<p>Hey guys, I was wondering how the biology program and overall science majors/programs at UCSC are? are they the professors good teachers? research opportunities? good progression to med school?</p>
<p>Thanks for your time everyone, your help has given me a lot of info.</p>
<p>theres gotta be at least one bio or science major here on CC?</p>
<p>its hard to imagine that anyone would say that a particular major (especially their major) stinks.<br>
overall i would say its pretty decent. professor wise, i would say, try to choose the class where it is a lecturer and not a professor, because a lecturer is generally more skilled as well.. a lecturer.
research opportunity wise, i have heard mixed things. i remember hearing a conversation about how some students have to stay a 5th year because it was impossible to find someone who had space in their lab so they could do their senior seminar (i could be very wrong on this one). you also have to be proactive. there are ALOT of students and so no one will try to lure you into their lab but they are around. if you are willing to do unpaid work, you're way more likely to find a position.<br>
I dont know about med school though.</p>
<p>I'll second the lecturer vs. professor comment... So far EVERY lecturer i've had (MATH, AMS, PHYS, ECON, ENGR) was either great or outstanding. Professors... not even close. The vast majority of profs I've had here are total failures at teaching and truly do not belong in the classroom.</p>
<p>hey thanks for the reply guys, but I wanted to know, what is the difference between a lecturer and a professor.</p>
<p>Lecturers are not necessarily PhD's or even full time on the faculty, but their primary role is to teach (sometimes only 1 course). Generally they are new grads who teach undergrad courses, although some may be "experts" in their field or be from industry.</p>
<p>A professor is part of the faculty and can have research, teaching, and possibly administrative responsibilities. They are usually on a tenure track. Once professors are Tenured, they are basically on board for life and difficult to remove, so some don't spend a lot of energy on their teaching responsibilities. Some are excellent. </p>
<p>Upper Division and Grad courses usually have much more direct connection to Professors.</p>
<p>I see, thanks for the info Barleyman</p>
<p>I'm a Pre-Med major right now and things are going great. I just spoke to a Biology Adviser and I'm hearing a ton of students here get into med school of their choice. Just be proactive about everything and you'll do just fine! I love my Chem, Calc classes already. My prof's are amazing. If you're coming here next fall, I'll let you know who the good profs are! And No it's not hard to get A's as long as you're dedicated. Tell me how it goes!</p>
<p>Hey Jennifer, thanks for replying. I was a little hesitant to apply to UCSC for pre-med but I did some searching and your comment added to the satisfaction. I'll let you know what my fate is :)</p>
<p>I'm currently a science major, particularly marine bio. So far I've picked classes, especially science courses, based on what other people's impressions are. As of now, I love my professors a lot because they care about student's success. Of course there are still professors that sucks and I try avoiding them. So far, I've had 100% success rate and I'm loving and learning from my science classes.</p>