Comparing the social atmosphere of the UCs: English dept, campus, city, etc.

[KeelyMK]

Hi everybody,

 

I looked around quite a bit and couldn't find a topic that specifically explored this, so if you know of one, I apologize and please bump or direct me to it. I applied to UCLA, SB, Berkeley and Irvine for an English PhD. They're all great programs, so if I got accepted to more than one (I just jinxed it, I know), the decision would really come down to location and campus/department attitude. So can any Grad or UG who went to any of the rest of the UCs comment on the general vibe of the city, campus and/or English department, both students and faculty?

 

City:

There's some stuff on this in the City Page forum, but I think it would be helpful if anyone who has spent time in more than one UC campus city could contribute a comparison of their impressions and experiences with places and the people who live there.

 

Department:

For example, here at Berkeley as an UG I can say that the faculty is *amazing*: every professor I've had has been brilliant, accomplished, and approachable. However, I find I haven't really gotten along with/related to most of the students as easily. I don't mean to overgeneralize and I'm sorry if I offend anyone, because I have certainly met a lot of great and genuine people here - but the overall feel of the social culture among both UGs and Grads in the department can often seem a bit too homogeneous in the way of pretentiousness and hypersensitive hipster-ism in my experience. If anyone can comment on the social atmosphere, diversity or "character" of the other UC English departments I would love your input.

 

Berkeley is also a very large department, with 150-200 grads total and enrolling 18-20 new grads per year. I know UCLA's is also pretty big, and then Irvine and Santa Barbara are much smaller with less than 100 and enroll about 10-12 annually (I don't know about the other UCs). If you've attended one of the UCs, what do you feel are the pros and cons of its department size?

 

Sorry, I know this is long and you probably didn't read it all, but you get the idea of what I'm asking so thanks to anyone who responds.

 

Cheers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[t1racyjacks]

Keely: Cal is my first choice and it saddens me that I would have to deal with hipsterism etc. I'm also not American and terribly paranoid about being uncool. But Cal has Altieri in English, whom I really wanna work with. D'you know the attitudes towards international students there?

[stillalivetui]

Cal would be a no brainer. But all other's have something to offer in their own vain. However, Irvine would probably be on the bottom of the list as I feel the whole city is a new construct of cement and metal (take that as you will), having grown up in inner city Los Angeles.

[NowMoreSerious]

Keely: Cal is my first choice and it saddens me that I would have to deal with hipsterism etc. I'm also not American and terribly paranoid about being uncool. But Cal has Altieri in English, whom I really wanna work with. D'you know the attitudes towards international students there?

Umm...we're going for English doctorate programs...hipsterism should be commonplace to us already. And in Berkeley? Forget it.

[t1racyjacks]

I don't feel that it's really that compatible with stimulating thought. then again it's just me. c'est comme ca

[dazedandbemused]

I don't feel that it's really that compatible with stimulating thought. then again it's just me. c'est comme ca

 

Oh, I don't know whether you can call it stimulating. Just pervasive.