Pass times start this week, and you know what that means: a stressful scramble to get the classes you need for your major as well as find interesting classes to fulfill your general education requirements. Having just started my senior year, I have taken plenty of classes over the years and have created a list of my absolute favorite electives offered at UCD; branch out and sign up for one of them! If they’re not offered winter quarter, definitely check them out for spring.
Geology of National Parks (GEO 25)
I will be the first to admit that I’m not the biggest science fan, which was why I was very apprehensive to take this class. However, I had absolutely nothing to worry about. The class went through a wide variety of national parks on the western side of the U.S., including the Grand Canyon, Crater Lake, and more. I left knowing so much about the parks and couldn’t wait to share the info with friends!
Popular Culture (SOC 25)
I quickly signed up for this class when I was a second year. The class went through a variety of topics from American popular culture, such as the prom, Star Trek, and beauty pageants while using sociological perspectives to analyze them. The best part? It required a reader and not a huge textbook (a win for my backpack AND wallet).
Place, Culture, & Community (LDA 02)
I signed up for this class with absolutely no idea what it was about besides the one sentence description offered on the class search tool. It ended up being one of the most unique classes I had ever taken. It falls under the Landscape Architecture major, and we learned about a huge range of topics, such as how the landscape of a house can encourage or deter crime, how planned communities came about, and communal living. We even did walks around campus and the town, learning about the rich architectural history of our school and downtown Davis.
Style & Cultural Studies (TXT07)
This lower division textiles class focuses on fashion and style throughout time, around the world. Because I am a bit of a clothes junkie, I was really excited to take this class and found that the material really clicked with me. The class ran a lot different than most of the classes I had taken; it relied on more pictures than text (so you had to pay close attention to write out good notes) and included a project in our discussion class, as well as an essay written about anything we wanted. Interestingly enough, a lot of the topics discussed in this class were brought up in others I’ve taken as well.
I truly enjoyed each one of these electives and hope that you found at least one that interests you!