Welcome to UC Davis. Founded as the University Farm amid the fertile fields of the state's Central Valley, UC Davis has emerged an acknowledged international leader in agricultural, biological, biotechnological and environmental sciences and is gaining similar recognition for excellence in the arts, humanities, social sciences, engineering, health sciences, law and management.
The campus owes much of its strength to its deep traditional roots in agriculture, the impressive diversity of academic programs that emerged from this foundation, a distinguished faculty of scholars and scientists, a treasured sense of community and a dedication to the land-grant values of creative, responsive and innovative teaching, research and public service. One of every 300 Californians is a UC Davis graduate.
UC Davis is one of nine campuses of the University of California, which was chartered as a land grant college in 1868 and now constitutes the pre-eminent system of public higher education in the country. (A tenth campus, UC Merced, is scheduled to open as early as 2004.) Together, the campuses have an enrollment of more than 173,000 students, 90 percent of them California residents. Some 150 laboratories, extension centers, research and field stations strengthen teaching and research while providing public service to California and the nation. The collections of the more than 100 UC campus libraries are surpassed in size in the United States only by that of the Library of Congress.
Providing a rich and challenging learning experience for undergraduate and graduate students is critical to UC Davis' mission and is a cherished commitment and hallmark of the campus. Several programs support this aim, including a $30,000 prize awarded to a faculty member each year by the UC Davis Foundation in recognition of outstanding undergraduate teaching and scholarly achievement, and a campuswide Davis Honors Challenge program through which students elect special courses and have closer contact with faculty.
UC Davis undergraduates persist and graduate at among the highest rates of UC campuses. Law school graduates rank among the top three of 60 law schools in California in their passage rate of the state bar examination.
UC Davis offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and 70 graduate programs in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the College of Engineering and the College of Letters and Science. The campus's Division of Biological Sciences draws students and faculty from across the campus. UC Davis' four professional schools--the School of Law, the Graduate School of Management, the School of Medicine and the School of Veterinary Medicine--is a combination unique within the University of California system.
Research is an integral part of teaching at UC Davis. Faculty members share their research findings in the classroom, and students learn firsthand about discovery while working with professors in the laboratory and field. A number of undergraduate research programs offer students the opportunity to work on a research project in a faculty laboratory, in some cases as early as their freshman year.
Research at UC Davis supports California's economic, intellectual and social development. The campus's varied research programs explore and seek solutions to problems in agriculture, resource management, the environment, health, medicine, engineering, business, the economy and public policy. UC Davis scholars also explore the intellectual frontiers of the physical, biological and social sciences, the humanities and the arts.
U.S. News & World Report ranks UC Davis among the top 12 public universities nationally, and the campus is among a select group admitted into the prestigious Association of American Universities. Membership in this group of 62 institutions of higher learning is by invitation only.
The campus's reputation has attracted a distinguished faculty of scholars and scientists in all fields. UC Davis faculty rank 16th in quality among comprehensive public universities nationwide, according to a multi-year study of U.S. doctoral programs reported in 1995 by the National Research Council. That same study placed four of UC Davis' graduate programs in the top 20 nationwide in terms of faculty quality; graduate programs in ecology, evolution and behavior ranked fifth in the nation.
UC Davis stands 24th in research funding among universities in the United States, according to the most recent statistics from the National Science Foundation.
Teaching and research provide students with the academic side of their education, and campus life balances the books. Students enjoy a wide range of offerings, including sports, internships, outdoor activities, student government, clubs and creative arts programs.
Intercollegiate athletic teams participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, with most competing at the Division II level. Eleven men's and 12 women's sports are offered. In 1999 Sports Illustrated named UC Davis the top Division II school for women athletes. More than 30 club sports, organized by students, compete against other area colleges and amateur clubs, or are recreational and focus on skill development and social interaction. Intramural sports annually draw more than 13,000 students for 68 men's, women's and coed activities.
Each year nearly 5,500 students interested in gaining work experiences participate in internships locally, nationally and globally through the campus's Internship and Career Center, among the largest campuswide academic internship programs in the country. The campus's UC Davis Washington Center, based in the nation's capital, offers government-related internships and makes possible satellite-assisted communication between classrooms and the center. UC Davis is known for its student-run faciltiies--the Coffee House, radio station KDVS and Unitrans provide paid employment and real-world experience to hundreds of students each year.
Davis' proximity to Sacramento, the state capital, and the San Francisco Bay Area makes it easy to take advantage of big-city attractions while enjoying the security and friendliness of a small-town environment. Known as environmentally aware and socially innovative, Davis boasts more than 50 miles of bicycle paths and more bicycles per capita than any other city in the nation. Residents are active--in local, national and international political causes, in sports, in the arts and in community organizations. Quality of life is a high priority in this community of more than 58,000 residents. Many citizen committees advise the city council on issues such as quality of child care and natural resources conservation. With students constituting about half the city's population, Davis is one of the state's few remaining "college towns."
Visitor Services Office
Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center
530-752-8111
You are welcome to pay us a visit. Weekend tours depart from the Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center at 11:30 a.m. No appointment is necessary. For weekday individual or group campus tours, contact the Visitor Services Office at least one week in advance. You may also visit our Virtual Tour Web site at http://vtour.ucdavis.edu. If you have questions about application procedures or entrance requirements, write or visit Undergraduate Admissions and Outreach Services in Mrak Hall.
Programs and Courses | Admission Requirements | Degree Requirements | Table of Contents | Index