University of California-Santa Cruz Reviews

"It was an amazing experience. It broadened my horizons by forcing me into a new environment with no familiar faces; I grew so much as a person because of it. I also gained a far deeper understanding of my field through my major."

"UCSC is a breathtakingly beautiful campus with ocean views and redwood forests. The teachers are very personable. It is very LGBT friendly."

"The pros of my program at UCSC are the quality of instruction and the accelerated pace of the program. Additionally my program is very hands on so that you get great experiential learning opportunities. The main con of my program is the cost. At nearly $30,000 it is a great deal of money, especially since my beginning salary as a teacher will be quite low compared to others graduating with a masters degree."

"The certificate program that I attended has now developed into a Master's program. The best part of the program was the faculty support and trust. I was able to practice my class and even develop my own course to lead to further my personal development as an educator and theatrical director. The resources the school has to offer are limited but they were very generous with the materials they had available. The location is absolutely gorgeous part of California but it is secluded from major metropolitan areas. The nearest largest city is San Jose with is about 30 minutes away with San Francisco being two hours away. More resources available to the graduate students as well as faculty completely committed to them would be great, but when I took the program they were the undergraduate as well as graduate professors."

"Great programs, competitive faculty. The cost of living is extremely high."

"Supportive faculty and innovative research areas! Beautiful campus."

"Excellent school! Very, very good academics and atmosphere. My one complaint is that the city of Santa Cruz can feel a little small, but San Jose and San Francisco are both close enough that this isn't a problem (if you have a car)."

"A largely underfunded program that overstates its ability to provide financial support to its graduate students. Many graduates have no choice but to TA every quarter for heavily impacted lecture and lab classes (five TAs for 500 organic chemistry students is far from ideal). Faculty members are nearing the ends of their careers, at the same time a relaxation of benchmark progress standards has led to a decrease in the rigor of the program as a whole."

"There is a really supportive, social atmosphere on campus, and I find it very comforting to know that when I'm struggling, there's always someone I can go to. So far in my studies, I've generally felt that everyone in my program has been there to help me and cheer me on, which is awesome. None of that competitive atmosphere I was worried about when applying to graduate programs. It's still a lot of work, and that can stress me out often, but having the support network definitely helps. UCSC could do with some technological upgrades & funding for more neuroscientific research (an EEG would be nice, an MRI would be AWESOME), but behavioral research is fine for now. Also, the campus is BEAUTIFUL. Check it out sometime :)"

"If you are interested in tech, UCSC is right next to silicon valley. It's a great location for anyone in the fields of game design, HCI or comp sci/eng."

"UC Santa Cruz has a great community of students and professors who encourage interdisciplinary and cooperative work across departments. The Santa Cruz area is expensive to live in but for good reason - it's absolutely gorgeous and there's so much to do and enjoy!"

"The astronomy and astrophysics program at UCSC is one of the best. The department community is very inviting and supportive. Plenty of opportunities to develop into an accomplished scientist."

"This is a really great program for bioinformatics students. It is easy to come by these classes and opportunities. It is harder for biomolecular engineering (myself). There are opportunities, but they are limited in our department. Collaborating with the biology department would be a good idea. The program seems new, or there is new administrative staff. It seems unorganized at times, as far as course requirements, etc. I wish I was better informed and had more biomolecular engineering opportunites, but overall UCSC is a good place to be. There is plenty of current, relevant research that uses the most innovative technology trying to solve real medical problems. I highly recommend this program for bioinformatics students."

"Pros: -scenery -professor networking -facilities cons: -housing -TA pay/support -class size -# of classes offered"

"The cost of living is really high in Santa Cruz, so is the student graduate housing. Despite that, the campus is gorgeous, the labs and classrooms are well equipped and the Professors, Advisors and Staff are always willing to help you and give you support in your research, financial aid etc."

"Pros: forest campus, quite and clean. Faculties are very nice and helpful. Telecast some courses to the extension in Santa Clara, very efficient. Cons: highway-17 is dangerous. easy to get lost for fresher. parking fee is a little bit high"

"Quality of the professors is good, but not enough effort (such as providing program, activities, study room...etc) for EE student to learn from each other and experience group learning and bounding."

"The UCSC Programs in Biomedical Sciences and Engineering offers an interdisciplinary and collaborative environment. I am in the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology and I could not imagine a better place to study this field than the home of the Human Genome Project. UCSC is a phenomenal place to do research and we are fortunate to be located in the beautiful city of Santa Cruz."

"Located near silicon valley and Stanford, research opportunities are vast and numerous, which is a huge pro of a the graduate program at UCSC. The area is far more beautiful than silicon valley and there is a greater diversity of lifestyle in Santa Cruz. The classes are sometimes lacking in true direction or quality. Overall my experience has been very rewarding and enjoyable"

"If you take the initiative to go to class, do the work, and reach out to teachers and TA’s, you will have a rich and positive learning experience at this school. The Economics department does a good job of balancing the traditional economic education with a progressive and real-time look at the ever changing economic landscape. My main criticism would be that because of the broad nature of a subject like economics, some of the professors and TA’s will have a limited perspective, based upon their own work and career."