UC Davis Profile

• 54% of Fall 2008 UC Davis undergraduates were awarded financial aid (including loans); average award was $14,275.

• 51% of Fall 2008 UC Davis undergraduates were awarded family income-based grants or scholarships; average award was $11,176. 29% of UC Davis undergraduates were designated low income by Federal government and awarded federal Pell Grants.

• 47% of Fall 2008 UC Davis undergraduates were awarded loans.
• Average cumulative indebtedness at time of graduation for those who have borrowed: $15,155.
• Stafford student loan default rate for UC Davis: 1.2% for 2006

A 78% four-year success and progress rate means that 78% of students starting in Fall 2002 either graduated or are still enrolled four years later.

• 4,653 First-Time, Full-Time Freshmen
• 1,828 Full-Time Transfer Students

• Freshman entrants: 12.46 quarters
• Transfer entrants: 6.73 quarters

Major research centers include:

Cancer Center - The Center is a model partnership uniting physicians and scientists from throughout the university with biomedical researchers and engineers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The center has a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach with nearly 300 scientists working full time to make the breakthroughs that will offer cancer patients fresh hope.

Center for Biophotonics Science and Technology (CBST) - CBST's goal is to advance biomedicine and photonics engineering by focusing its intellectual, scientific, educational and industrial outreach efforts on the rapid and directed development of biophotonics technology. CBST coordinates activities within its core group of eight university campuses and one national laboratory, and it is building an extensive worldwide network of schools, industrial partners and other biophotonics research centers.

Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS-Davis) - ITS-Davis is a multi-faceted, internationally recognized program with more than 60 affiliated faculty and researchers, 80 graduate students, and a $6 million annual budget. Its primary program components are research, education and outreach. The Institute is the only research program in the UC system that hosts a matching graduate education program. By partnering with industry, government, and non-governmental organizations, ITS-Davis has contributed to and advanced public discourse on key transportation issues, while also creating a diverse funding base.

John Muir Institute for the Environment (JMIE) - JMIE supports innovation and discovery aimed at solving real-world environmental problems. The institute champions science and technological innovation, provides campus wide leadership, hosts centers and projects, and seeds research and educational initiatives to solve environmental problems. The institute links science and technology to policy by providing the intellectual setting for interactions among researchers, regulatory agencies, policymakers and the public.

UC Davis Energy Institute - The institute focuses and coordinates energy research and education on the campus and facilitates interactions with other institutes, laboratories and programs across the nation and around the world. The research is focused on sustainable energy system design. The institute will also serve as home to a proposed Energy Graduate Group providing advanced degrees in energy science, technology and policy.

Click Here for more information about research centers at UC Davis

The Principles of Community - The University of California, Davis, is first and foremost an institution of learning and teaching, committed to serving the needs of society. Our campus community reflects and is a part of a society comprising all races, creeds and social circumstances. The successful conduct of the university's affairs requires that every member of the university community acknowledge and practice the following basic principles:

We affirm the inherent dignity in all of us, and we strive to maintain a climate of justice marked by respect for each other. We acknowledge that our society carries within it historical and deep-rooted misunderstandings and biases, and therefore we will endeavor to foster mutual understanding among the many parts of our whole.

We affirm the right of freedom of expression within our community and affirm our commitment to the highest standards of civility and decency towards all. We recognize the right of every individual to think and speak as dictated by personal belief, to express any idea, and to disagree with or counter another's point of view, limited only by university regulations governing time, place and manner. We promote open expression of our individuality and our diversity within the bounds of courtesy, sensitivity and respect.

We confront and reject all manifestations of discrimination, including those based on race, ethnicity, gender and age, disability, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs, status within or outside the university, or any of the other differences among people which have been excuses for misunderstanding, dissension or hatred. We recognize and cherish the richness contributed to our lives by our diversity. We take pride in our various achievements, and we celebrate our differences.

We recognize that each of us has an obligation to the community of which we have chosen to be a part. We will strive to build a true community of spirit and purpose based on mutual respect and caring.

Classroom Environment

Instructional Faculty

At UC Davis, the safety of the entire university community is a top priority. The university has a comprehensive emergency management program and its own full-service police and fire departments. It uses a special alerting system to provide timely emergency information to faculty, staff and students. Counseling centers offer mental health services, and the campus has special teams that intervene before troubling situations escalate. UC Davis' long-established Campus Violence Prevention Program is nationally recognized for its work to reduce incidents of sexual assault and serve survivors. A number of programs, including a safety escort service and crime prevention presentations, promote safety and security.

Students who are actively involved in their own learning and development are more likely to be successful in college. Colleges and universities offer students a wide variety of opportunities both inside and outside the classroom to become engaged with new ideas, people and experiences. Institutions measure the effectiveness of these opportunities in a variety of ways to better understand what types of activities and programs students find most helpful.

The following are selected responses from the 2008 University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey (UCUES). The results reported below are based on the responses of UC Davis seniors who participated in the survey.

Of respondents currently employed, 35% are in positions highly related to their undergraduate major; 27% are in positions moderately related to their major; 18% are in positions that are slightly related to their major; and 20% are working in unrelated fields.

Percent of respondents who think their UC Davis undergraduate education prepared them for their career:  26% very well, 29% more than adequately, 36% Adequately, 5% Less than adequately, 3% Poorly

Percent who have enrolled to pursue a higher degree: 14% M.A./M.S., 2% M.B.A./M.P.A., 3% other professional masters degrees, 4% Ph.D., 2% M.D., 1% D.V.M, 3% other health doctorates, 4% teaching credentials, 4% other degrees/credentials

Percent who believe their UC Davis undergraduate education prepared them for graduate or professional school:  42% very well, 31% more than adequately, 22% Adequately, 4% Less than adequately, 0.4% Poorly

The campus holds to the fundamental principle that student learning outcomes and their assessment should be locally defined, discipline specific and faculty driven. Through periodic and systematic undergraduate program reviews, student learning outcomes are defined; methods of assessment for these outcomes are identified; evidence of student learning, retention and completion is presented; and analyses by program faculty are undertaken to demonstrate the extent to which students meet the defined outcomes. The faculty use the results of these analyses to improve curricula and pedagogy.

A word about the data and information used in this profile

Almost all of the data used in this profile comes from an annual collection of data prepared by the campus called the Common Data Set (CDS). Many colleges and universities across the country post their CDS on their websites as part of a collaborative effort between publishers and the educational community to provide consistent and accurate data regarding higher education. Preparation of these data sets is governed by a set of standards and definitions that all participating institutions are asked to follow. However, for a variety of reasons, including management and local practices, colleges and universities sometimes use different definitions and standards to produce data that is similar in purpose to data found in this profile. Consequently, statistics found in other campus and systemwide publications and websites may differ from those that appear in this profile.

In addition, the information in this profile may change from time to time. Therefore, users are urged to check for updates periodically.

Send questions & comments to inform@ucdavis.edu