University of California-Santa Barbara Top Questions

most, no. social psychology or a black sutdies class no the civil rights movement. ochem. ? only among certain students. Biospychology, love it, very unique and small, the prestigous psychology degree. hardly. good. learning

I don't feel that the academics are an exception to any other University of our size. You have your lectures and your sections, pretty standard. People care about their classes but they also care about having a good time. Usually libraries are packed around midterm and finals time.

As a second year, I haven't gotten to know a lot of professors, but I have been to some office hours which can be pretty fulfilling. My favorite class this quarter is behavioral ecology of hunter gatherers with professor Gurven. We study foraging behaviors and society of hunter gatherers from a physical anthropology perspective. I am an anthro major, and this is a new way for me to look at things more scientifically and with more encouragement to be right instead of guessing, and to do some research. I have plenty of intellectual conversation outside of class, even outside of studying which I don't do all that frequently, but no less than everyone else. I personally gear my education more towards learning for the sake of knowledge, but I don't have some big future plans in mind. Most people don't at 19. The academic requirements vary from major to major, but overall the system is nice and flexible, so you can change your mind plenty and still be ok.

In the smaller classrooms, yes. Favorite class was Global Conflict, least favorite was Comparitive Asian Literature. Depending on your major, some during the quarter and A LOT of cramming during midterms/finals. Yes. Yes. Some students are competitive, most are friendly. The most unique class I took was African Cinema. The Global Studies department is very interdisciplinary and incorporates many different class choices. Some people do, the professors are open to meeting outside of class. The academic requirements are just right. It is mostly a research based institution as opposed to a professional, so the ciriculum is mostly geared toward learning for its own sake.

Professors at UCSB dont know your name unless you make the effort to introduce yourself. The classes, especially lower division, are usually pretty large, however the upper division classes usually become a little smaller. In all classes, upper and lower division professors and TA's have office hours. Nearly every professor I had were very receptive to adding extra office hours, promptly answering emails, and answering questions before or after class. Im a psychology major and have taken some great classes with great professors. Everyone in the department is really friendly and inspiring. My favorite class was a psychopathology class. The professor had is PhD in reserach as well as his own clinical private practice. Beyond the text book or his own reserach he had numerous stories to share, which really brought the class and what we were studying to life. My least favorite class was one I took for GE. It was a Chicano studies class and the professor was extremely boring, diorganized, and confusing. The great thing about UCSB students is that they are both charismatic, social, and very intelligent. UCSB is becoming increasingly more difficult to get into. Students definitely have intellectual conversations outside of class, but it is met with a balance of lighthearted conversation. A professor once said at freshman orientation that "UCSB students are just as smart as Berkley students, they just don't act like it." I sort of interpret this as UCSB students are more balanced than some other students. We are 18-22 years old, why be so serious? We work hard and are very driven, but we also play hard and have a fun time being young adults. I have been involved in research with professors in the psychology department for the past two years and am also the treasurer of Psi Chi, the psychology club on campus. These two experiences have given me an opportunity to spend time with professors outside of the lecture hall.

My Major is actually Global Studies, a major unique to UCSB. Global Studies was first introduced as a major roughly 8 years ago. It explains the idea how we now live in a world where national boreders are becoming less and less significant, as the global economy begins to spread. Thus far, global studies 1, and political science 7 (International Relations Theory) have been my favorite classes. Yes, these classes are quite big, including over 300 students per lecture, but it is also up to the student to take something from the class. I like to learn in a smaller-class environment as a whole, so I have found the foreign languages here to be quite to my liking. Monday through Thursday, one hour per day you are in a class with the same 25ish people and one teacher. A familiar, smaller class setting actually allows you to talk to your professor and, as a result learn to grast the language.

professors DO NOT know your name, unless you spend hours with them in office hours or your class is under 30 people (thank god for upper division). large lectures are generally boring and hard to go to, especially early in the morning. my favorite classes were writing for film (writing 109f) and art of the russian avant garde, taught by sven spieker, a brilliant man (art history 113F). really interesting, and not very many people know about it. it was one of the few classes that i really felt challenged to learn. after two papers and 4 quizzes, i got a B+ in the class, which i was so happy about. sure, an A would have been nice, but they're not easy to come by and i still feel like i really learned the material. other classes have a different story. i am an english minor and have pretty much bullshitted my way through the entire program. that means hardly attending lectures where attendance is not taken and cramming from a responsible student's notes the night (or morning) before the test. i still end up with something above a B. it's definitely a system here, and you have to learn how to beat it. there are tons of kids who aren't naturally smart and have to try really hard to do well, but if you're not that type, don't get sucked into going to a horrendously boring class at 8 a.m. unless you absolutely have to. it can be easy to freak out if everyone is freaking around you, but stay true to yourself and you'll be fine. you always know what works for you and what doesn't. and it never hurts to make a generous friend who lives off of self-designed study guides.

I work really hard when I need to. In a hard quarter I'll spend around 25-30 hours outside of class working on school related stuff. On an easy quarter it's around 10-15. I'm not an accurate representation though. I'll say this again, in some classes professors don't give any grade lower than a C, students don't go to class and don't do anything till the day before the due date. UCSB is a place where me and slackers can work side by side. The difference is that I'm actually getting stuff out of school.

professors are for the most part very caring and nice. classes are hard, but if you work hard, and get the help you need, it is possible to succeed.

Students at UCSB are incredibly smart, and most people are not stuck up about it. Professors tend to be easy-going, making most classes a fun atmosphere. And though students are competitive, especially in biology, no one is mean or tries to sabotage other people like at some schools.