Kiddo has Monday off from high school. But it appears that tours at UCSC get filled up very quickly. He is interested in majoring in biology or related life science area. What top five things should he see while he’s there?
And if there is anyone on here very familiar with their biology program - what is particularly special about it? Our friends in the bioinformatics, biology education and drug development fields all speak very highly of UC Santa Cruz and note that they regularly draw interns and new employees from there.
Thank you.
I’d suggest starting at the gym by the west entrance, then walking to Cowell and Stevenson to check out the dining hall and dorms there.
From there, take a loop for free to Science Hill, which is where most of the Biology/Chemistry buildings and labs are. He’ll probably spend most of his time at the Science and Engineering Library and the surrounding buildings. Maybe sit in on some classes in that area (you should be able to find them by googling pisa.ucsc.edu and searching for biology classes). If he’s thinking of Bioinformatics, check out the Engineering school which is right across the street.
Finally, check out the Long Marine Laboratory (the name is something like that, you can google it easily). It’s off campus and you’ll have to drive, but it’s free parking once you’re there. Most of the faculty there is focused on marine life, but he can intern in any biological field at the labs there.
UCSC has ~4 bio majors, none of which are outstanding or hyper specialized but all of which are solid foundations for a career. Students move on easily to medical, pharmacy, and other graduate schools. Advising for PhD and Master’s is best done by asking his professors, not his program advisors. There is no significant pre-health advising program, he’ll have to research on his own or with the help of one of the pre-health fraternities on-campus.
The bioinformatics program is renowned, but it’s housed under the engineering college and is very different from the biology degrees. It offers a 5 year combined BS/MS degree.