University of California-Santa Barbara Top Questions

It's rigorous and yet not too bad. If students study hard enough, the A isn't that far away.

Excellent

The academics at UCSB are challenging, but fair. Lower-division classes are typically quite large, and it is often difficult to have a strong relationship with your professor. These classes almost always have discussion sections with a TA though, and those TA's you become very close with. Professors and TA's hold office hours weekly. I recommend attending office hours as often as possible, as not only is it extremely helpful, but it is a great way to establish relationships. Because UCSB is on the quarter system, students are forced to work at a very fast pace. This entails a lot of studying time. Midterm and Final times get quite hectic and it is nearly impossible to find space in the library. UCSB is very helpful when it comes to assisting their students in success after college. The career services are extremely beneficial to use, and I suggest you start using them right away. I am an Econ/Accounting and Communications double major. They are both highly competitive majors, and to get into them you must have a certain GPA in the pre-major courses. There are many majors to choose from at UCSB and I am sure that you will be able to find one that best fits you. Do not be scared if you do not know what you want to major in your first year. Explore classes and see what appeals to you. Also, talking to academic advisors prove to be greatly beneficial. UCSB's academics are highly respectable and we have some of the greatest professors in the country ready to help you grow in your learning.

I am a chemical engineer major so I can answer based on the chemical engineering program. The advisor is extremely helpful. Emails are responded back in about a day or so, sometimes in a couple hours. One of my professors actually took the time to take pictures of me and my classmates and match them with names. Professors take the time to be here for the students. A quick email is all that's needed to schedule extra, out of class, time to discuss difficult topics. The curriculum is also very diverse. Students are allowed to pick many of their own upper division classed and are required to take a general education upper division outside of their major, encouraging a well rounded student.

The academics at UCSB are incredible. The courses are rigorous, but extremely interesting. Often times the topics that the professors are lecturing on are subjects they have researched themselves, and may even integrate their own published works into the course curriculum. The faculty expect hard work from students, and those who do best are the ones who attend class, participate and visit their professors during office hours in order to better comprehend the material. The professors are always happy to help, and for classes with TAs (teaching assistants) they are equally helpful and can be easier to talk to because students meet in a more intimate setting with them once or twice a week. I'm an English major at UCSB, and my experiences with the professors and TAs have been excellent. My professors have always been approachable, and my TAs were great at replying to my emails or even making separate appointments with me for papers and such if I was not able to meet with them during their designated office hours. The class sizes have ranged anywhere from 100 students for lower division classes, to 25 students for the upper division classes. If you are a student who seeks personal connection with your professors or TAs, that it not a difficult thing to find here at UCSB. The classes at this school are geared towards making students think critically, write well and problem solve using what knowledge they have accumulated from their courses. These resources are invaluable for any future jobs, and especially for students looking to continue their education after UCSB.

UCSB is a highly ranked university so the academics are very good. There is a wide selection of very interesting classes. The professors are all extremely intelligent and know how to keep students interested. I have not had a problem with any professor so far. Although its a very large school and classes tend to be big, every professor holds "office hours" which gives students a chance to go in and have one on one time with them, get to know them, and ask any questions you want. Office hours are a great way of getting to know a professor and having them get to know you as well.

At UCSB you see a whole spectrum of students -- from those who work hard, receive honors in their classes and do undergraduate research to those who want to party every night, are placed on academic probation and take 5 years or more to graduate. Lower division classes (the classes you usually take as a freshman and sophomore) can be quite large (around 150 students in the humanities and 300 in the sciences). In these classes a professor will not know you unless you go to their office hours and make it a point to get to know them. I would greatly recommend this. This helped me to realize that I wanted to be a professor and provided me with people who could write me letters of recommendation for jobs and graduate school. When you get to your third and fourth years class size is usually smaller. If you become a Letters & Science honors student you can have even smaller classes. Some teachers expect you to participate, do all of the reading and complete many assignments. Some teachers will simply talk at you every class, with little student participation required. But to me classes where participation is required as the best - it's great to be able to hear what your fellow students are thinking of the class material. Sometimes these discussions continue after classes, and this is how I've made several friends. Most students I don't find to be competitive, but I really know of the humanities in this regard. My major was History, and my minor was American Indian & Indigenous Studies. I loved my history classes and I had some great professors and classmates. History classes cover everything from politics to religion and I think it's great that most students are required to take some sort of history class as a general education requirement. The most unique class I took was a History class called "Interracial Intimacy," which discussed multiracial people and interracial relationships throughout history (e.g. Loving v. Virginia). I graduated early and I think it's very easy to graduate early or in 4 years if you keep track of general ed requirements it is easy to take interesting classes you will enjoy as well as the ones that are required for your major. Professor encourage students to think and continue education, whether you want to get a job after graduating or go on to graduate school.

At UCSB you see a whole spectrum of students -- from those who work hard, receive honors in their classes and do undergraduate research to those who want to party every night, are placed on academic probation and take 5 years or more to graduate. Lower division classes (the classes you usually take as a freshman and sophomore) can be quite large (around 150 students in the humanities and 300 in the sciences). In these classes a professor will not know you unless you go to their office hours and make it a point to get to know them. I would greatly recommend this. This helped me to realize that I wanted to be a professor and provided me with people who could write me letters of recommendation for jobs and graduate school. When you get to your third and fourth years class size is usually smaller. If you become a Letters & Science honors student you can have even smaller classes. Some teachers expect you to participate, do all of the reading and complete many assignments. Some teachers will simply talk at you every class, with little student participation required. But to me classes where participation is required as the best - it's great to be able to hear what your fellow students are thinking of the class material. Sometimes these discussions continue after classes, and this is how I've made several friends. Most students I don't find to be competitive, but I really know of the humanities in this regard. My major was History, and my minor was American Indian & Indigenous Studies. I loved my history classes and I had some great professors and classmates. History classes cover everything from politics to religion and I think it's great that most students are required to take some sort of history class as a general education requirement. The most unique class I took was a History class called "Interracial Intimacy," which discussed multiracial people and interracial relationships throughout history (e.g. Loving v. Virginia). I graduated early and I think it's very easy to graduate early or in 4 years if you keep track of general ed requirements it is easy to take interesting classes you will enjoy as well as the ones that are required for your major. Professor encourage students to think and continue education, whether you want to get a job after graduating or go on to graduate school.

The professors know your name if you want them to. it also depends on how big your classes are. If its under 40 kids most likely the professors will know your name. the economics department is tough. in big classes the tests are designed so you fail. they do this to separate the A students from the rest. Students study mainly for midterms and finals. so you'll have periods where all you have to do is read.

Being a second-year, I've mostly gone through the introductory classes, which range from about 200-800 students each. Some of those classes have kept me intrigued day in and day out, and some of them (usually the ones far away from my major) have left me pretty un-interested. There's no one answer when it comes to classes, because they vary so much. I've had classes where the material was engaging, but the professor's lectures had me falling asleep. In the same vein, some classes have allowed me to change my mind about a topic because of how passionate and informative a professor is. It's really chance. A discussion section might leave you with an amazing T.A. and a great, opinionated, group of students. One thing that's for sure about UCSB's academics: it's up to the student to take the information presented to them, and apply it to everyday life. UCSB can only give you how much you give it. If a student (and they exist) chooses to skip class all the time and not talk to their professor or T.A., they will be bored. If a student really wants to connect to their classes, its up to them to go to their professor's office hours and ask controversial questions in section. The academics is what you make it. With that being said, it's definitely possible to have an outstanding educational experience at UCSB.

The academics at UCSB are both challenging and open to students. Courses are designed to give students sufficient knowledge of the material. However, this does not exclude a wide range of options for fulfilling class requirements. Often, students can opt to write a research paper for a class if they decide not to place the fate of their grade in exams alone. In addition, the nature of the courses themselves are complex so that the content is explained in many ways. Students will learn through lectures, readings, class discussions, and even experiments.

Since UCSB is a pretty large school, most of our general education classes and our lower division classes usually hold anywhere between 150 and 850 students. Although it seems big and scary, the teachers are usually pretty good at connecting with the whole class through i-clickers which every student has and uses to answer questions. Some classes are smaller, such as writing class and upper division classes. I have a few teachers who know my name because it was a small class around 25 people. One of my favorite classes was my Caribbean Studies class. The professor was voted Teacher of the Year at our school and he is such a great professor. Although I am more math oriented, I actually enjoyed learning about the history of Cuba, Jamaica, and other islands in the Caribbean. My least favorite class was my Feminist Studies class. The lectures were very boring and in preperation for the midterm and final, we had to define around 60 terms and write multiple essays. Although the students at UCSB tend to party on the weekends, they are actually very good students. The library is full of people all the time studying and they can have intellegent conversations outside of the classroom. I am a Financial Mathematics and Statistics major, so I enjoy crunching numbers. I am considering being an actuary once I get out of college. We have an Actuarial Science major, but I choose to have my major so I can be more well rounded in the math world. Some classes can be very challenging, especially my physics class, and some classes are easier, but there is not a class you will find that doesn't challenge you in some way. UCSB has a detailed general education program in order to make us well rounded students. Taking all the general ed classes is tedious but it is worth it in the end.

This campus offers a large variety of majors that are very distinguished. Our Environmental Studies, Geography, and Chemical Engineering majors are one of the best programs in the nation. Many courses are cross listed allowing for ease of double majoring and options. It can be difficult to get the class you want, but usually you can get in through the our online wait list or emailing the professor before the class starts.

This campus offers a large variety of majors that are very distinguished. Our Environmental Studies, Geography, and Chemical Engineering majors are one of the best programs in the nation. Many courses are cross listed allowing for ease of double majoring and options. It can be difficult to get the class you want, but usually you can get in through the our online wait list or emailing the professor before the class starts.

Overall, I've only had a good experience with the academics at UCSB. Many of the teachers I've had have been knowledgeable, helpful, and easy to get in touch with either by e-mail or during their office hours. While you can't expect the get as much attention as you would in a private school, if you are active in seeking it out you can easily get the help you need either from your professor directly or through our campus funded tutoring program CLAS. The class experiences vary highly between different classes, I've had lecture halls with 800+ students (these are more common in lower division or GE classes) to an ecology class I'm currently taking that only has ~40 students in it and is taught by two brilliant and highly experienced ecologists.

As UCSB is a public university, the classes tend to have a lot of students and due to budget cuts, this has only gotten worse over the years. The key is to make your education your own and to take the initiative and challenge yourself. While Professors may seem unapproachable, they are usually more than happy to talk to their students about the classes that they are teaching. Going to their office hours is a great way to do this. Another way is to do independent research with Professors. In my case, I am currently drafting a Senior Honors Thesis, which has afforded me the opportunity of having a Professor as my advisor on my thesis. This has been great as I'm learning how to do research with all the knowledge and wisdom of a Professor at my disposal. I am even taking a graduate course on research design in the Political Science department as an undergraduate. These opportunities were only available because I went out and looked for them.

UCSB's philosophy is "scholarship, leadership, & citizenship". UCSB is designed to nurture and generate the future leaders of tomorrow. UCSB is a chapter of the prestigious University of California system, and as such, is committed to providing quality education and research opportunities. UCSB offers a broad academic curriculum which challenges students to think critically and test their perceived academic limits. Professors at this university will make you work for your degree, but it's only because they genuinely want you to learn. The university is committed to academic excellence as well as fairness and has therefore implemented rigorous evaluations of professors and courses to be completed at the end of each quarter. The university takes these evaluations very seriously and has even terminated faculty as a result of poor reviews. So at UCSB, rest assured that your studies will be challenging, no doubt, but they will also be fair. In general, UCSB offers smaller classes to facilitate learning-conducive environments. There are larger-scale classes for sure, but those tend to be the lower-division classes and almost always have smaller discussion sections to supplement the lectures where students can enhance their understanding of the material. The upper-division classes are much smaller, and, in some cases, provide opportunities to work directly with your professor. There are endless opportunities for students to participate in research - either as a participant or as a research assistant. Many majors create email systems for students interested in applying for research positions as they become available. Moreover, most majors require participation in a research project before a student can graduate. I personally took a research-oriented class which took over my life that quarter, but I am thankful for it because it stretched my academic capacity and showed me that I actually was capable of doing something I never thought I could do.

First year classes are huge: chemistry classes have 300+ students, and the act of signing up for classes can leave many out to dry. Students are smart, but rarely engaged with their learning, and do the minimum they need which is not that much since the school is very non-competitive. Academic requirements need serious revamping. The education at UCSB in the College of Letters of Sciences (pretty much everything except engineering) is geared primarily towards learning for its own sake, but the college of Engineering is much more geared towards jobs with internships heavily promoted by the college and individual departments.

Small classrooms, most profs know you, simple good conversations with peers.

We have a great foreign language program. Science classes suck but people aren't as mean and unhelpful like most other schools