UCD Scene

About UC Davis

At UC Davis, we are more than just a campus. Our graduate students and faculty are a strong community awash in boundless curiosity, collaborative spirit and rich diversity.

When graduate students were asked what it means to them to be members of the UC Davis graduate community, we heard responses such as, "I am inspired," "This is a dream come true," "I've been given the opportunity to contribute to society," and "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Those are some pretty powerful words for a university to live up to. But we do. Every day.

UC Davis has over 30,000 students, of whom over 8,000 are in graduate and professional school programs. UC Davis faculty and graduate programs attract highly qualified U.S. and international students from diverse educational, social, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. It is this global mix that contributes to the rich character that is UC Davis.

The Davis campus is 5,300 acres – the largest of any UC campus – and includes hundreds of beautiful shade trees, wildlife and an arboretum on the banks of Putah Creek, running through the campus. Architecturally, the campus has a wonderful mix of the century-old wooden buildings remaining from  University Farm days, the modern and sleek glass fronted buildings, and traditional brick and concrete facilities. The campus core is closed to vehicular traffic as walking, skateboarding and bicycling are the preferred modes of transportation.

The city of Davis is the quintessential college town. Davis is safe, environmentally friendly and children of graduate students attend one of the best school districts in California. The location is ideal – the campus is next door to the diverse metropolitan state capitol of Sacramento, as well as being close to the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains, Lake Tahoe, the Napa Valley wine country and the San Francisco Bay Area. The campus offers limitless recreational opportunities, including a state-of-the-art recreational facility, performing arts center, miles of bicycle trails, an arts and crafts center, and much more.

After learning a little more about graduate education at UC Davis, perhaps a better question to pose to you would be: Why wouldn't you choose UC Davis?