University of California-Irvine Top Questions

Professors know my name, but because I make it a point to see them during office hours. My favorite class was Vietnam War with Professor Duncan. Students do have intellectual conversations outside of class, and they were competitive. My international studies major was interesting. I spent time with professors only sometimes. They were always very busy. UCI was geared towards learning, or maybe towards a job where you can follow orders.

Professors used to know my name. I'm an alum, so now i'm not so sure! My favorite class was the Hardy Approach to Stress taught by Prof S. Maddi and Prof D. Khoshaba. They are wonderful educators, especially Dr. Khoshaba, she would listen to you intently if you had a question, and somehow knew like half of the class's name. I would spend time with professors if I wanted to learn more about their subjects and what they research on campus.

Some of my professors did. Most didn't. I only cared about that when it came to a MAJOR-related class or if the professor could assist me in my career endeavors..other than that, they didn't care and I didn't care. Class participation is rare...only in a few classes were there a LOT Of discussions, etc.I hated the engineering dept. I spent 2 years there and got kicked out because of academics....i think it's sad because i asked her, yes i know i messed up but can i come back AFTER i finish my econ degree tofinish what i started and she was straight up mean and said NO...absolutely NOT!! in an almost yelling tone. .... Way to encourage the future of America... (sarcasm)... I'll always remember that and if i ever donate back to UCI, i'll DEMAND not ONE PENNY go to the engineering dept. I don't want even as much as a paper clip to be bought with my money for that dept. Econ department was nice (social sciences)...the counselors (err at least mine) was super helpful and responsive. Like anything in life, you need initiative...we have a GREAT career center and as more and more BIG companies set up shop in Irvine/OC area, we, as UCI students have more opportunities than ever. I wish they would offer a Life Course...because too many times, students will lack street smarts or just the know how of "how to balance a checkbook, how to save, 401k's, etc..."

In a large lecture, a professor will never know your name unless you take the first step to introduce yourself after class or during office hours - it completely depends on you. In smaller classes or discussion groups of 20-30 your teacher aid and classmates usually know your name. Again, you have a lot of control over how anonymous or well-known you are depending on your participation. I had several favorite classes, and the common theme between all of them was the eccentricity of the professor. I think that UCI is bursting with intelligent professors, instructors and researchers, but it takes a sense of humor to really make a class fun and engaging. I think that UCI's academic requirements are incredibly flexible and reasonable. Instead of having to take a typical mathematics course, I was able to substitute linguistics. I loved that I could take Anthropology and Sociology to meet certain graduation requirements. Also, for my science req. I took classes like Rainforest Biology and Environmental Sustainability, while a lot of my friends at other universities were forced to take chemistry or statistics, regardless of their major. As for "competitiveness" you will come across students of all kinds - from the slacker to the curve-setter. I think that the education at UCI is what you make it: if you have a certain job in mind, you can certainly prepare yourself for that. If you're interested in a certain area, you can explore it but not necessarily graduate with a specific job waiting for you. The career center is great and I definitely recommend membership in the alumni association.

Professors: I graduated in 2005 and I still remember my top professors and I am in contact with some of them as well Favorite class: too many to list Least: Anthro Study: I studied a lot because I was going off to graduate school Participation: a lot Conversations: Yes for sure especially during political season Competitive: YES! Unique class: Politics in the media Department: the School of Social Sciences was a huge school and sometimes you felt lost as an individual. It was hard to get advising especially because I wanted to attend graduate school. Spent time outside: YES Academic requirements: They are reasonable Education: Learning and preparing me for my MSW as well as to continue on for my PhD.

As cliche as it may sound, I feel that the experience one gets at UCI, whether it be academically or otherwise, is completely what each individual wants it to be. If you want to get to know your professors, they are generally open and willing to have conversations with you. If you want to remain annonymous, you can do so too. In certain majors or subject areas, students are more competitive than others, especially starting from Freshman year. I find that as you reach your third and fourth years, students are competing not against each other, but rather for their own future -- whether it be for grades for graduate school, a job, or just a letter of reccomendation. In my opinion, UCI was a challenging experience but nothing that couldn't be tackeled with a few nights in the library and a few cups of strong coffee.

Some professor do know you by name, some professors don't. I guess it depends on the class. Some professors are there to teach, while other are there to fund their research. Students are very competitive. From the extensive science programs to the diverse arts, there is amazing talent all around. Some of the education was helpful in job searching, but really, the best help I ever got was by going to the career center. They gave me a small book on how to write a good resume and where to find what I wanted. It won't guarentee you a job, of course, but it will at least give you the confidence and direction to get what you want.

Professors in my department knew me. My favorite class was Acting Theory with Robert Cohen. Least favorite was Writing 39C. Definitely intellectual conversations outside of class. Students weren't competitive so much as ambitious - no animosity between students. I repeat, the UCI Drama department is amazing. Outstanding professors and although there is more focus on the graduate students, there were still a myriad of opportunities for the amibitious undergraduates. The academic requirements were fine. The school attempted to offer creative alternatives to general requirements and I appreciated that, such as the AIDS Fundamentals class and Brain and Behavior.

I never had to work very hard for professors in my smaller classes to know my name but in larger ones I just asked a lot of questions and soon they knew me by name. My favorite class was Principles of Civil Liberties because I was forced to learn some extremely technical case information that influenced me in a lot of my other classes. My least favorite was an earth science class that was a requirement to graduate--it seemed like the teacher taught to the standardized test too much. Students study about 15 hours a week. Class participation is common but most common in political science classes where topics can get heated and often incite opinions. Students aren't competitive. Serious, but they let their work speak for themselves. I took a music writing class my senior year where I got to read a lot of pieces about everything from punk to gypsy jazz. I was a political science major and english minor. The political science department was excellent and prepared me with a solid foundation in the many parts of how the political system works. My english classes were tough but worth the work because my current job requires a lot of writing out of me. Whenever I needed to speak with a professor outside of class they always made time for me. My friend told me one of his professors invited the entire class over for dinner once. The academic requiresments can seem tedious but are good preparation. The eduation is geared toward learning for its own sake and I would never have it any other way.

Yes i love the history department they are the best

Fatima Rony knows everybody's name. Other professors I doubt knew students names because lecture halls have hundreds of students. Professors will know you when you go to office hours which are a good idea. TA's know students names more than professors. TA's are actually sitting down with the students discussing while teachers are behind their podiums- that's the way it works. UCI students are very intelligent and have meaningful intellectual conversations. Especially about politic activity of the time. The most unique class I've taken was Russian Cinema with Professor Mjolsness. It was fascinating to learn about another culture and understand their films. Also Professor Sextons race and masculinity class was fabulous. I spent some time outside of class if I had an independent project, or if they came to Zotfilm, or a special screening. UCI is defenately not geared towards getting a job- at least not the film department. The production classes are a joke. There is no equipment. Being a UC school it is mostly theory bases. But that is why I went there. I LOVE film theory. I majored in if for the sake of learning.

I'm not really close to many professors. My favorite class was with Miscarriages of Justice - that class really opened my eyes about the many people who were wrongly put in jail for decades for crimes they never committed. I also love Professor Jesilow. He's a great teacher. I think criminology is one of the strongest departments on campus. The professors are all very educated and the classes are appealing. I just wish they offered more classes at more times so a larger number of students could join the major. I think overall the school does a good job of educating students and instills a desire to learn more.

Being an art major, I loved all my classes towards my major. I also enjoyed being able to focus on one area of art as I progressed through the curriculum. My situation was a little different than other students, but those I knew outside of the art school were studying ALL THE TIME. Well, most were. There are always the requisite students who show up the first day and then you never see them until the final. Most students are very competitive, and I noticed that the smaller the class, the more competitive it got (500 person lectures, not so much). The arts department is unique at UCI because it is the smallest school on campus. The administrators actually remember you when you make an appointment, and I was lucky enough to do an independent study with one of my favorite professors, Steve Criqui. All of my art teachers were well informed in their genre, and were willing to work with the class if things weren't going as planned. The academic requirements for art were to take many different disciplines to begin with, and then start refining your focus as you went on the the intermediate and advanced classes. I liked this approach, giving the students a broad spectrum of experiences.

Most of the professors know my name. My favorite class is Photo. Class participation is common in half of my classes. The students are not that competitive. The most unique class I have taken is the 1A-B-C series in Studio Art. My major is studio art. I do not spend time with the professor outside of class. UCI's academic requirements are regular.

Professors know our names when the classes are small or when students are obnoxiously disruptive. My favorite class was Theories in Psychology, which most people dropped after the midterm. Not to criticize my fellow classmates, but I have noticed that certain people send their minions to class to take notes for them, and these note-taker pimps somehow think that they can just study these notes they never took and still pass the course. I'm thinking about a quote about sowing and reaping. Seeds? I'd like to imagine that students Do have intellectual conversations outside of class, but quietly, because the conversations that buzz in my ears as I walk down Ring Road (big mistake) are loud and not intellectual. I personally chose to major in Psychology and Social Behavior for purely selfish reasons like self-enrichment and human understanding. I think the courses offer a decent overview of the field of psychology, though many of them stress memorization rather than understanding the actual material. The course material fills our little heads barely to the brim, but just enough to get a BA and to join the work force.

Most of the professors know my name. I like to introduce myself at the beginning of each quarter and I meet them in office hours. My favorite class at Irvine is physiology. It is all about how the body works and that is what i am mostly interested in. Students vary in how much they study. You have some that study all day long and you have others that will wait till the day before an exam to open a book. Class participation is common depending on the class size. If its a lecture of 300 students then its not too common. But if its a class of 30 then students are actively involved in the lecture. Students do have intellectual conversations outside of class. Whether it be about politics or evolutionary biology. Depending on what major students are they have more interest in talking about their own school subjects. The biological sciences major is the most competitive major at campus. It has the largest amount of students (3100) and graduates 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of each freshman class. The counselors do a great job in helping the students in what classes to take and what careers to get into. The academic requirements at UCI are to me what every college should require. They have the standard requirement for what I think wil prepare you for the future.

I would say that about 90 percent of my professor knew my name and that 50 percent interacted with me regularly outside of the classroom, which I greatly appreciated. By the time I hit my fourth year, I was regularly invited to visit some of my professors at their own homes or even grab a drink with them – bizarre but awesome. One of my favorite classes I took was one I didn’t need to fulfill an academic requirement and that was “Holocaust Cinema,” which, interestingly enough, was considered a comparative literature class. The professor was really engaging and everyone was really into doing the readings and discussions. We watched films, of course, and met with a Holocaust survivor. I looked forward to going to it every time. I also enjoyed the school’s Humanities Core seminars which is required to take if you’re in the School of Humanities. I actually liked all my classes and never dropped one because I didn’t enjoy it or at the very least, find it academically rewarding. I usually spent less than 4 hours a day working on assignments and studying but that increased once I decided to work on a thesis. UCI students tend to have a lot of intellectual conversations outside of class because we’re so academically-minded but not competitive. The English Department is highly-ranked, and it’s well deserved. The education at UCI is for the sake of education, but it really gives you the intellectual capacity to succeed in a career. We never really talked about future salary earnings.

yes they know my name because I talk a LOT in class. students study a lot or a little depending on major. They tend to study more in their third and fourth yrs it seems.

I have met many wonderful professors at UCI who care about their students. It is so easy to ask questions in class or attend office hours. Professors really try to be open and friendly; they are interested in getting to know your name, and helping you excel in and out of the classroom. I have met with professors at Starbucks, attended group meetings at a professors house or even met with professors on the weekend. Professors also visit student housing on nights and weekends to interact with students. I have really enjoyed all of my classes here. The curriculum on the honors program is difficult, but challenges you in a good way. The political science department is fantastic and offers a variety of courses--I wish I could take them all!

In my studio art classes, the professors eventually get to know my name because the classes are luckily a lot smaller than normal lectures, which can be as big as 400 students. My favorite class right now is my digital imaging class, which is learning photoshop and how to apply skills we learn to create our own designs and images. My least favorite class is a visiting artists lecture because the professor sucks and takes teh class way too seriously. Class participation is very important in my art classes, but in normal lectures, class participation is not always required. The education at UCI is geared more towards learning for yourself. All the resources are there to help you succeed, but it depends what you do with them.