University of California-San Diego Reviews

"There is a core set of classes that everyone takes together. It is great for bonding with classmates, although being together at least 9 hours a week does get a little tiring. It also forces people of various interests all in the same class, which doesn't always work out well. The variety of bother classes to take is limited to perhaps 1 course per subfield per quarter. If you reach out to faculty they are often responsive, although this being a top ranked program, the faculty are heavily concerned with their research and will rarely make the first move."

"Biology program is great. Lots of hard work but in a beautiful location. The average time of graduation is longer than some."

"Pro: The Neuro Grad Program really values the students. Any suggestions, ideas or complaints about the program from the students is taken seriously and usually changes are made within a year to make the program better."

"Besides being one of the top-rated neuroscience programs, providing its students with superior scientific training, the students here are happy and well-supported. The program is very concerned with making sure the needs of the students are being met, and in general, we have a very involved community of both students and faculty."

"Pros. These are some of the brightest biologists in their respective fields, and the quality of the publication output in the department reflects that. People that come to start a career in Academia are very well served by the combination of high caliber research, collaboration and resources present in many labs. Cons. If you came here and realized that the you don't want to be a research professor, it's difficult to gain skills useful in other areas. Some of us want to go into teaching at the university level, but quality teaching experience is hard to come by. Others want to transition into biotech and industry. The Division of Biology is trying to encourage networking with the huge biotech base in the region, but it is a work in progress. If you want to go into a governmental or non-profit position, you are on your own--there are limited course offerings on practical subject material. One student my year tried to take business school classes at the Rady school to fill in the gaps, but your professor has to be okay with it first. Overall. Worth coming, but you must be entirely set on doing a postdoc afterward and pursuing a research Professor position down the road."

"The Biology PhD. program at UCSD is an extremely competitive and high achieving graduate program. There is no doubt that students graduating with a PhD. from this program are more than qualified as excellent scientists. On occasion the size of the program and its spread through the campus make it a bit more difficult to network and get mentorship from other scientists, but events organized by the department and the annual departmental retreat assist with these aspects."

"It is an accelerated Master's program so it only takes one year to complete! Very intense but well worth it!"

"The Latin American Studies Program at UCSD is a multidisciplinary program. We have great and well-known faculty in their respected fields. The downside of the program is the support we at times do not receive. Due to the fact that this is an MA, professors do not need to spend the time with students from Latin American Studies. On the contrary, they are taking on more work if they do."

"The graduate program in Bioengineering at the University of California, San Diego, pushes students to find solutions to unattended medical problems. A great benefit of this program is the interaction with the medical school on campus to allow bioengineers to see the problems firsthand and discuss these issues with doctors and medical professionals. Also, UCSD is strategically located in a hotspot of medical device and biotechnology companies, making networking easy and allowing the program to have high job placement rates. While the university may have a slightly lacking social atmosphere, the diverse student population and great location more than make up for these slight faults."

"It's a great program to learn about changes in the health care industry and changes in health care policy. It is good to be able to take a range of classes from a law school and health leadership classes. It is expected that students will spend a large amount of their own time on their thesis before turning it in, which is unrealistic. Little support is given to students when attempting to recruit members for a thesis committee."

"Pros: UCSD School of Medicine is among one of the best nationwide. It has some of the top residency programs in the nation with world-leading faculty and teachers. Cons: Cost of living is more on the expensive side."

"For my current program, the pros include the ability to work closely with great staff who specialize in the field, while also furthering my own research and learning through hands-on studies. However, the program doesn't offer very many Ecology-specific courses; there are many Biology courses, but those are often geared more towards other degrees. For more Ecology (e.g. environmental sciences, zoology, etc.) I often have to venture into other departments, like the Scripps Institute of Oceanography."

"Pros-Great education, faculty support and location. Great school reputation and rated highly for scientific research. Cons-Expensive and transportation is difficult. There is not enough parking on campus and in the surrounding area."

"Pros: good faculty, good advisors, good classes Cons: lack of diversity of classes, lack of financial aid"

"Pros: Easy program to finish. Good Advisors Cons: Difficult to get classes. Not much networking opportunities. Graduate students don't have very many social events."

"Professors are kind. I like the weather here."

"The program is very well staffed. They have a pretty strong team of econometricians and micro theorists."

"Pros: located in beautiful San Diego by the beach; by the time you get past first year it's a pretty good program Cons: stipend is very low; small program; first year classes are incredibly difficult"

"This is a great program with an excellent faculty. Students learn a great deal here. The weakest area for the program may be its job placement results, but it is still pretty good in this area."

"I love this program. It is very fast-paced and is a lot of work, but it is amazing!"