Each year, about 5,000 undergraduates — roughly 16% of UC Davis undergraduates — enroll in First-Year Seminars. As student interest continues to grow, the program needs more faculty to teach these courses.
UC Davis Summer Sessions offers hundreds of courses to current students and the community. But there is much more to take advantage of, if you know where to look. This year, programmatic offerings include a free writing academy, increased virtual classes, events for both in-person and remote students as well as support services from campus units.
The Quarter at Aggie Square People, Plants and the Planet experience equips undergraduate students of all majors with the skills to support a positive impact on the global ecosystem. The hands-on experience also led one student toward a new career path in public health.
Fourth-year biological sciences major Amelie Chang, who completed the program last fall, said the experiences sparked her interest in community education.
UC Davis Summer Sessions 2026 offers students triple the virtual courses compared to just two years ago with more than 300 virtual courses across Sessions I and II. UC Davis “fourth quarter” also includes multiple sections of high-demand classes, such as Introduction to Communication, Prep for General Chem and Introduction to Brewing and Beer.
Faculty are invited to share how the Center for Educational Effectiveness, or CEE, can best help them meet their most challenging teaching needs as it strengthens support for their priorities in its second decade.
“We want to make sure when we deliver services, we add value,” said Beth Broome, CEE’s leader and executive director for Teaching and Learning and STEM Initiatives.
UC Davis student Rogelio Castillo did not expect undergraduate research to open a path for him to create change in his community of Lindsay, California. But his family’s past experiences with rushed and impersonal health care turned him to science to discover ways to improve health and the quality of patient-provider relationships.
Josephine Wilson didn’t know about the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, when she started her “Advanced Composition” course last quarter.
Alison Bright, a Writing Center lecturer, was recognized recently with the Academic Federation Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award.
The Academic Senate and Federation announced their top awards on March 24, comprising 15 academics across various disciplines throughout the university.
The awards cite the impact these academics have had on their fields, on UC Davis students and on the broader community through public service.
UC Davis students earned two awards and multiple special merit and honorable mentions at the National Science Foundation California Alliance for Maximizing Potential’s 2026 CAMP Symposium at UC Irvine on Feb. 20 and 21.
The symposium was a two-part presentation experience. In January, students provided virtual video presentations and also met with a panel of UC faculty judges. Awards in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Computer and Information Sciences, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences were announced at the symposium’s poster session.
From funded scholar programs to an annual research conference, the UC Davis Undergraduate Research Center connects students to hands-on research experiences.
Last year, more than 1,000 students participated in the center’s programs, courses, workshops and annual research conference. With the start of the fall quarter, the center offers new ways students can build skills that go far beyond the classroom — such as learning transferable research skills — and may open doors to career pathways.
This past spring, Quarter at Aggie Square wrapped up the inaugural cohort of Critical Medical Humanities (previously called Advancing Healthcare Equity), an experience aimed at reshaping how students understand and approach health care.
Undergraduate students find pathways to research in traditional and avant-garde ways at the University of California, Davis. For many undergraduates, early exposure to research sculpts their career journeys in new direction. Every year, the Undergraduate Research Center introduces and connects students to hands-on research through programs, conferences, workshops, awards and mentor-mentee opportunities.
With more virtual and hybrid classes, new courses and expanded support, UC Davis 2025 Summer Sessions helps students graduate early, stay on track and get ahead.
“There truly is something for everyone at Summer Sessions, whether you need to focus on that one tough chemistry class, learn a new language or complete a minor,” said Omega Lee, Summer Sessions executive director. “It’s possible to make that happen at UC Davis,”
Over 1,000 student researchers presented projects on topics ranging from accelerating jalapeno growth to studying links between Alzheimer's disease and Type 2 diabetes at the Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities Conference on April 25 and 26.
Whether they prefer a group environment, one-on-one consulting or a structured environment for independent work, the UC Davis Writing Center offers writing support for graduate and professional students across all disciplines.
