Unique within the University of California system, UC Davis offers a full range of undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional schools of law, management, medicine and veterinary medicine. With 5,200 acres, UC Davis is the largest of the nine University of California campuses, and third in budget, total expenditures and enrollment. UC Davis stands 22nd in research funding among universities in the United States, according to the most recent information from the National Science Foundation. In 1996, U.S. News & World Report ranked UC Davis among the top 10 public universities nationally, just four years after the magazine identified the campus as one of the five "up and coming" national universities.
The university's reputation for excellence has attracted a distinguished faculty of scholars and scientists in all fields of scholarship. 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. Creative teaching and academic innovation are encouraged by several programs, including the $30,000 Prize for Teaching and Scholarly Achievement, believed to be the largest award of its kind in the country.
The Davis campus has undergraduate colleges of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Engineering and Letters and Science. Undergraduate enrollment is more than 18,000 students. Graduate Studies administers graduate study and research at all schools and colleges. Professional studies are carried out at the schools of Law, Management, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine; nearly 5,100 students are engaged in graduate or professional study. The campus supports numerous laboratories, extension centers and special off-site facilities, such as the UC Davis Medical Center (Sacramento), Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center (Tulare), Bodega Marine Laboratory (Bodega Bay), College of Engineering's Applied Science Department (Livermore), and the UC Davis Washington Center.
Davis is surrounded by open space--including some of the most valuable agricultural land in the state. Outdoor sports enthusiasts will find many beautiful recreational areas within a 70-mile drive from campus: Folsom Lake, Clear Lake, Lake Berryessa, the Napa and Sonoma valleys and the historic Mother Lode country. The Sierra Nevada, Lake Tahoe ski resorts and coastal areas of Mendocino and Monterey are about 150 miles from Davis.
If you prefer city life, Sacramento, the state capital, is 15 miles to the east, and San Francisco is just 72 miles to the southwest. Both cities offer the symphony, the ballet, sporting events, theater, shopping and other entertainment.
For long-distance travel, Davis has a Greyhound bus terminal and an Amtrak station. If you travel by plane, the Sacramento Metropolitan Airport is an easy 20-minute drive from downtown Davis. Within Davis, bicycles are a favorite mode of transportation. The terrain is flat and 50 miles of bike paths crisscross the city. With more bicycles per capita than any other city in the nation, Davis has earned the title "City of Bicycles."
Winters in Davis are generally mild. It rarely snows, but you should get good use from your rainwear. Summers are sunny, hot and dry. Although on some days the thermometer can exceed 100 degrees, summer days are usually in the low 90s, with overnight temperatures in the 60s. Spring and fall weather is among the most pleasant in the state.
Ecologically aware and socially innovative, Davis has a small-town friendliness and spirit of volunteerism that distinguishes it from cities of similar size. Residents are active in local, national and international political causes, in the arts, and in community organizations ranging from Little League to the Rotary Club.
Students compose a large portion of the city's population of 53,000, making Davis one of the state's few remaining "college towns." You'll find an abundance of bookshops, coffee houses and restaurants catering to students in the bustling downtown area adjacent to campus.
Though closely linked to the university, the city maintains a strong identity of its own. The Davis Art Center, Comic Opera Company, Musical Theatre Company and several local galleries provide creative outlets for people in the community and supplement the cultural events presented by the university.
The city has long recognized the importance of open space in maintaining its small-town atmosphere and has created 31 city parks offering a variety of attractions: tennis courts, playgrounds, swimming pools, playing fields and even a skateboard facility.
Like the city of Davis, the campus has a relaxed, country atmosphere, with plenty of open space, trees and lawns. Even as the student population grows, the campus manages to maintain its informal, friendly ambience.
Underlying the casual style of Davis students, however, is a fundamental seriousness and a dedication to academic excellence. Davis students do study hard. After your studying is done, however, you can relax at a movie, public lecture, dance recital or concert. For the energetic, intercollegiate sports, club sports and one of the largest intramural programs in the country offer athletics for fun or competition.
Davis welcomes the exchange of opinions and ideas and is committed to advancing the diversity of its students, faculty, staff and administrators. UC Davis' commitment to a learning environment characterized by mutual respect and understanding is reflected in the "Principles of Community."
UC Davis was founded in 1905 as the University Farm, where students from the first UC campus in Berkeley learned the latest in agricultural methods and technology. This beginning gained Davis students their nickname, "Cal Aggies." As the state's population grew, so did demand for higher education, and in 1922, in conjunction with the UC Berkeley College of Agriculture, the degree of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture was awarded to students completing the Davis program. A few years later, the Davis campus had its own College of Agriculture.
In 1948, California's only School of Veterinary Medicine was established at Davis. The College of Letters and Science was founded in 1951, bringing degree programs in the humanities to add to the campus' strong scientific foundation. By 1959, Davis had expanded enough to be declared a general campus of the university by the regents, and the campus continued to grow. The College of Engineering came into being in 1962. The School of Law held its first classes in the fall of 1966, and the School of Medicine admitted its first students in the fall of 1968. Davis' newest addition, the Graduate School of Management, opened its doors in 1981.
From its beginning as a 778-acre teaching farm, UC Davis has grown and diversified, establishing an international reputation for teaching and research.
The University of California began in 1868, when Governor Henry H. Haight signed the Organic Act, thus providing for California's first "complete University." Classes began the following year at the College of California in Oakland. The first buildings on the Berkeley campus were completed in 1873, and the university moved into its new home. The following June, the University of California conferred bachelor's degrees on 12 graduates.
Today the university is one of the largest and most renowned centers of higher education in the world. Its nine campuses span the state, from Davis in the north to San Diego in the south. In between are the Berkeley, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Riverside, Irvine and Los Angeles campuses.
All UC campuses adhere to the same admission guidelines and high academic standards, yet each has its own distinct character, atmosphere and academic individuality. Together, the nine campuses have an enrollment of more than 163,000 students, 90 percent of them California residents.
Some 150 laboratories, extension centers, and 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 the Library of Congress collection.
The faculty of the University of California is internationally respected for its distinguished scholarly and scientific achievements. The faculty on its nine campuses currently includes 18 Nobel laureates, and membership in the National Academy of Sciences is the largest of any university in the country. More UC academic programs are consistently rated among the top 10 nationally than those of any other public or private university.
You may want to arrange a visit to UC Davis sometime before you apply. If you have specific questions about application procedures or entrance requirements, it is a good idea to write or visit Undergraduate Admissions and Outreach Services. For individual or group weekday tours of the campus, contact the Information Services Office at least five days in advance. Weekend tours depart from the Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. No appointment is necessary.
Information: Information Services Office, Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center, 916-752-8111
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UC Davis 1996-97 Online General Catalog