College of Creative Studies: Literature Questions

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Santa Barbara
1

<p>I recently just got accepted into UCSB, as well as the college of creative studies for literature. I'm also eligible for the university Honors program. And while I've always been a fan of literature (to say the least), I'm wondering if CCS is the route to go or not. I don't know if I'll be attending UCSB yet, but I'm seriously considering it because I do like the school. If I do, I can't decide where I want to go, so I have a few questions.</p>

<p>What sets the CCS Literature route of study apart from the L&S route?</p>

<p>Which dorms are better, the Scholars dorms or the CCS dorms?</p>

<p>How big, generally, are CCS classes vs. regular L&S classes?</p>

<p>Is it possible to be in CCS and double major in L&S? If so, does it mean I won't graduate as soon as I might normally?</p>

<p>What advantages are there to being in the CCS college versus, say, being in the honors program through L&S?</p>

<p>I'll probably think of more, but for now if anybody could help me with these questions, that would be great. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>I’m a physics major in the College of Creative Studies (or CCS), and having never taken a Lit class or and English class, I’m going to leave those questions to someone who knows what they’re talking about. But, I’ll give it a start on the more technical questions.</p>

<p>CCS privileges:</p>

<p>One of the major differences between CCS and either of the other two colleges at UCSB is units. In CCS, there is no quarterly unit limit: you could, if you wanted, take 95.5 units each quarter (the average is 15, the max someone has successfully completed is 64.5, I think). The limits in L&S and Engineering are (correct me if I’m wrong) somewhere around 20 without petition. There is also no limit on the total number of units you can take; that is, the university won’t ever bother you and won’t kick you out. This is great, because most of us end up going over the L&S unit cap. There’s also this new minimum cumulative progress, or MCP, thing which is done on an individual basis in CCS. Basically, we don’t have to worry about it, and our faculty advisers keep us on track to graduate on time.</p>

<p>We also have different general education requirements. Although you have to fulfill the University writing, American History/Institutions and Ethnicity requirements, there are no defined set of GE classes that you have to take. The general rule is that you need to take 8 classes not related to your major and 2 related to, but not in, your major. (A lot of my literature friends are pretty excited about never having to take a math or science class again.) In Literature, there are some core Lit classes you’re required to take, as well as several quarters of the “Literature symposium.” We also have to check in quarterly with our advisors, and we work with them to come up with a good set of courses. </p>

<p>As a CCS student, you do also get honors student privileges (notably graduate library loans and priority registration). Some other fun ones unique to CCS are 24 hour access to the CCS building and computer lab, 1000 free photocopies a year, and unlimited printing. </p>

<p>Double majoring in L&S:</p>

<p>Definitely do-able. However, you lose some of the main CCS privileges, such as not having unit caps or GEs, so most people choose not to. Instead, people will double major in CCS, or take a minor in L&S.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for clearing some of that up for me. It’s very helpful!</p>

<p>Another quick question; which dorms did you choose to live in on campus? How was your experience there?</p>

4

<p>^Summer school at UCSB? they have that for non-freshies?</p>

5

<p>I lived in the Creative Studies interest house freshman year. It’s one of the Manzanita dorms with a full kitchen, lounge, loft, laundry, and study room. There’s room for 42, I think. In my estimation, 2/3 of those are College of Creative Studies freshman, and many of the rest are non-freshman CCS students who decided to stick around. I picked the CCS interest house because I wanted to meet other CCS students and I figured it would be a quieter place to live than some of the other dorms. The house dynamic seems to vary from year to year, but I had an amazing experience. I adored my housemates, and we all became close pretty quickly. People were social: there always seemed to be someone hanging out in the lounge, everyone was happy to have their door knocked on, and we tended to eat all our meals in one big group. But, there weren’t people partying late in the halls or otherwise being loud and obnoxious. There were definitely people who partied, but they were usually very respectful about it and often went out to do it. Again, it’s different every year.</p>

<p>Sophomore year I moved into an 8 person suite in San Rafael with six girls I’d met in the dorms freshman year (and one random person–our 8th roommate forgot to turn in her housing forms). That worked out great, although we definitely had our rough spots.</p>

6

<p>There is definitely summer school! The freshman summer start program runs during the second summer session, so if you go to FSSP, you’ll actually be taking classes with a random bunch of other UCSB studets. There are both intro classes and upper division electives offered. My roommate used it to get her GEs out of the way, another friend to finish the math sequences. I just wanted to take the last intro French class and didn’t have room in my normal schedule. It can also be cheaper: you only have to pay for the first 10 or so units you take, so if you take more than that, the extra are (kind of) free!</p>

<p>On a side note, I also went to Italy on summer sessions one year–UC Davis and UC Irvine run summer abroad programs. The application is really easy, it’s first-come, first-serve, and you don’t have to go to either UC Davis or UC Irvine.</p>