University of California-San Diego Top Questions

BASICALLY, UCSD provides more than enough opportunities for every students to study what they would like. Professors are generally competent, but TAs may be the waekest part of the Academics system at UCSD, there is no middle ground, either the TA is amazing, or the TA stinks.

Most classes are hard, and for the most part I have been lucky with amazing professors (though there have been some, especially in the physics department, that have driven me absolutely crazy). My favorite class has been Sedimentology and Stratigraphy, mostly because the teacher was awesome and we got to go on a bunch of field trips to apply our classroom knowledge. The general education requirements at UCSD are insane - I am in Revelle college which is the worst of them all. I was fortunate enough to have many of my requirements coincide with my major, but I saw many of my communication major friends struggle through three quarters of college calculus which ended up adding multiple quarters to their time at UCSD. I feel that I was prepared properly at UCSD for a career in research, which is what I am pursuing next year as a PhD student in oceanography.

Difficult classes. Must be dedicated to succeed. No skating by. Science classes the prof.s don't seem to care about their students (for the most part) b/c they only teach so they can get funding for research... :( BOO!

grant nebel is an excellent teacher. intense. econ/chem/history all rolled into one. very difficult. richardo dominguez. an interesting teacher. i had to stop counting the amount of times i saw penises and vaginas in class because i saw them at least twice within a lecture. but regardless i enjoyed his class. keith poole. the worst political science teacher i took. obviously bias, anti- anything non american and rightwinged. also, a bland speaker. i dropped his class after attending my third lecture. how often students study? depends on the major. engineerers of any sort have to study all the time. class participation is generally a must and is part of your grade, at least in political science. how education is geared depends on your college. some like muir seek independence and personal freedom while others like revelle demand well-roundedness (hence the amount of ges)

Academics are more challenging and rigorous than I could have ever expected. Every single student here has to work incredibly hard, but the reward comes in gaining an unparalleled education.

Like any large, public university, UCSD has a range of classes from 300 person lecture halls to a 15 person discussion setting. Most classes are split into three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion. Lecture classes are large, and though participation is encouraged, it rarely happens, which is why discussion sections are key to learning effectively. Discussion sections are generally between 20 to 30 people and one TA. This allows for a more personal environment and a closer relationship between students and TAs. The six different colleges also have different general education requirements. Students can choose which college is best for them based off of the level of requirement. I go to Muir College, which is generally known for the easiest GEs. You take two writing classes developed by Muir faculty and then choose four year-long sequences, one from science or math, one social science sequence, and two sequences from foreign language, visual arts, or humanities. The Muir writing classes consist of 12 to 15 people and an instructor, and are honestly some of the best classes at UCSD. I learned more in my Muir 50 class than from any other class on campus so far. My class was about AIDS, society and culture and I learned from many different areas including social science, science, politics, philosophy, fine arts and psychology. The academics here on campus are why I chose to come here, and I have not been disappointed.

I feel like academics at UCSD is the best out there. Not only are the courses interesting, but the professors are amazing. Given there are bad professors, just find the right ones and your academic experience will be wonderful. The best part about academics at UCSD is there is not that much competition. Students at UCSD help each other and want each other to be successful. That rarely happens in any other school.

As a transfer student, I didn't have to take any of the six colleges' GE requirements. If you are an incoming freshmen, the prepare for the BS that goes with it. Many of my friends constantly complain about the writing programs such as MMW, DOC, CAT, Muir Writing, etc. So pick your colleges wisely. I was a communication major. I felt that this program was geared more for intellectual stimulation than helping students get jobs. However, there are UCSD alumni who make it in Hollywood or wherever they desired to be. As for me, I enjoyed my major classes. I got to meet lots of interesting people. The eye candy is quite good too! (Unless you're in engineering, j/k!) You may have heard of the curve system. It's meant to help you, not hurt you.

There is a lot of competition in the classes. Many science and math classes are graded on a curve so it can be tough to get a good grade. The humanities classes, however, are not graded in such a way and are therefore often more reasonable in assigning grades.

Professor can learn your name alright. All of the professors I've had have learned my name. It is pretty easy to get in contact with them. Worst Class: Ethics in Society. It's a GE required by all students in my college. Most unique class: Gospel Choir. It's a 3 unit class and all you do is spend three hours a week learning and performing traditional and contemporary Gospel songs with a local professor tunned pastor.