University of California-San Diego Top Questions

I did manage to establish some solid relationship with some professors, who actually wrote me recommendations for my transfer application. The students are too many for you to obtain personal professors, especially those teaching popular majors and engaged with personal research projects.

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UCSD has perfect academic programs. Although under the budget cut, our school ensures everyone gets the classes he or she wants. I personally have had no problems getting the classes i need, which saves me time and money. The school also offers studying abroad programs that the financial aid covers. I can choose to study at any country i want while paying the same tuition as i do it here. What can be more awesome than that? The professors here are extremely experienced and grade fair. They offer quality office hours and are willing to work out an alternative schedule if the office hour doesn't work for you. The environment is somewhat competitive, with the breaks to relax and catch on social life. Each of the six colleges has its own academic advising group, and they are really helpful. You can schedule a walk, or a lunch with them and they will answer any questions you have and help you to plan out each quarter's schedules to make sure you can graduate on time.

I won't try to dodge this one. Academics at UCSD are difficult. I am a Nanoengineering major with a focus in Biomedical Engineering and a minor in Creative Writing and Literature so I will restrict my response to those areas. In Engineering classes the professors will most likely not know your name. I have had classes from around 200 hundred students to lectures that numbered over a thousand. I've even had a lecture course where I was taught by a video screen, rather than a professor. Students spend a good amount of studying and during finals weeks we don't expect to get much sleep if any. Competition in this field is fierce. Some of the brightest minds in the entire university gather into these majors and fight against a curve to achieve the highest grades. The professors are all prominent in their field and we even have nobel laureates on staff. Literature classes are much more laid back. There is much less competition and class sizes can range from 400 down to 20. I have had workshops with Pulitzer Prize winners and professors will definitely know your name. Education at this school is geared towards getting a job afterwards. The school offers many job fairs and internship opportunities. We even have a website called Port Triton that helps students land jobs while an undergraduate and afterwards.

I think that it really depends on your major on how to rate the difficulty of your classes. The science classes are definitely tough. A lot of the science professors are also researchers at the school. Most of the time, science classes are held in lecture halls of about 300 students, which makes it hard for professors to get to know you. However, if you make the effort to go to office hours, then you can definitely get to know the professor. Personally, I'd prefer the smaller classes with 30-40 students so that you can get to know your peers and the professors (note: upper division classes are usually smaller). However, they do offer many fun classes! There are a variety of dance classes such as contemporary dance or ballet. There are also music classes, such as a class dedicated to The Beatles!

The academics are at a very high level and are challenging. The classes require a fair amount of studying but they are never impossible. What I really enjoy as a student of UCSD is the quarter system and the professors. Both of those factors are encouraging students to try harder and harder to reach their goals.

Personal relationships with professors are uncommon due to the size of UCSD. Fellow students are highly competitive and very studious. In my major, nanoengineering, there are only three hundred. This increases the chances of undergraduate research and student-faculty relations. Students who are in my major often have intellectual conversations outside of class as a result of the interesting material we are learning in pursuit of our degree.

The academics are incredibly good here. If you go to office hours, professors make an effort to get to know you and to personally help you out with whatever you need. My favorite class has probably been a writing class based in film and media analysis in relation to identity construction and development. My least favorite class has been my Gen Ed. basic writing class. Students study typically every day for at least a few hours, more when midterms and finals come around. Class participation is not that common in the large lectures, except in the form of iClicker questions. In smaller classes, however, people are very willing to participate. I have had many intellectual conversations outside of class, whether it has been with people I live with or someone I had just met that day; people are very willing to talk and passionate. Students are competitive to the point that it pushes you to do well but not to the point that you do not trust other students. Students have the opportunity to spend time with professors outside of class with the Dine with a Prof program, allowing students to take their professors out to dinner. I think UCSD prepares students for careers in whatever field they are pursuing by offering lab work and internship opportunities, but still retaining the importance of learning solely for the sake of gaining more knowledge. I think UCSD's academic requirements are very rigorous, but they make you into a stronger person and teach time management.

The academics here are great. The professors are very knowledgable and highly approachable. Last quarter, in my math class, because I spoke with my professor so often, this quarter he now recognizes me when he sees me around campus and waves.

The climate here is usually stated as one of a research university, with the added bonus that, unlike many others, this includes graduates as well as undergraduates. Most classes, especially lower division classes, are very large, but every professor and TA is required to have office hours. If a student goes through the effort, he or she is easily able to get on a first name basis with a professor, but this is not an inevitability for every student that just sits there during lectures. In addition, there are programs such as "dinner with/coffee with the prof" where a student and professor can meet one on one for coffee or dinner, completely free of charge (thanks to the university) at one of about 4 locations on campus (there are more than 5 for coffee). Both are once-a-quarter opportunities.