University of California-Los Angeles Top Questions

Professors did know my name - but that's because I worked for some of them in the Communications Department as a grader, so I spent time with them outside of calss as well. One of my favorite classes was the History of American Film, which I think is a staple at UCLA. Even though the class is four hours long (twice a week) it always fills up the quickest, mostly because people probably want to watch movies. I don't recall a least favorite class. Class participation is common, and I think the level of competition varies in different majors. The Comm Dept was very relaxed. The education at UCLA is definitely geared at learning for its own sake - which I think is good, because the things that we need to learn to get a job or do a job dont require much skill or thought.

Classes at UCLA are best described as impersonal and labor-intensive. It is generally up to the student to take initiative and responsibility to ensure his/her own academic success, but again, help is easily found by the outgoing student. Office hours and various discussion sections offer smaller-group environments to assist learning for students and most professors are more than willing to help an eager student. That being said, most classes are very competitive, often absurdly so, by students used to striving to get an "A" at any cost. Depending on the major, coursework is often undertaken with a "run before youc an walk" attitude due to the quarter system in which classes last only 10 weeks before completion. For students interested in small classroom environments and close supervision, UCLA may not be an encouraging place to attend.

Our general ed classes are huge, but thats probably true at most universities. Once you get further into your major though, classes get smaller and more personal. Im not one to see professors outside of class, but I know that they are available if you need them.

As a science major, I have yet to take a small class where the professor learns my name like in high school classes. I have personal relationships with only TA's, no professors, as classes are too large to bother. You would easily be able to find someone who studies all the time, and someone who never does - the whole spectrum of student type is represented here.

No. My favorite class is social psychology. Least favorite is physics. Every day. Yes. Yes. YES. Eng 4W. I hate chemistry! No. They're cool. It's geared toward whatever you make it. Getting a degree from UCLA in and of itself isn't all that bad though. =)

Professors definitely do not know my name, but that is because I don't go to office hours and classes are pretty big. Students definitely have intellectual conversations outside of class, which largely revolve around stuff we're learning, but it's not what we spend all our time doing (we don't often sit around with coffee and discuss the meaning of life). The most unique class I've taken was the history of science, magic, and religion; we're pretty sure the proessor was a witch.

I feel that academics at UCLA are truly based on the individual student. Your professor will know your name if you take the time to get to know the professor. You will find your self in classroom discussions if you are willing to participate yourself. Some students study for hours and hours a week, for others a few hours is enough. And I truly believe that good grades are attainable for those that are willing to put in the effort required.

1. more do now 2. haven't categorized my classes that carefully 3. depends on the students 4. varies with the class and the professors 5. yes 6. premeds more than engineers 7. nothing pops out 8. civil and environmental engineering 9. yes 10. fairly strict 11. more towards theory

Professors do not know very many names of students. Lectures are enormous, but reasonably so. It's understandably impersonal in this sense, but nevertheless I don't feel like "just a number." Competition is only evident in the classrooms; people study and perform well on exams, making it to do well unless you yourself bring yourself to the same standard and study hard.

Some of them. Anthro 12- the honors section. It was me, three other girls, and a world renowned anthropologist. Once in a life time experience... and we got to go to the zoo! Least fav.: trying to get into lower division poli sci classes is like trying to win a car race with a bicycle. Most weekends, maybe three weekdays a week. Yes. Well, no. It depends on the class size/how intimidating a professor/TA is. We have great discussions outside of class; they're not all intellectual, but every so often something intelligent sneaks in. VERY competitive. Most unique class: History of Magic, Science, and Religion. But I don't recommend it. Political Science and Psychology happen to be the two most popular majors on campus. They're crowded and hard to get into--- but! that means there's the biggest range of class topics. I can literally take a class on whatever I want to study. Not really. The requirements are fair, but hard to make them work with one another sometimes. Learning for its own sake. but that's got a lot to do with my majors-- neither is really made for a job just out of college.