University: University of California Davis
City: Davis
Country: United States
Continent: North America
Field of study: Business Administration, Economics
Study type: semester abroad
Application process:
I actually decided on UC Davis right from the start because I wanted to do my semester abroad in California and I already had family ties in Davis. Since UC Davis was not a partner university of my home university, I organized my semester abroad as a so-called “freemover” via MicroEdu. I was well looked after here right from the start, I was supported by MicroEdu from the decision to the application and I always got quick feedback on all my concerns. Visit existingcountries.com to get information about San Jose State University student review.
The application takes a while because you have to collect some documents. It also took 4-5 weeks to get the confirmation from Davis. I would therefore recommend everyone to send off the application about half a year before the start of your studies, so you still have enough time to take care of visa, flights and accommodation afterwards.
Life in Davis:
Davis is a city that lives from the students, a real college town. There is always something going on there, there are many bars and restaurants downtown. Also, the city is not too big, you can cycle everywhere, there are bike lanes along the roads everywhere – the bike is an absolute must here. Davis itself does not have any major sights to offer, but Sacramento is 20 minutes away by car and San Francisco can be reached in about 1.5 hours. What I also found very good is that I always felt safe in Davis, even when I was out cycling at night.
The Global Study Program and my courses:
The cool thing about UC Davis is that you take part in the so-called “Global Study Program”, which means you can choose from all the courses that are also available to regular students. My courses were from the “Upper Division”, which means they are courses that are usually completed in the third or fourth year of college. I took the following three courses:
ARE 112 – Organization Management : This course dealt with the theoretical basics of corporate organisation. The course content was very theoretical and easy to understand. In addition, we have always read books about well-known companies here in order to be able to apply the content better.
ARE 157 – Analysis for Operations and Production Management : This course was basically about “Scheduling Problems”, which were applied to various practical examples in each lecture. The only material you received was scripts for any practical examples, so at the beginning it was difficult to understand the contents of the course in general. After you had familiarized yourself with it, this course was also very interesting.
ECN 162 – International Economic Relations : My most difficult but also most interesting course. This course is an economics course with a focus on international trade and international relations. So far in my studies it was the first good economics course ever.
Travel:
Since I didn’t have much time to travel around California after graduating, I did a lot during the quarter. Many day trips are available from Davis. For example, we were often in San Francisco, Sacramento, Muir Woods, Napa Valley or Santa Cruz. Other destinations for a day trip are Lake Tahoe, San José or the famous Silicon Valley. In general, the Bay Area has a lot to offer.
In addition, I was in Southern California twice, in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. That was always a good option at the weekend, since I didn’t have any lectures on Fridays. I flew there because otherwise it wouldn’t have been worth the time. We also went to Las Vegas for a weekend. If you have more time, I would definitely recommend taking a road trip/round trip across California because it’s so easy to see more.
Conclusion:
Davis may not be the first city that comes to mind when you hear California, but I would recommend it to anyone. The campus is huge and just has a really cool flair. In addition, the Global Study Program makes you a real college student for the time of your stay, with all the trimmings.
The university is absolutely feasible in terms of effort. There’s a lot going on during the quarter, with midterms, essays, quizzes, etc. But if you invest some time, it’s all doable without any problems, and you definitely have enough free time left.
All in all, I can say that I had an absolutely great time there, met great people and found a second home. A semester abroad in California is certainly not the cheapest option, but for me every cent was worth it. You collect memories and experiences here that cannot be bought with money. Therefore, I can only advise anyone who has the opportunity to perceive them.
