University of California-Santa Cruz Top Questions

I do know my professors by name. I found that most of them are very approachable and friendly. My favorite class was History-148: Satyajit Ray, which was a film class in some sense. I got to see a lot rare films that are not available to rent or buy. I think there is a substantial amount of students that study. Almost all do around midterms and finals. Class participation is common in my anthropology courses, but not in my history courses. Students are not competitive. Most unique class is my HAVC class: museum cultures. I find it very interdisciplinary. The anthropology department is great. I felt they made an effort to welcome me to the department by informing me about their orientations before I arrived. The advisor is helpful and the faculty is great. I spend some time with professors outside of class, mostly during office hours. I feel UCSC's academic requirements are fine, although I'm speaking as a transfer student who was able to fulfill their requirements with IGETC. Education at UCSC is geared towards learning.

The classes can be huge in freshman/sophomore classes, 200 or more, but as soon as you start hitting junior/senior classes (especially in physics or math or other sciences) the class size drops considerably, and professors will start to learn your name. Office hours is a great way to get to know your professors and get help. My favorite class would have to be anything with Adrienne Steinacker. She's a great astronomy teacher. My least favorite class...well I haven't had a really awful class yet, though Onuttom Narayan's classes are very difficult. It depends on how often students study. I wouldn't say they study more or less than average. A lot of students start homeworks as few days before the homework is due, unless it's really hard. I probably study more than the average student, and I study almost every single day except Friday night and Saturday. Physics students are pretty out-spoken, so there are usually lots of questions and comments (sometimes annoying, sometimes really helpful). UCSC students do seem more interested than usual in learning outside of the classroom. People talk about important relevant issues, like science and technology in society, or the environment, or politics, or social issues. They really seem to care. Students can be a little competitive and they can be a little stuck-up. But most are very, very helpful, willing to help you and show you what they did, etc. There's always the few who are elitist, but I'd say the majority are nice and friendly. My major is physics, and I love my department. The teachers--while some are hard--are so far all at least nice. They will help you if they can. You'll work for a good grade--oh yes you will--but they'll help you as much as they can. Most of the administrators--especially Hua, who is usually the undergraduate adviser for physics majors, though she's out on leave right now--are great. I don't usually spend time with my professors outside of class, unless it's at office hours. Sometimes I'll stick around after and chat briefly with them, but usually I'm far too busy. I think that UCSC has a pretty good academic requirement, but here's a word of advice--if you're transferring in, make sure you finish the IGETC, otherwise you have to finish UCSC's General Ed requirements, and that can be a real pain in the butt, because they do require a lot of GE classes...on the other hand, a lot of classes can satisfy up to three requirements in one shot, so you don't always have to take one class for each requirement. I think the education at UCSC, from a physics standpoint, is pretty practical. They want us to get internships, they want us to do research, so that when they release us into the world we'll do better, whether we work or go to graduate school. Some teachers, I know, change the class schedule and lecture time to focus on things that are important in physics right now so that we'll be better prepared to work in those fields.

Classes are pretty personal.

Half of my professors so far know my name. My favorite class would be C2 writing because of the topic my least favorite is math. Students study between 15 hours a week.

They are what you make of them. Though advising is sometimes difficult to come by, and not so helpful, if you have a little initiative it is very easy to figure things out on your own.

Classes are about 50/50 very large or fairly small (40 students). Lots of interesting elective courses taught by engaging teachers, lots of general eds taught by boring teachers. Environmental studies has a lot of interesting classes, but they may not satisfy the more rigorously-minded student who wants more organismal biology classes. Students, by and large, are somewhat apathetic, but those who are academically interested are a unique kind of student who opted for UCSC over other colleges. Yes, I spend some time with professors outside of class. Professors are mostly very accessible.

Upper division humanities courses generally seem to be of a decent size. And all that I've taken have been taught by professors and lecturers, and not graduate students. However, the humanities (and possibly the social sciences) get shafted in favor of the more profitable sciences. Sometimes there's slim pickings when registering for classes.

Do UCSC students have intellectual conversations outside of class? I recall a huge discussion I had with some students waiting for a class to start outside Stevenson Coffee House and we began talking about our favorite professors. Somewhere between that conversation we began to realize how interdisciplinary our majors were. In one history class it seemed more like a sociology or anthropology class. In another, we talked about how some professors are such eloquent speakers while some preach to the choir. However, though filled with opinions and personal perspectives, we began to talk about Foucault and social constructions. And slowly but surely we began deconstructing Foucualt using our stories and how we related to our experiences and they us.

Students study more toward midterm and finals. The sections are usually considered boring, because no one talks. But, i had two great sections this quarter. And its important to know your TA because they're the ones that grade you at UCSC. My history professors seemed disconnetced with the class this quarter, because the TA's run the show. The professors just lecture and form the class ciriculum. Studenst are very laid back and not competitive. We have a great range of academic majors, and plenty of classes to take. But, i still feel forced to take required classes, and not classes i want because only certain classes forefill major requirments. I feel there is a lot of freedom to make your own opinions in classes and teh classes are often philosophical.

Some professor will know your name, especially in upper division classes, but not so much in the huge general education satisfying lower division intro classes. My favorite class was talk by a funny skinny gray hair professor, it was California and Californians, and mostly he told us funny stories. Student at UCSC study every night or never, entirely depending on the person and the major. Science majors study endlessly, history majors are always reading books, politics majors and psych major are writing papers half the time, but you can kind of find your own major based on what you like and how often you plan on actually acting like you're in school. Some student have intellectual conversations some don't, it really depends on who you hang out with, i have friends who never do and I have friends who love nothing more then drinking and discussing politics. Student aren't too competitive here, it's a pretty relaxed environment. There are too many unique classes here to recall them, most likely sailing was the most, i learned how to sail a boat. Politics is heavily based on teacher designed readers with a collection of long academic articles from academic journals, the readings are dry, but not overwhelming and a lot of your grade, in fact almost all of it depends on written work, using interpretations of the readings. Never talk to my professors outside of class, why would i want to? but professor seem rather eager to chat with students outside of lectures. I like their academic requirements overall, but education at UCSC, in most departments are geared mostly to learning, but the economics and sceince departments tend to be more job orientated.

A few professors knew me by name. My favorite class was my ancient greek philosophy class. my least favorite class was macroeconomics. I have great, intellectual conversations with my friends all the time. The most unique class i took was music politics and protest it covered a wide variety of topics. I think the education at UCSC is geared towards getting a good job but i also think it is really important for the professors as well as the students to learn for its own sake.

Yes. I really enjoyed Latin with Gildas Hamel, he made it fun. I did not enjoy my archaeology class, it was a gigantic survey course, and I felt like I was nothing but a number. Like most universities, typically frequently during the first third of term, then not so much during the middle, then alot at the end. In section, yes. Yes, the smart ones. Yes. Probably my senior seminar, just about ten of us in a room giving presentations to each other on medieval Spain and talking about them. The history department is great, quite close knit, though I wish there were more medieval professors. Yes, office hours and classics happy hour at the pub in town on Friday evenings. Quite balanced. Both.

Santa Cruz has world class biological engineering studies, but I do not know much about them as I am a history major. The majority of the classes I have taken here have been great- worthwhile, fun, challenging, applicable to real life, and with great professors. Granted, there are bad professors at every college, but Ratemyprofessor.com is a great way to avoid those. I have found all of my professors to be very approachable and receptive to my ideas, and always willing to help. Academics at Santa Cruz are much more laid back than say, Berkeley. If you are a hard core student and want the most challenging and rigid professors, Santa Cruz is not the place for you. But if you want to learn in a fun, friendly, and intellectual environment....UCSC has it.

Your name is learned by professors by talking in class and going to office hours. This is true at almost any university. No exceptions here.

Yes, some of the professors are excellent. My favorite class was "Psych & Religion", Ralph Quinn -the prof- was an excellent story teller, very well read pscyhologist, world taveler, open minded, etc. etc. least favorite = electronics for intermedia (art). Professor did not know what he was doing, this happens a lot. Good to know about the professor before signing up for a class. Class participation can really take off in sections with a good enough topic. Student studying varies- some do a lot, some never do. Students here DO NOT have intellectual convo.s outside of class. Students are NOT competitive. Most unique class = Torah study, Rabbi Shalom rocks. Anthro is still new for me. Do not spend much time with profs outside of class- usually just office hours for help. Academic requirements are good. You can choose the route of education there is a very wide variety of classes and I love learning for learning's sake.

Professors are often helpful, kind, and happy to teach class. There are fewer massive lecture courses here than other universities, and I haven't met a single motivated science student who couldn't find a lab project to work on. Anyone who says otherwise simply did not try hard enough (I ask for student's GPAs and stories often, and there is always some 'excuse' for a low GPA, and it's never their fault). I have yet to meet a professor who wasn't willing to stick his/her neck out for me if I needed it, and that says a lot about the professors here.

It all depends on the professor and what sort of impression you have had on him/her as a student. For example I have had classes where the professor became my personal friends and made sure to keep me clear on the course information. On the other hand I have had classes where the professor and I never meet and the adherence of source material to my brain was personally dictated. It depends on the student's resonance with a certain course and then with that student's level of impressiveness to the associated professor. Creative Writing is an amazing major offered by UCSC but it is also the most difficult major to place into. I have been seeking this goal for a long time. In order to tie the learning received from UCSC to the corporate world it is fundamental that one become involved in the on-campus career center.

My spanish professors always know my name. My favorite class this quarter would be human sexuality because is it a course i have a lot of interest in. My least favorite is spanish but only because it is hard. And yes students are competitive at this school to get the best grades. the most unique class i have taken is the beatles. My major is Laguage studies and it is a mixture of linguistics and languaes. it is a lot of fun. No i do not spend time with professors outside of class. I think the UCSC is geared toward gaining an over all education so you are best prepared for getting a job when you graduate.

The administration is set on expanding the campus--the only problem is, they need to change the problems at the campus before they add on to it. Classes are extremely PACKED. Many students are unable to register for the class they need. Many departments are under funded, many professors are leaving-Angela Davis has announced that she will not return to the campus to teach. The campus puts a lot of money into research, but all the other departments are under funded and under classed. The American Studies department, for instance, offers four American Students courses for the spring. Two of which are prerequisites and so students declared under the major have no broad choice of the classes that they would like to take. Wherever the money goes, it does not go to classes or professors. Often intelligent conversations consist of students against the continuous increase in fees, when no one has seen any change as a result of the increase. They talk about the war and problems with classes in general.

In general, professor do not know my name. My favorite class was Literature 101 with Jody Green on authorship. My least favorite class was Introduction to Reading Poetry with Margo Hendricks. It is impossible to say how often students study because there seems to be such a wide range. Class participation is uncommon in large lecture classes, and somewhat more common in smaller sections. I do believe that UCSC students have intellectual conversations outside of class. Students are semi-competitive. The most unique class I've taken was the Poetry of Bob Dylan. The literature major is small to be able to accommodate all of the literature majors. There aren't enough seminar-sized class available for this major. I do not generally see professors outside of class. I think UCSC has too many academic requirements, there should be more room allowed for other classes outside of your major and general education requirements. The education at UCSC is geared toward getting you out of the school so they can bring the next class in.

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.

Nope

A few of my professors have remembered my name, but the lower division class sizes are such that you can form a relationship with your professor, but they won't know you exist unless you come to them after class or during their office hours. My favorite class is Human Sexuality, with Overview of the Universe being a close runner-up. Least favorite was Statistics, because I'm not a math person. The extent to which students study varies widely: I had a boyfriend who seemed to eat, sleep, and breathe his chemistry books, but I also know a ton of people who study about as much as I do, and some who never, ever study. Ever. A lot of people ask really stupid questions in class that don't need to be asked. You know THAT guy, the one you really wish would just shush and let the teacher continue teaching? We have one of those in just about every class. I have had a lot of intense conversations outside class with people. Most people don't really compete at all, especially not within majors, where usually we're just trying to help each other out and get the best grades possible. The most unique class I have taken was Introduction to the Horror Film. Yes, you read that right. It was a literature class and it actually gave a very sophisticated analytical look at the development of horror through several decades. My major, psychology, is super impacted, just like everywhere, but it's not impossible to get classes. The professors are incredibly intelligent, and several of them are also therapists as a profession, so if you want that career they're interesting to talk to. You can usually talk to professors during their office hours, or if you run into them randomly and say 'hey I'm in your class' most of our professors are extremely laid back and will smile and talk to you for a minute. UCSC has some academic requirements that are inconvenient, but they throw you into some really cool classes. The thing I find irritating is that a lot of classes I need are offered simultaneously so I can't take both the same quarter. UCSC is a university, so compared to the little major-intensive 'get your degree in 20 minutes' colleges out there it's much more anchored in learning for learning's sake, but if you pick a major that leads to a specific profession it's possible to get a job right out of college. Most people are looking at grad school upon completion, however, because it's becoming more and more important to employers at competitive professions to have more than undergrad.

I am majoring in psych, the most impacted major, so so far as an undergrad i have gotten to know none of my professors. The only time I tend to get to know teachers is when they are graduate students. But it really hasnt affected how much I have learned or enjoyed a particular class. My favorite classes have actually been outside of my major and the reason I liked them so much was because of the brilliant professors. Its pretty rare to be able to say you took a class taught by Angela Davis; she has been through a lot and really made me question a lot of societal norms. I actually cant even recall a least favorite class because even if I dont like the subject, I love the teacher, or vice versa. Even though procrastination seems to be popular here, students do spend a lot of time studying- usually in downtown coffee shops or on campus libraries. There are plenty of places to choose from, and the atmospheres have really encouraged good study habits. One of my favorite things about college is how often students have intellectual conversations outside of the classroom. Last night I was at a party and I got into a conversation with a few of my friends on first, current politics, and next the afterlife and our beliefs on religion. People are not afraid to think outside of the box here and take others ideas into deep consideration. There is a small percentage of people who are highly competitive but most students are just here for the knowledge, and if anything they are only competing with themselves. The GE's here are awesome because they are very broad and instead of being forced to take Math 101 you can take intro to logic or observational astronomy to satisfy the requirement. Classes range from normal college topics to bizarre ones such as a study of The Beatles or of Naked Art History.