University of California-Davis Top Questions

As a UCD student, I am a over achiever in most respects. Although academics is important, due to the current economy, I believe work experience and networking far outweighs academics. Most students that only finish undergrad degrees at UC's tend to not find the same high paying jobs as state students. This is in part due to the fact that UC's prepare students for graduate school, but do not teach any technical skills. This can be a big downfall for students looking to work full-time out of school. Overall, academics is important, but experience and networking is far better.

Often times, classes are rather large. This holds especially true in lower division (introduction) course. Because of this, professors have a hard time knowing their student's names. To solve this problem, professors have office hours. I personally really enjoy attending office hours because it allows for one on one time with the professor. Sometimes this leads to friendships with professors that can last even once the class has ended. During my freshman year, I had an English professor who was very helpful. After attending his office hours on an almost weekly basis I now feel like I have established a relationship with him. This proved to be true when I emailed him about writing a letter of recommendation for me. Despite the fact that he was teaching at another university now, he was still more than willing to help he. I am a communication and psychology major, english minor. I find that this combination of topics allows me to expand my depth of understanding in a variety of areas which will further prepare me for a career in journalism. Because of the requirements for these areas and for the university as a whole, I have the opportunity to take a plethora of courses that broaden my understanding of the society as a whole. Every class I have taken, rather it be in my majors or simply a general requirement, has only served to benefit me and mold me into a more intellectual person.

UC Davis, as with any UC, is a great school academically. Recently rated as the 9th best Public School in America (behind other UC's like Berkeley and UCLA but ahead of UCSB), UC Davis has a reputation as an academically challenging school in only the agricultural sciences. While it is true that our Agriculture school is one of the best in the world, our Engineering college is also world renowned and our hard sciences such as Biology and Chemistry are also ranked in the top 50 nationally. Psychology, the most popular major on campus, also has an incredibly strong department. Depending on what major you have, your study time will differ from person to person. Engineers can expect to spend a lot of time in the library or home studying while some other majors require much less work. In terms of classes, Davis offers so many classes that are both fun and academically stimulating. Two example of this are SAS 30 (Mushrooms, Mold, and Society) and NUT 10 (Nutrition). SAS 25 is a class that looks at the different breeds of mushrooms and how they have effected history in different ways (such as one being uses to kill old British lords without leaving a trace). NUT 10 is a class that teaches you about the different kinds of food and how they effect you directly. You also get to see how healthy (or no healthy) you diet is and it is consistently rated as one of the top classes at Davis year after year!

Challenging. The science department will be difficult but is completely worth it. It is possible to do well, but you have to study alot and go to office hours so the professor knows who you are(There may be 100s of people in each class).

Professors know your name if you chat with them after lecture, or visit them during office hours. It's a very good idea to do both. Maybe even complimenting them on the lecture of that day will give you a head up. My favorite class so far was Cultural Anthropology with James Smith. BOY can this guy talk! He had the most intriguing stories of his times in Africa, all discussing broad themes and sociological patterns that we see in America, too! Learning about people and the history of other peoples is fun. My least favorite class was Economics. I'm not a money person. I know how NOT to spend, and to pay bills and that is ENOUGH for me. The lectures were always online and you didn't even need to go to class because he would READ the slides. ^(this econ info can also be found on ratemyprofessor.com when you become an aggie and register for classes! Others agree with me.) Class participation is not common. It also depends on the class. I had a great political science professor who always made sure we were listening by adding comments like, "Guess what Stalin did next?" Etc... haha so that was fun. The majority of UC Davis students I know, have all engaged in intellectual conversations with me at some point or another. We know what's up. We all think about the big picture. Who doesn't? Ok so I'm a Spanish major and for one of my lower division classes, we met on Sunday afternoons at starbucks or a mexican food place and only spoke in Spanish. It was a totally different atmosphere and I loved seeing my classmates outside or school, if I hadn't already at parties! hahaha.. Also, I have met with my Major advisor twice throughout the year and she has been nothing but helpful and understanding that freshmen may need some extra explaining. Also, she told me about classes I could take for upper division electives that may suit other interests than just the language, like literature, linguistic, and cultural classes. The academic requirements are totally reachable! I'm working towards a double-major with international relations, and I plan on finishing in 4 years. I will also sacrifice summers to make sure I'm ahead of the game. It's not that big of a deal. I like what I'm learing/experiencing and I like my professors so far, and that's what's important. There are two ways to look at the education UC Davis can give you. There are plenty of majors and interships available for post-graduation jobs, and then there are the majors that can either go into teaching, more studying and more classes, and maybe even grad school. Bottom line, you'll find a job if you get good advice on what to major in and what pre-graduation jobs to look for. If you're not interested in a job right away, that's fine too and until then, take as many classes as you want!

I am fairly well know among the professors whose classes I have attended as I tend to ask a great many questions during lecture and office hours. Although I am a sociology major, I enjoy each and every anthropology class I take and do fairly well in them. I hardly ever notice anyone except the graduate students engaging in academic forum outside of the class. The most annoying thing about UC Davis's minimum requirement policy is that many of my classes overlap in scheduled time or are not offered, this causes many problem for me and possibly other students in similar situations.

What I said above--hard to get students to care. It's frustrating, as a student that learns through discussion. My work schedule has at times been tough, I've definately pulled some really late nights, but overall this year it really wasn't that bad at all. But they offer some pretty sweet classes. Take animal science 1, even if you're not an animal science major. It's hecka fun, and a good intro to being at UC Davis. Also take ABT49-tractor driving! You basically drive tractors all week. Once again, I am not a farmer, nor do I have any intrest in being one, but it was fun regardless!

In physics, we are a small family. We graduate a small (20-30) group of students per year, so professors know your name, know your face, and the more you're around the offices and doing research, the department knows you. It's a nice feeling. Also, with such a group as we have, it's easy to make friends in your major and create study groups. We are competitive, yes, but more to help everyone out in the class rather than best people and hurt their progress. Professors teach the material so you can understand, but we have some classes dedicated to telling you about the job opportunities open to physics majors.

I wish there was more faculty help in trying to decide what to do after college.....depending on your major, some professors are better than others. There's a lot of research and internship opportunities close to campus, you just need to find them.

some professors are horrible, some are great professors dont bother learning ur name or getting people to participate, they dont encourage people to see them

Overall, I loved the courses I took for my major, Clinical Nutrition. I am pretty sure others would enjoy it as well.

I feel like most students study a lot...especially if you want good grades or plan on going to graduate, medical, etc school. Class participation isnt really common in large lecture halls but usually in group discussions. It is important to get to know teachers and they will learn your names if you make the effort to go to their office hours or make appointments to ask questions about the lecture. If you get to know your professors you can ask them to write letters of recommendations or maybe get a chance to work in their lab or something.

Academics at Davis are serious. There isn't any screwing around. Don't screw around...or you're screwed. The quarter system demands that you put your time in on a regular basis or you will suffer the consequences. Lectures are good, professors are amazing (in my experiences), but I have heard of some terrible profs which is obviously unavoidable anywhere you go. I am surrounded on a daily basis with intellectual deep conversation everywhere I go. That initially stunned me because I am use to hearing nonsensical bull shit in high school and in public in general. Here, though, you might be taken by surprise by the seriousness and focus that surrounds you. This, I think, fosters a good environment to get serious with your own work though. So it's good.

I transferred from another UC before I came to UCD and I noticed that the professors at Davis seem to be more knowledgeable of their area of expertise and have taught for so long that they have perfected the art of lecturing and engaging students in the material. The student are not very competitive and because some majors are more popular than others you can find a lot of your peers in all your classes which makes it easier to study.

you dont have to put in as much time as they say to school to do well. go to class and listen and do the assignments and u can get an A in most classes.

Sciences at UC Davis are ridiculously hard and competitive. I know multiple people that came into college set on being doctors/ something medical oriented. Since then, they have switched their majors completely to be something more in the humanities departments. My favorite class that I have taken so far is my Psych 131 class about perception. My professor created a color-blind simulation that was amazing. I don't spend time with my professors outside of class, however, they make themselves very available during office hours and appreciate it when students take the time to get to know them and seek out extra help on confusing topics.

Yes, some professors do know my name. But thats mostly because I went to office hours or sat near the front row and talked to them before class. There are also small classes or classes with discussion or participation where they will get to know your name whether you like it or not. There are a couple of profesors in my department that went out of their way to get to know student in class - some really really GREAT professors that I will miss. In fact, many students in my major know these 1 or 2 exceptional professors and they will definitely make your college experience great if you happen to take them for a class. For me, a class isn't about the material necessarily but about the PROFESSOR that teaches it. A really interesting class can be made boring if the professor sucks, unfortunately. And the other way around as well. Go on rate my professors to check what other students say, or ASK AROUND to figure out who the good professors are. Students do study here, pretty often. Its not uncommon for students to stay in and study on weekends, normally during midterms and finals weeks. People take grades pretty seriously, and this especially true with more competitive majors like BioSci or Managerial Econ or Engineering probably. The atmosphere here isn't really competitive at all though. Its relaxed. People try to help each other out. Freshman year people are more relaxed, so dont fall into that trap. As the years go by people become much more focused. There are a lot of really really smart intellectual people here who do amazing things in and out of class. There are also lots of opportunities to be that person - so study and get to know professor and get involved with research! I really like my department..although I don't really want to give out the details about what it is called, its related to Economics. We have a sense of pride and people in my major work together and know each other well. I like the advisors and professors a lot. Everyone just kind of knows each other and it makes me feel connected to the university. This is really evident at graduation where many people in this major congregate together and socialize.

the academics are amazing! the classes are definitely challenging but they are great

One of the great things about going to Davis is that for the most part, students are not as competitive as they can be at schools with similar prestige. That's because students at Davis study to learn, not to pass. But academics at Davis are definitely more demanding than you might expect. Studying is a big part of every students weekly routine, especially for those who are majoring in science or engineering. As a freshman majoring in Political Science, I've only taken GE classes (usually in lecture halls ranging from 100-250 students.) But classes do definitely decrease in size once you get into your upper division classes. Classes are challenging, but most GE's are pretty interesting. Human sexuality is by far the most popular class on campus. I'm currently taking "Biology of Addiction," a class where we look at the effects of various substances and their social context and history.

Davis students know how to have fun, but no matter what they are still students at heart. Davis offers challenging classes in all fields but with an emphasis in anything regarding science. Some of the unique classes include tractor driving and human sexuality, (hey we're an aggie school and still a bunch of 20ish year olds looking to have fun). Like I said the people here are students at heart and care about their interests. At parties people are proud to show off their acid burns from the internships and have in depth conversations about what they learned in physics last week and how it applies to a beerbong. Academics are rigorous and difficult but they're nothing a Davis student can't handle.