University of California-Davis Reviews

"I'm currently enrolled in the Hydrologic Sciences Graduate Group (HSGG) at UC Davis as a PhD student, and I have only amazing things to say about this graduate school and department. The HSGG is home to world renowned experts in hydrology and water management. As the world's leading agriculture school, departmental connections to state and federal water managers, environmental consulting firms, and industry are strong. My advisors are leading experts in hydrologic modeling and contaminant transport. The classes are rigorous and I feel adequately trained and prepared to take on a career in water resources management or environmental consulting after graduation. As a city, Davis is close to Lake Tahoe and the Bay, and very affordable to live in. I'm able to save while I'm in graduate school, which is something not everyone is able to do, especially if you go to school in a big city. There isn't a ton of stuff to do within the town itself, but that means it's a quiet place that's great to focus in. Overall, I like Davis a lot. Fruit grows everywhere, my program is top-notch, and I have a high quality of life."

"The University of Dallas is a fantastic place to get a liberal arts education. I can't recommend it enough. Small class size allows for great teacher-student interaction, and the professors are knowledgeable and ready to help. The English degree, in particular, is a strong degree. Go here for the classic literature, comprehensive education, and small classes."

"I have recently been a part of the PBGG at UC Davis and I found the school endlessly supportive and helpful about the process and the transition to moving across country. The professors are seemingly always available and ready to help in the Botany program. The facilities are are always well kept and available along. The botanical garden are always a treat to visit."

"UC Davis has a variety of fun clubs to join, including niche interests like zombie hunting and origami folding. The on-campus career center offers great resources for interview preparation and resume building, with tons of helpful workshops every day to help prepare students for life after college. Despite Davis having a "small town" feel, there is always exciting events happening, like music festivals, farmer's markets, and fun runs. Davis also has a great collection of restaurants, with Burgers & Brew being the must-visit eatery. Coursework is rigorous and thorough; your professors will guarantee you know the material inside and out. Teacher's assistants are extremely helpful and professors are always readily available during office hours. The general atmosphere of the campus is friendly, and you absolutely must have a bike to get around!"

"In my opinion, I attended the best university in the U.S.! We have so many high ranking degree programs, in addition to our diverse and enriching community, UCD has everything an incoming student would love to have at their university and more. Bikes, cows, and unique perspectives add to make UCD a phenomenal place to receive an education!"

"Davis is an awesome place. You are sure to find your people here. There are so many welcoming people here. The campus is really supportive of you and what you want to get done. Through education classes here, I decided to diverge from the engineering path and pursue the career to become a teacher."

"I absolutely loved my time at UC Davis. I met a diverse group of people who became my closest friends that I still see often, I learned a lot from my Sociology and Women's Studies professors, and I firmly believe I had a space to call my own at Davis."

"UC Davis is a great university. The people are very friendly and there are a lot great opportunities available on campus. It easy to find some way to become involved and be passionate about something you find on campus. Classes are kind of large, but with the help of other classmates, you will succeed."

"UC Davis consumes the small northern California college town situated in the middle of the agricultural valley. Those looking for a home away from home will quickly find themselves comfortably navigating the flat roads of Davis by bicycle, surrounded by dozens of other students turned cyclists. It is a suburbia utopia, filled with kind, educated people, a charming downtown area, and most importantly, a passionate and respectful student body. Although I felt terribly lost as a first year, overtime I learned that at UC Davis, you have the freedom to construct your education. There is a great diversity of interests composing the Aggie campus, and success is possible with the support of invested faculty and dedicated peers. There is a real sense of community, but as a Latinx, I found it especially within multi-cultural student organizations and classes. I recall someone telling me that college is what you make of it, and they were right. UC Davis offers all an opportunity invest themselves in their passions, through its programs, student organizations, and events. I was extremely privileged to have studied at such a prestigious institution, where my experience was intellectually satisfying, to say the least. Rest assured that you will receive a top-quality and memorable education."

"The professors in the School of Education at UC Davis were incredible. All of them were experienced and passionate about their subject area. You truly felt like you mattered and that they were there to see you succeed. The cohort I was in, in 2012, was not too large but even within that I was part of a smaller cohort who worked with one advisor. I felt this created a community environment where we all knew and supported one another in our school work. A few years after graduating I have decided to go back to school for a Ph.D. and I was able to call my former advisor and ask for a letter of recommendation. She was able to recall who I was and support me with this newest goal. During the masters portion my time at UCD, because I also received my credential there, I had a very knowledgeable advisor and was able to work on my masters from a distance, since I lived three hours from campus. I would skype with my professor, receive useful feedback, and turn in assignments electronically. I only had to drive in a few times to give presentations and submit work. UCD offers a Spanish bilingual teaching credential and opportunities to teach at bilingual or immersion schools. Having a bilingual credential, as well as graduating from such a prestigious school, has opened up many opportunities for me."

"I loved the environment on UC Davis's campus and surrounded city. Personally I could not have picked a better school to attend for my undergraduate and I feel extremely fortunate to have been accepted. It is a huge university so if you are looking for one on one support or feel lost in crowds of people, I don't recommend attending UCD. Undergraduate courses were tough, they seem to exist to scare off students who are not 100% ready to fight to learn. But I enjoyed my major classes very much and wish that students were able to take major courses earlier on in their academic career. Professors who teach upper division classes are inspirational and excited about their field, but professors who teach lower division courses and their Teaching Assistants really drop the ball. Often it felt like they didn't want to be there or they didn't care if their students did well. The friendly environment of the campus and surrounding community plus the huge network I was placed into help outweigh negatives I experienced at UCD. Make sure to join a club or organization so you don't get lost in the sea of people. Pick a field you feel ready to fight through so lower division classes don't destroy your spirit. Trust me the upper division courses will make you fall in love with your field! Within the health fields there are huge numbers of opportunities to get experience. There are internships at the med center, research positions, lab jobs, supportive faculty, and nation wide conferences on campus. Work hard and you'll enjoy your time."

"I am just starting school at UC Davis and am impressed with the amount of support I have already received. They take care to let you know what to expect and when. The school has been in constant contact with students since the application was submitted. We are opening a new education building which is stated to be state of the art."

"Everyone knows that UC Davis is the best school to go to for studying veterinary medicine. As an alumni having studied animal science at UC Davis, I can gladly say that their animal science program was very rewarding and insightful. The animal science teachers and council staff all have a love for teaching and advising students. They are always there to lend a helping hand and guide students towards the goals they aspire towards. I could not have chosen a better college to complete my undergraduate education at. Attending school at UC Davis prepared me for the amazing job I now have in two veterinary practices. My undergraduate education also prepared me for veterinary school, which I will be attending this fall. Overall, this school is amazing for all types of majors. I would recommend this school to everyone."

"I love UC Davis, and would recommend it to any students looking for a relaxed but still rigerous and exciting environment. The professors push you to be the best you can, the community resource for students of color and LGBTQIA students are good, and there are lots of opportunities to grow."

"UC Davis was where I came to become my own person and learn about not only the subjects I was interested, but also the world. I come from a very small rural community in the Central Valley, and I believe that the University of California Davis was the right amount of "new" and "exciting" that I needed. I did not feel out of place, and I definitely did not feel like I had made the wrong decision in going there to complete my BS in Psychology. Because it is primarily a research university, there are an incredible amount of opportunities to intern, research and grow your own network in the academic field of your choice. Davis was amazing, and you will love it too."

"This school has been my dream since I was very young. Although I have only been in school for about half a year but this has been the best experience. It is extremely challenging material but is something I have been passionate about for a very long time. As a student, we get a immersive education with hands on labs that allow us to apply our learning while learning the material in lecture. I really recommend this program to those passionate about working with animals!"

"I think it was completely necessary to get me to where I am today. I also think that the school environment has changed drastically since 2009 due to the internet."

"UC Davis is a wonderful school that offers many classes for many majors. It's rigorous courses make it one of the best public universities around. It offers a lot of support for all of its students including counseling services for not only your major but also your future career. As a striving doctor I took a lot of advice from the health professions advising and became involved with many student run clinics and hospital internships offered by the school. I'm happy with the quality of education I received from UC Davis and the opportunities it gave me."

"The staff and faculty within my program were excellent. That said, the program is part of a larger UC campus and university system which has its own administrative issues. Within my program, I felt welcomed and had small, incredibly diverse classes which were able to dig into a variety of important social issues. Outside the classroom, the university was plagued with safety and admin issues which saw extensive protesting and discussion about the future of the leaders of the university. As part of the California University system, my education was not particularly cheap and I had few opportunities within the Master program for teaching/research. Only because I was concurrently affiliated with another department was I able to afford tuition and living without holding down an outside job."

"I loved my time at UC Davis. The campus itself is very welcoming (apart from the Deathstar, but that's still a nice place) and the staff and faculty are all pretty welcoming. The UC Davis linguistics program was informative and innovative. I really felt like all of my teachers genuinely enjoyed what they were researching and what they were teaching. They were so keen on making sure we understood the concepts they were presenting and were more than welcoming when I had any questions or concerns. The program itself is quite demanding, but if you love linguistics, you will do the work without much complaint (if you had your coffee). Linguistics is not just nonsense and it IS a science, and you learn the science behind language. You learn all the little nuances. You learn to break down languages into their units and how to tell what each unit means. You learn what makes languages unique. When you enter UC Davis at orientation, they tell you there's no such thing as an easy class here. It's true. the professors will make you work for your grade, but they will definitely push you in the right direction if you seek out help. If you are looking for a good, supportive linguistics program, definitely check out UC Davis."