UC Merced Class Sizes
A really special thing about UC Merced, are the small classroom sizes.
I’m not talking about physically small classroom sizes where students are cramped together, but actually having small number of students, and a lot of extra desks.
My first day of freshman year, I walked into my Introduction to Economics class, half an hour early, so that I wouldn’t have to fight my way for a spot to sit. I sat in my spot in the middle of the lecture hall. I sat there waiting for the class to fill up, all 373 seats, but it never did. The class only had 250 students in it, which is the biggest lecture hall that UC Merced has. Compared to other universities where lecture halls seat 500-1000 students, this only had 250 students in it.
The thing about college classes the first day that differs from high school, is that the first day, you actually have to learn things and take notes. I raised my hand to ask a question on that first day, and the professor asked my name. He remembered my name the whole semester.
Most of the lectures at UC Merced are split up into smaller classes called discussions, where students have the chance to be in a class to ask the professor or a Teaching Assistant more questions about class, and other activities. The student to professor ratio at UC Merced is 20:1. As I’ve started taking upper division classes, the class sizes have gotten even smaller! I had a class with eight students in it last semester.
Professors at UC Merced are always available to help students. Each professor has designated hours that they are available to help, called office hours. If there’s ever a time when I can’t make the professors office hours due to class, or work, I can email them, and they are always able to schedule additional time to help me.
It’s a very unique thing to find a university with small classes, and the ability to get to know your professors well, that are always willing to help. One of the many reasons that I love UC Merced!
