University of California-Santa Cruz Top Questions

nearly all of the professors i have had are intimidating/not very people friendly. in the smaller classes, some of them know names but they don't necessarily take the time to learn them in classes with more than 50 kids. they seem like they care about how the students are doing in the class but it's really up to us to get our professors to know our names. My favorite class was probably film music. I'm in love with film music and the teacher was good. the class was well structured. with classes, it's usually a hit or miss. sometimes the class isn't what it was described in the schedule of classes, so most people make their decisions by going on ratemyprofessor.com and asking other students who took the class. Least favorite class was TV Culture and society. the teacher was horrible. and she didn't even really teach. she would talk for like 20 minutes, where she would say uhmm and you know and stutter. and then she would show us a TV show for the rest of class. i would usually leave in the middle, if I even decided to come at all. Some students are always studying where other students study only for midterms and finals. i think it really depends on the student. as the school is more crowded now, library is always full. a lot of people do study groups, especially for math/econ and science classes. Class participation again depends on the student. some students are really outspoken and seek to challenge every word that comes out of the professor's mouth while others are there to just bask in his or her glory. or ignorance. most large intro classes don't have much participation; as people get more into their majors they are likely to find that participation is more common as people have more specific things to talk about. Do students NOT have intellectual conversations outside of class? students are quite intellectual here. what they don't get in class they can have a conversation with someone outside of class and they will gain a whole new perspective they didn't get in class. I have heard that students in the sciences are competitive, but for the most part, kids aren't at each other's throats. classes are easy enough to pass that I guess they don't really have to compete with others. I like my major (sociology) except the only thing I don't like is that the undergrad advisor isn't too good at responding in a timely manner to students. she also isn't the nicest either. the selection of classes for the socy department has downgraded since i declared. they've just become more boring. the academic requirements aren't that bad. many people thought the core course freshman year was worthless but I thought it was okay. I think the problem with the education at UCSC is that it's NOT really geared towards getting job. you definitely learn a lot about yourself and others and the world, but you have to seek out other opportunities on your own to prepare yourself for a job.

I am a Sociology and Feminist Studies double major, and I have taken mostly classes in those departments or closely affiliated with those departments. My first year of classes no professor really knew my name because the general education classes are so large. However, the farther you go in your major, the more common it is that professors know your name because the classes get smaller. My favorite class I have taken was called Introduction to Transgender Studies under the History of Consciousness department. It was taught by a graduate student, but it was phenomenal! We read a lot of theory and often times the work load was quite intense. However, the intellectual conversations we had in that class were like nothing I have ever seen. My least favorite class was a large general education class in the Sociology that had about 300 people it in. The reading was simplistic and the professor was not that enlightening. I have had many intellectual conversations outside of class with friends, it is quite common here. The students here are not really that competitive, there is a general atmosphere that people are here to learn, not to compete for better grades. This may differ within the sciences though. The most unique class I have taken was Introduction to Transgender Studies because it had never been taught at UCSC and it is a class very seldom taught elsewhere. My majors are Feminist Studies and Sociology. Feminist Studies is an incredible major based heavily on post-modern and post-structuralist theory and spends a lot of time talking about places in the "Third World" in relation to Western theory. Sociology is a bit easier of a major, focusing very broadly on a wide range of social issues. There are a lot of Sociology majors so the classes tend to be quite large. As for spending time with professors outside of class, if you go to the professor's office hours you have the opportunity to talk with them. Beyond that, contact is limited. I think UCSC's academic requirements are very reasonable and good. I would say that UCSC is geared pretty equally to both getting a job and learning for its own sake.

I make a point of it to have them know my name. My favorite class was Literacy and the book with Jody Greene. Least favorite class was Reading Poetry with Hendricks. Class participation is common, and people have intellectual conversations outside of class but it doesn't seem very competitive. Women and the Law (fmst 112) offers a departure from normal studies of jurisprudence and really changed my perspective, it had unique course material. The feminist studies department is awesome! I'm also a literature minor. But the feminist studies department is interdisciplinarian and the opportunity to take classes from many different departments is really neat. The faculty all are very dedicated to their jobs and have different research emphases. It's also a small department so you take classes with a lot of the same people for better or for worse. I do attend office hours outside of class. I am a lower division transfer student so I did not need to complete many requirements but they seem fair and offer you an introduction into many different areas. In the Humanities it's geared toward learning for its own sake, but there are also career panels and all of that, careers definitely aren't ignored.

I know my professors names. I love any class having to do with the ocean or animals like oceanography and ecology. Also I love Intro to feminisms and female physiology. It seems like in many intro classes students are fairly apathetic towards concepts in classes. Therefore, they lack the ability to have intelligent conversations. Marine biology is great considering UCSC is offers scuba classes that are so much cheaper than dive shops. This offers a unique opportunity to get hands on experience that many schools dont offer. I am also very intersted in the fem studies department, Im intrigued by there perspectives and think they are important for social change. The academic requirements seem appropriate. I'm nervous about how obtaining a job after college will be because I feel like our majors are geared toward research instead of a practical job.

Most classes are too large for the professors to personally know each student, unless they make an effort to attend office hours. However, the T.A. tend to be more informed about each student and their progress. So far, my favorite class has been Ancient Political Thought, due to the passionate and captivating professor.

classes are huge. my largest class is 435. i read as much as i can, but i guess i don't study much. i can say the same for most students. the classes are pretty easy i feel that UCSC is geared towards learning for its own sake because it doesn't seem that there is an opportunity to start a career in this small town.

Yes, many of the professors know my name. My favorite class is Human Health/Nutrition. There is a lot of work but it's worth it because I don't just get graded on two tests. My least favorite is a class for my major called The Film Experience. Class participation is very common. UCSC students do have intellectual contersations outside of class. Students are somewhat competitive. The most unique class I've taken is US Popular Music. My major/department on this campus is the absolute worst. I don't like anything about it. I do sometimes spend time with professors outside of class during their office hours. I feel the UCSC academic requirements are fine. I'm not really sure where they are trying to go with the education to be honest. Probably more for just learning for its own sake.

I've found professors here to be very helpful and interested in student needs. The school is really geared towards math and science majors which is somewhat disappointing coming from a politics major perspective. My classes are challenging and interesting but are often difficult to actually get into because of the size of the student population and how many people they allow to sign up for any given class. It is a bit overcrowded. It is a UC so there is often pretty much studying involved with any class.

My favorite classes are the one's that make me think, and the one's that I can connect pieces of info to real life. I don't think teachers know my name because lecture classes are pretty big.

All of my professors have always made an effort to get to know every student's name and most of them really show a genuine interest in what each student has to offer. My favorite class here has been my french classes. The amount of time students study really varies. Some study all the time and others ten to not study at all. Participation is pretty common in every class. Intellectual conversation is always happening, and is sometimes done of the influence of substances. The most unique class i've taken has been Biology of AIDS. My major is Language Studies which combines linguistics with a focus in language and culture which is what i really enjoy. I do not spend time with my professors outside of class. The academic requirements are typical and fair. The education is geared for both getting a job and learning for the sake of learning.