heard from a student of UCSB whose ex-girlfriend attended Berkeley "When I would visit her, everyone was like studying on the weekends... it was super quiet, not like here [in IV]" That was before I came to Berkeley, and when I came here I came to find out that it held to be pretty true. No, not everyone is always studying on the weekends but it isnt uncommon for people to stay in some nights during the weekend to catch up on studying and reading. During Finals week Berkeley is literally dead... and the libraries which are open 24hrs during that time are packed. I found that the idea that you are just a number in large lectures is not true... I've been in classes with over 200 students and then there where classes where there were only 30 or 50 students. Usually with large classes you have an extra section where you meet once a week outside of lecture in a graduate student lead discussion which for the most part have always been a great complement to course lectures and quite beneficial. Since these students are UC grad students they can be a wealth of information, easier to talk to (than really busy professors), very accessible and very intelligent. But i have found that many professors can also be very approachable. I had a health problem my first semester and I was surprised at how compassionate and understanding my professors and GSI's were. They were very accomodating and I was so relieved. While some professors clearly are not approachable and seem quite involved in their research rather than teaching, I found that for the most part this was the exception rather than the rule.

Too damn hard. Undergrads are so competitive. Classes are usually huge, at least the intros. But its not that bad, as office hours are plentiful and easy to come by.

I feel that it is difficult to get to know my professors especially I am taking mostly intro and lower div classes right now (many have hundreds of students). For example, I depend heavily on my math GSI to understand concepts. Class participation is common only in classes/discussions with 30 students or less. The students are fairly competitive and it doesn't help that the student body is huge. The academic requirements are very fair and I like how it encourages students to explore other areas.

we're extremely lucky to be amongst some of the top experts in their fields. EVERYTHING from biology to women's studies to astronomy to asian studies - we have professors and researchers that other people read about right at our fingertips.

the classes are a bit large to have the professors really get to know who you are, but if you visit office hours, the professors seem to want to get to know you. My favorite class is McNamara's Art 8: Intro to visual thinking. This class offers an availability for students to increase their creative thinking in ways they haven't thought about before. it's a fun class where people get to know each other and appreciate everyone for who they are. you learn a lot about different students on the campus.

I am a double major in mass communications and linguistics - the mass comm professors know me by name, whereas the linguistics professors do not. I've taken many great classes and many horrible classes. The best so far have been Music 27 (taught by Scott Foglesong in the Extension program), Ling 100 (Line Mikkelsen), History 7B (Leon Litwack), Journalism 141 (Tom Goldstein) and Ling 130 (Andrew Garrett). The worst have been Anthro 3 (taught by Gisele Bousquet in the Extension program) and Ling 115 (Larry Hyman). Students do study, but it's ridiculous for me to estimate exactly how much other students study. I know that I prioritize my schoolwork, as do my roommates. I will say that I think students establish study habits early on, and that patterns their performance throughout their career at Berkeley. In other words, once a partyer, always a partyer. I can account for the fact that my friends and I pursue academic interests outside of class, but we have fun, too. And, yes, students can be fiercely competitive. I think it depends on the major - and the ambition of the students. If a student is using their education to get a job, then they can be very competitive. If they are learning for the sake of learning, the fire is pretty low.

I felt extremely satisfied with the education I received at Berkeley. Though some class sizes are huge (I think my largest class had 650 students), there are smaller discussion sections that give you the chance to ask all your questions -- and all my professors made substantial time for their students. Especially in your junior and senior year, as you start to focus your studies, classes routinely have only 10 or 12 students. I felt challenged in nearly every class I took -- as an English major, especially, I routinely had a 1000 pages of reading a week -- but, in the end, I felt like I grew a lot intellectually and the sometimes painfully stressful workload was all worth it. That said, there was certainly some grade inflation -- some classes are easier than others, so it's possible to sort of inflate your own GPA by choosing easy stuff. Or to make your life hellish by choosing tough professors and classes.

My major (chemical engineering) is pretty small. We all know each other and help each other all the time. Every one studies a lot, so it's tough to keep up, but it's fun. Most of the professors and gsi's are great; I've only had one professor (out of five so far) and one gsi (out of ten so far) in ChemE that I were mediocre, as opposed to fantastic.

I am double majoring in Conservation and Resources Studies, and Molecular and Cell Biology. In my biology classes I find that students are competitive and study really hard. These students do not have intellectual conversations outside of class, and they are usually Asian. In my CRS classes, students are less competitive, they're usually pretty chill. These classes are undoubtedly my favorite; they have given me chance to learn something I, on the premed track, would normally have not. Coming from a strictly science background, it has been eye-opening to study the social aspects of what I thought would be a science-heavy major. It has also introduced me to people completely different from what I am used to. I find that in the CRS major, and in many Berkeley classes in general, students are taught to challenge the institutional norms, and that many of these institutions, including even the UC Regents, have not been looking out for our best interests.

Pretty big classes. Usually kinda hard. I feel like I learn a lot.

My professors have all been pretty great. Some of them aren't the best teachers, but almost all of them care about their students and want to do what they can to help students learn. One of my professors even met with my study group at the dining hall and offered to attend any student-organized review session for his class. But my favorite professor would probably have to be Dr. David Henkin of the History department, if I were forced to choose. He's so personable, and you can tell he really cares about his students. He makes an effort to learn everyone's name, and will remember you if you never spoke in class or went to his office hours. I also loved the two courses I took with him. The first was a cultural history of Broadway and NYC, and the second was a history of antebellum America. He always delves into really interesting popular culture and assigns interesting primary source readings. GSIs (Graduate Student Instructors) are more of a mixed bag. Some are really nice and helpful. Some are nice, but not very helpful. Some are arrogant assholes AND they don't offer useful help. I've liked my GSIs, though. Most of them identify with us undergrads pretty well, and one even gave me a day's extension for my final paper just because I asked for it. The History department is definitely geared toward historical research rather than getting you a job. The courses aren't even certified for accaptence into teaching credential programs, and you have to take subject tests before applying to a credential program. Many history undergraduates go on to grad school or law school. It's a pretty acedemic environment, and I've had my fair share of intellectual conversations outside of the classroom setting. Office hours and tutorial sessions can be really useful if you can force yourself to go to them...which I generally didn't. But most of my professors encouraged students to discuss things with them at office hours. As many of them have mentioned, they have to be there regardless of whether or not students come, so they'd rather just have students come.