What I Wish I Knew...Before Coming to UC Davis Entomology

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  1. Introduction and Disclaimer
    1. Advisors and Committees
      1. Major Professor
      2. Graduate Advisor
      3. Guidance Committee
      4. Entomology Exam Committee
      5. Qualifying Exam Committee
      6. Thesis Committee
    2. Graduate Student Support
      1. General Policy
      2. TAships
        1. Applying within Entomology
        2. Applying outside Entomology
      3. Timesheets
    3. Classes
      1. Registration
      2. Required Classes
      3. Seminars
      4. Classes that Ent students often take
    4. Outside Entomology
      1. Center for Population Biology
    5. Entomology Office
      1. The place
      2. The people
    6. Ordering Supplies
      1. Vet Med Central Services
      2. Bookstore
      3. Other sources
    7. Academic Time Lines
      1. PhD
      2. MS plan II
    8. Graduate Student Association
      1. What is it?
      2. How does it work?
    9. Services
      1. Financial Support
      2. Events
      3. Legal support
      4. Grievances
    10. General Davis Information
      1. Housing
      2. Living Outside Davis
      3. Transportation
        1. Bicycles
        2. Driving
        3. Public Transportation

Introduction and Disclaimer

Congratulations on becoming a new member of the Department of Entomology at UC Davis. The next two to umpteen years of your life will hopefully be memorable, fun, and full of bugs. The “What I Wish I Knew…Before Coming to UC Davis” or WIWIK document was started in 2006 to provide incoming grad students with an easy to use information/survival guide written from the student perspective. This document covers important topics, such as, who are the people in the department, where do I get my money from, how do I find TAs, and how do I find housing in Davis. Read this document before you start school and you will be much better prepared for the life that awaits you.

It is important to note that this document is not an official, department-approved document. Consequently, any opinions contained in the document do not necessarily reflect those of the department, and it is possible that some of the material may not be up-to-date. Regardless, because students wrote this document, it should offer you a unique perspective that you can’t get anywhere else.

The current authors hope that this document will be revised and kept up-to-date on a yearly basis. As you use this document during your graduate school journey, please make note of how this document helped you and how it can be improved. That way we can continue to help students for years to come.

Advisors and Committees

There are lots of people offering important advice in grad school, but who does what, and who do you meet with when? Here is a run down of the various advisors 'you’ll encounter at UC Davis.

Major Professor

This is the most important advisor you will have while in grad school. They will help you select your research topic and design your experiments. He/she will help you secure funding and house you while you are in the department. This should be the first person you meet with when you get to campus, and they will usually be the person you will be in contact with after you leave.

Graduate Advisor

This is a faculty member other than your major professor. He/she is responsible for making sure you meet the requirements for grad school, including taking needed classes, having committee meetings, passing your departmental and qualifying exams, and getting paper work in. He/she does all the bureaucratic stuff your major professor doesn’t do. Schedule a meeting with your graduate advisor as soon as possible after arriving at UCD. The current entomology graduate advisors are: Peter Cranston, Jay Rosenheim, and Rick Karban.

Guidance Committee

Your guidance committee is comprised of your major professor and 2 or 3 additional members. This is not a formal committee, so members can include faculty from entomology or other departments, and even from other universities. You pick the members of your committee with the help of your major professor. Your guidance committee provides input on courses and research and serves until you pass your qualifying exam, at which time you create your thesis committee. You meet with your guidance committee yearly.

Entomology Exam Committee

The entomology exam committee administers your entomology exam at end of your first year. This is a 4 person committee assigned by the chair of the department. The committee is the same for all students in a cohort. It’s a good idea to meet with the departmental exam committee 1 to 3 times before taking the exam.

Qualifying Exam Committee

Your qualifying exam committee’s job is to administer your qualifying exam. They read and review your thesis proposal as part of this exam. Qualifying exam committees are comprised of 5 members, and in the entomology department, one of those members is from the entomology exam committee. The other 4 members include 2 covering areas within entomology and 2 areas outside entomology. You select your committee members with the help of your guidance committee and major professor, but Graduate Studies must approve your committee before your exam. Your major professor CANNOT be on your exam committee. Your qualifying exam committee can include members from UCD or other universities. Entomology students have also had county extension personnel and CDFA researchers on their qualifying exam committees. If you want to include outside scientists on your committee, you need to file a request form with Graduate Studies listing your reasons for needing an outside committee member. They approve nearly all requests. Your graduate advisor can provide you with this form and needs to sign off on it. Most students meet individually with their qualifying exam committee members 2 to 3 times before taking the exam.

Thesis Committee

Your thesis committee is comprised of your major professor and 2 or 3 other members. You create your thesis committee after passing your qualifying exam. Your thesis committee must be approved be Graduate Studies. Any members of your committee outside the UCD Academic Senate must be approved by Graduate Studies. Your thesis committee provides guidance on your research and reviews your dissertation. They must sign off on your dissertation before you can graduate. You meet with your thesis committee at least once a year.

Graduate Student Support

WHERE’S YOUR MONEY COMING FROM?

General Policy

The student will have one quarter support from their major professor, one quarter support from the department and will find a TAship for one quarter. The major professor will fund a 50% GSR during summer. Graduate students can work over 50% in the summer and by exception during the academic year. In most cases, first year graduate students are not obligated to be teaching assistants. Support each quarter as a Graduate Student Researcher is based on individual departmental policies. The quarterly support includes tuition, fees, benefits (health insurance) and a stipend of approximately $1300/month. After your first year, the standard support is one quarter major professor, one quarter department and one quarter TA (the department does not guarantee a TAship within the department). If your major professor cannot pay for his/her quarter, then it may be necessary for the student to TA for two quarters. Likewise, your major professor can buy out your one quarter TAship. The department makes every effort to work with the faculty, Graduate Studies, internal and external fellowships to secure funding for each student, but students are still highly encouraged to apply for external fellowships and grants. Further information on grants available to students can be found at [WWW]gradstudies.ucdavis.edu Notices of potential funding opportunities are sent to the graduate student email lists throughout the year.

TAships

Many graduate students will TA one quarter per year starting their second year. There are not enough TAships within the entomology department and many students seek TA positions in the college of Biological Sciences ([WWW]dbs.ucdavis.edu) or within the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Graduate students are encouraged to explore TA opportunities with faculty during the courses taken their first year. Although a ‘call’ for TA applications is issued each year, more commonly a faculty member and graduate student self identify a TA match. [WWW]http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/adm/forms/TAappl.pdf

The following entomology classes have traditionally had TAships:

Fall

Winter

Spring'

Summer

Entomology students have also served as TAs for the following classes outside of entomology:

This is not, however, an exhaustive list. There are many more classes outside of the entomology department that students may be qualified to teach. Contact departments directly if you are interested. Departments and sections that may offer courses appropriate for entomology students to TA include:
Evolution and Ecology ([WWW]www-eve.ucdavis.edu)
Plant Sciences ([WWW]www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/plantsciences)
Nematology ([WWW]ucdnema.ucdavis.edu)
Microbiology ([WWW]microbiology.ucdavis.edu)
Molecular and Cellular Biology ([WWW]www.mcb.ucdavis.edu)
Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior ([WWW]www.npb.ucdavis.edu)

If you have taken a course in the first year that you are interested in, approach the professor as soon as possible. If you have a TA position from another department, be sure to tell Carol Nickles or the account manager for your major professor. If you have difficulty finding a TAship, please see the MSO (Pat Hunter) to discuss alternatives.

Applying within Entomology

TA positions within the department are highly in demand. Generally, there are fewer department TA positions than students seeking TA-ships. You will receive notification of available TA positions for the upcoming year sometime during the summer, but it is a good idea to contact the instructor of the course you are interested in the year before you will seek the TA-ship. Many instructors choose their TAs early, so this will increase your chances of getting the position that you want. You must submit a new TA application each academic year. All TA applications are submitted to our graduate coordinator, Carol Nickles.
Entomology TA applications can be found on the department website at:
[WWW]http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/adm/forms/taappl.pdf

Applying outside Entomology

Many students will need to apply outside of the department for TA positions. The application deadlines and requirements differ between departments. Generally applications are due Winter or Spring quarter the year before the year you are seeking the position. Some departments do not have application deadlines, but do have specific times when they are choosing TAs. Getting your application in before these times greatly increases your chances of getting a position. Application requirements vary between departments. The following items are sometimes required:

* These should be on file with your graduate advisor and the graduate coordinator

You can find a list of available appointments on the grad studies website at:
[WWW]http://gradstudies.ucdavis.edu/employment/index.html
This list is often out of date, so it may be more helpful to contact the hiring coordinators for the specific department you are applying to. The following is a list of departments, coordinators, and deadlines. Most of this information can also be found on the Ecology Graduate Group website at:
[WWW]http://ecology.ucdavis.edu/funding/tas.htm
A list of courses offered by each department can be found at:
[WWW]http://registrar.ucdavis.edu/UCDWebCatalog/catindex.html

Agricultural & Resource Economics
Christy Hansen, Phone: 2-6185, email: clhansen@ucdavis.edu
Deadline: Dependent on course Applications accepted two months prior to each quarter

Agronomy & Range Science
Merlyn Potters, Phone: 2-1715, email: mmpotters@ucdavis.edu
Deadline: Dependent on course. Contact faculty member teaching the course.

Animal Science
Alisha Nork, Phone: 2-2382, email: animalbiologygrad@ucdavis.edu
Deadline: March 1, Late applications accepted

Anthropology
Lucy Day, Phone: 2-2742, email: lcday@ucdavis.edu
Deadline: April 15, Late applications accepted

Economics
Marilyn Dexter, Phone: 2-0743, email: mldexter@ucdavis.edu
Deadline: April 1, Late applications for alternates

Environmental Horticulture
Lisa Brown, Phone:2-7738, email: lfbrown@ucdavis.edu
Deadline: Dependent on course Contact faculty member teaching the course

Environmental Science & Policy
Silvia Castillo Hillyer, Phone: 2-6752, email: schillyer@ucdavis.edu
Deadline: April 23rd Applications submitted by the deadline will be considered first. Late applications will be accepted
TA application: [WWW]http://www.des.ucdavis.edu/DesktopDefault.aspx

Environmental Toxicology
Susan Kancir, Phone: 2-1042, email: sgkancir@ucdavis.edu
Deadline: Changes yearly, must have taken course, or equivalent

Evolution & Ecology
Stephanie Macey-Gallow, Phone: 2-1274, email: smaceygallow@ucdavis.edu
Deadline: February 7th Late applications encouraged for waiting list, preference given to applicants who submit in January. An EVE application is required, in addition to the DBS TA application.
TA application: [WWW]http://www-eve.ucdavis.edu/eve/pbg/Finance.htm#TA

Geology
Marlene Belz, Phone: 2-9100, email: belz@geology.ucdavis.edu
Deadline: February 15 Late applications for alternates

Human & Community Development
Cat Huff, Phone: 2-1926, email: chuff@ucdavis.edu
Effie Kolbeins, Phone: 4-4109, fekolbeins@ucdavis.edu
Deadline: May 1 Applications accepted all year

Land, Air & Water Resources
Marie Boisvert-Smithers, Phone: 4-9646, email: mboisvert@ucdavis.edu
Deadline: None Submit application ASAP

Mathematics
Celia Davis, Phone: 2-8131, email: studentservices@math.ucdavis.edu, or
Perry Gee, Phone: 2-8130, email: studentservices@math.ucdavis.edu
Deadline: Open. Applications accepted all year

Microbiology
Millie Ling-Tsai, Phone: 2-0261, email: mling @ucdavis.edu
Deadline: Mid April. Late applications for alternates

Molecular & Cellular Biology
Carole Nicholson, Phone: 2-0202, email: cfnicholson@ucdavis.edu
Deadline: May 15 Late applications accepted

Neurobiology, Physiology & Behavior
Debbie Abbott, Phone: 2-9696, email: dsabbott@ucdavis.edu
Deadline: End of March-May, accept late applications
TA application: [WWW]http://www.npb.ucdavis.edu/downloads/

Plant Biology
Tori Hollowell, Phone: 2-7094, email: trhollowell@ucdavis.edu
Deadline: January 15. Positions are offered one year in advance. Applicants should check Plant Biology website, at the end of each quarter, for last-minute TA openings ([WWW]http://www.plb.ucdavis.edu)

Psychology
Anna Libonati, Phone: 2-9362, email: alibonati@ucdavis.edu
Deadline: Mid April. Applications accepted all year. ([WWW]http://www.psychology.ucdavis.edu)

Sociology
Heidi Williams, Phone: 2-4147, email: hlwilliams@ucdavis.edu
Deadline: April 1 Applications accepted all year

Statistics
Pete Scully, Phone: 2-2362 email: grad-staff@wald.ucdavis.edu
Deadline: February 15 Late applications for alternates

Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Biology
Steven Garcia, Phone: 2-6586 email: sjgarcia@ucdavis.edu
Deadline: May 1. Accepts late applications. ([WWW]http://www.wfcb.ucdavis.edu)

Timesheets

When students are paid by the department, they may be paid a stipend on block grant funding (through Student Accounting) or through payroll (through Entomology office).

If you are being paid through the payroll system, you will be paid once a month on the first of the following month (or earlier if the first falls on a weekend). Timesheets are due to the office staff on the 15th of the month. You will need to fill out a monthly timesheet if you are a GSR (grad student researcher) or if you are receiving work-study. TA's do not need to fill out timesheets.

Grad students cannot work more than 50% time during the academic year and up to 100% time during the summer (depending on faculty funding), so students should complete timesheets based on their paid appointment. Students are not paid for overtime but are paid for holidays if they work at least 50% time during that month. TA's do not accrue vacation. GSR's accrue vacation leave with an appointment of six months or longer at 50% time (retroactively if your appointment doesn't start out at six months). Vacation accrues at 16 hours/month based on 100% time, so most months grad students receive 8 hours/month of vacation. If you take vacation, indicate it on the timesheet. Timesheets are available on-line or by the department office door and must be filled out in ink and signed by supervisors.

More information about appointments on the Grad Studies website:
[WWW]gradstudies.ucdavis.edu

There has been confusion between block grant funding and payroll. Usually, first-year students are paid on block grant funding. For financial aid purposes, all students have to complete a FAFSA each year and have to let Financial Aid know of all their support.

Classes

WHAT SHOULD I TAKE?

Registration

Students should register for fall classes over the summer, with the class schedule and registration guide. The classes chosen can always be changed after meeting with your guidance committee upon arrival. It is advisable that you meet with your guidance committee (your major professor and two to three other faculty members) within a few days of arrival to choose classes. If you are not sure what classes to take, register for 12 research credits with your major professor. To get the CRN (course registration number) for research credits with your major professor, e-mail Carol Nickles (cnickles@ucdavis.edu). Students must be registered for 12 credits per quarter during the school year. These may be all classes, all research credits, or a mixture of both. Register online through the registrar’s website: [WWW]http://SISWEB.ucdavis.edu/

One of the perks of being a grad student is that you can register for classes whenever you want, so feel free to ignore talk of Pass 1 and Pass 2, etc. The only situation where this may be an issue is if you want to register for courses restricted to certain majors or departments outside of entomology. If you find you can’t register for a course you are interested in, contact that department directly.

Required Classes

The Entomology Department does not have any required classes, with the exception of seminars. Your guidance committee and the graduate advisor will determine if you have any deficiencies that need to be fulfilled. These deficiencies should be fulfilled as soon as possible. You and your guidance committee will determine which courses you should take and plan a schedule for completing that coursework.

The entomology department does have, however, minimum preparatory course requirements (MPCR) which must be met either through undergraduate coursework or within your first 2 years. A student entering graduate school with a biology degree typically has had most, if not all, of these classes already, but many incoming students must take at least a few of them. The MPCR are at least one course in the following: Biology (Botany and Zoology), Chemistry (Introductory and Organic), Physics, Microbiology, Genetics, Biochemistry, and Statistics.

Seminars

PhD students must complete four participatory (2 credit) seminars within the Entomology Department and two outside of the department. MS students are required to take 2 seminars within the department and 1 outside. Participatory seminars are those in which you give a talk or lead a session. Seminars within the Entomology Department are posted on the department website and flyers are posted throughout the department. Additionally, seminar announcements are frequently e-mailed to students. To find seminars outside of the department, one can check individual department websites and keep an eye out for announcement flyers. Entomology students often take seminars offered by Nematology, the Ecology Grad Group, Animal Behavior, and Plant Sciences to fulfill these outside requirements. Seminar requirements do not need to be fulfilled prior to the qualifying exam.

Classes that Ent students often take

Although there are no formal required courses for either the PhD or MS programs, entomology students often take classes during their first few years at UCD. Students typically take classes related to their dissertation. In the past entomology students have taken the following classes and would recommend them to incoming students:

Entomology

Applied Biological Systems Technology

Animal Genetics

Atmospheric Science

Ecology

Evolution

Epidemiology

Nematology

Plant Biology

Plant Pathology

Plant Sciences

Population Biology

Population, Heath, and Reproduction

Soil Science

Statistics

Toxicology

Outside Entomology

Connecting Outside Entomology

Center for Population Biology

The Center for Population Biology (CPB) is a cross-discipline group, part of the UCD College of Biological Sciences, that "aims to advance understanding of the origins and maintenance of diversity of biological systems through ecological and evolutionary research). It sponsors the Tuesday seminars and Monte Carlo seminars as well as two week-long workshops, has two postdoc positions, has been a recipient of IGERT training grants, and has some research funding for graduate student affiliates. Grad students in Population Biology are automatically part of CPB, but postdocs and grad students in other programs, such as Entomology, can become affiliates. Interested students or postdocs should find a CPB faculty member (who include several Entomology faculty, such as Rick Karban, Sharon Lawler, Jay Rosenheim, and Phil Ward) to submit a letter sponsoring them for admission to CPB. Candidates should also submit a CV, current transcript, and a listing of any Monte Carlo seminars, CPB seminars, or PBGG courses that they have taken. Admission materials are reviewed by the CPB steering committee in October and decisions about acceptance released in November. More information about CPB is available at [WWW]cpb.ucdavis.edu.

Entomology Office

Who are all these people and what can they do for me?

The place

The Entomology Department Administrative offices are located on the third floor of Briggs Hall. To get there, enter Briggs Hall from the east side of the building, take the first right, and walk down the hall until you see room 367. This is the main office and it is where most of the administrative staff work. The people in administration are your friends; their main job is to understand and take care of all the bureaucratic nonsense that inevitably accompanies any organization. By doing so, they make the lives of both faculty and students much more pleasant. It’s a good idea to get to know who’s who in the office so that when, not if, you have a problem, you will know who to talk to.

The people

Summary for New Students: You probably won’t be able to remember who everyone in the office is or what they do, but there are a few key players that you should not forget. The most important person for grad students is Carol Nickles. She is the Graduate Program Coordinator for Entomology and Integrated Pest Management. If you have any questions regarding the administrative side of things and can’t remember who to talk to, go talk to her. Even if she is not the correct person to talk with for your particular problem, she will direct you to who is. Your Account Manager is also a good person to know. They will answer most of your questions regarding employment/payroll. Lastly, Lenny Beneze handles all purchasing and shipping operations in the department and you will most likely need her assistance at some point for making product orders. The Account Managers are located in 367 Briggs and Lenny and Carol are in 396 Briggs. You may need to interact with other administrative staff at some point, but if you know who the above people are you will be fine. All the staff and a brief description of what they do is listed below.

Ordering Supplies

Vet Med Central Services

Vet Med Central Services (VMCS) is located in 1131 Haring Hall and carries common lab and office supplies at reasonable prices. They are open M-F 8:00am-12:00pm, 1:00pm-4:00pm. You can walk in and pick up your supplies in person or order online ([WWW]vmcs.ucdavis.edu) and they will deliver to your lab. Orders received before 11:00 am will be delivered the same day FREE! You’ll need to give them a lab recharge or account number and your name. Sign and date the receipt and give the receipt to the Entomology account manager.

Orders/General Info: 752-0157
Faxed Orders: 752-2151
Billing Questions: 752-6815

Bookstore

The UC Davis Bookstore is located in the Memorial Union and carries UCD clothing, art and office supplies, textbooks, general books. You can pay in cash, with your lab recharge number* or with an advanced purchase order.
* Your name must be listed on the account to use the recharge number - your account manager can set this up for you. With the recharge # you’ll also need a photo ID at time of purchase.

Regular Hours
M-F: 8:30am-6:00pm
Sat: Noon-5:00pm

Summer Hours
M-F: 8:30am-5:00pm
Sat: Noon-5:00pm

Tel: 530-752-6846
[WWW]http://bookstore.ucdavis.edu/

Other sources

Such as: Fisher, Bioquip, Applied Biosystems, etc

A Purchase Order (PO) is needed
Go to [WWW]http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/home.cfm
Click Administration  Forms  Purchasing
Click on Purchase Request Form
Fill out form
Have SRA/PI/Person In Charge of Lab sign to OK purchase
Place completed form in Lenny Beneze's mailbox

Academic Time Lines

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO WHEN?

PhD

Week one:

First Fall Quarter:

First Spring Quarter:

First Summer Quarter:

End of second year:

Before the end of the 9th Quarter:

Before you leave:

MS plan II

Week one:

First Fall Quarter:

By the end of first Spring Quarter:

Before the start of the second Spring Quarter:

By the end of second Spring Quarter:

Graduate Student Association

Your Graduate Student Association Representative for 2007-2008: Yao-Hua Law email: ylaw@ucdavis.edu

What is it?

The Graduate Student Association (GSA) is an organization that represents the academic, professional, and social interests of UCD graduate students to the University administration. All registered graduate students at UCD are members of the GSA. The GSA homepage is: [WWW]http://gsa.ucdavis.edu/

How does it work?

The GSA holds monthly general assembly meetings during the academic year. Each department and graduate group has a designated GSA representative that attends these meetings, but all GSA members are able to attend and vote as well. In addition to the general assembly, the GSA has the Executive Council, comprised of the Chair, Vice Chair, External Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, Public Relations Officer, and the Campus Organizing Director. The Executive Council meets with general assembly and acts as representatives for the general assembly to the University administration. Members of the Executive Council are elected by the general assembly once a year. Detailed information on the roles of the Executive Council and can be found in the GSA bylaws at:
[WWW]http://gsa.ucdavis.edu/?sec=gsa&page=constbylaws

Services

"What services does the GSA offer?"

Financial Support

The GSA recommends funding for student travel, organizations, and special projects. The most common funding used by Entomology grad students is the twice yearly travel award. For more information on travel awards through the GSA, go to the GSA homepage at: [WWW]http://gsa.ucdavis.edu/funding/travel/travel-awards

Events

The GSA hosts a number of events, including the popular free coffee bagel donut day. GSA events provide an opportunity for graduate students to meet students from other departments. For more information on GSA events: [WWW]http://gsa.ucdavis.edu/calendar

Legal support

The GSA has a lawyer on retainer who will provide students with a free 15 minute consultation. [WWW]http://gsa.ucdavis.edu/resources/legal-aid

Grievances

In some cases, graduate students run into conflicts with their advisors, staff, or other students. In some cases, these conflicts may not be easily resolved. The GSA provides assistance and advocacy for students who find themselves in this situation, including help with filing grievances. The MSO (Pat Hunter) can also be consulted for assistance. [WWW]http://gsa.ucdavis.edu/resources/legal-aid

General Davis Information

Housing

Word of mouth amongst graduate students is probably one of the most useful ways to find the best housing in town. Make your housing necessities known to other students in the department when visiting. There are also a number of fliers posted around campus in locations such as the memorial union and lecture hall bulletin boards. Housing complexes may urge that housing contracts should be signed early, this is not always the necessary. Instead some of the best deals are found last minute so don’t get too stressed out if it seems like its coming down to the wire. Here are some other resources to help you in your housing search:

Anything and everything Davis is posted on this site. While there are no housing advertisements posted, there is an extensive housing guide that includes a comprehensive list of apartment complexes in Davis along with contact info. Although the site is a bit of a maze to navigate through, its well worth exploring what Davis Wiki has to offer for housing and entertainment in Davis.

Craigslist is an online “local community classifieds and forums” site. It is free to post and browse through housing listings in the Sacramento region. The site was started up in the Bay Area so it is utilized heavily enough in this region to make it a useful resource for house hunting.

The Aggie is the UCD student newspaper and does have a classified section. It is noteworthy however that being a newspaper, the housing descriptions are shorter and less informative than on Craiglist or other sites listing housing.

University housing may not sound that appealing to graduate students, but you’d be surprised what Davis has to offer. Some of the nicest and most affordable apartments are just off campus at Russell Park. Several of the complexes including Russell Park were created to provide affordable housing primarily to students with families and have daycare services available. There are also the Atriums at La Rue Park Apartments, The Colleges at La Rue, Primero Grove and the Parks (Orchard Park and Solano Park).

Living Outside Davis

Most students choose to live in Davis but it is also an option to live in nearby cities like woodlandWoodland or sacramentoSacramento. Living in Sacramento has its perks, especially if you prefer city life to that of a small town, and the price of housing is lower there (but this is often countered by the cost of transportation). If you are considering living outside of Davis, the most important thing to consider is the commute and avoiding traffic on I-80. Here are some words of advice from one of our graduate students who lives there on the best areas in Sacramento:

The commute from the "prime locations" to campus is about 17 minutes. Excellent sushi can be found at Sushi King (don't let the name fool you) in Natomas on West El Camino.”

Transportation

The campus Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) website (www.taps.ucdavis.edu) has extensive information about all the available transportation options. Below are some tips on the most utilized forms of transportation.

Bicycles

You will quickly find that bicycles are the primary form of transportation in Davis and the entire town is set up to be bicycle friendly. Intimidating at first for some, the rules are quite easily learned although you’ll occasionally see chaos at the roundabouts in the beginning of the school year when new students arrive. Almost inevitably you will accumulate and inherit bikes as the years go on, but to get you started here are a few insider resources for obtaining and maintaining your bike:

Driving

Cars are certainly not a necessity in Davis since most places are within walking and biking distance. As in most college towns, parking is scarce in highly trafficked areas. Campus parking permits are available in daily, quarterly, or yearly increments, they are however quite expensive, running around $120 for the quarter. Parking citations typically run around $30. See the Transportation and Parking Services website for more information on parking permits, carpool information, driving in Davis etc.

Public Transportation

We have a great public transportation system here! Some of our buses are authentic London import double-decker buses, and the bus drivers are typically students. The busses run all over Davis, and most lines run every 15-20 minutes during high traffic hours. Visit [WWW]http://www.unitrans.com for more information. There is also the Amtrak station downtown for transportation to anywhere in California including weekend trips to Sacramento or the Bay Area. ([WWW]http://www.amtrak.com).

The Yolobus ([WWW]http://www.yolobus.com) is a county-wide public transport system with buses to Winters, West Sacramento, downtown Sacramento, intercity Davis, and Sacramento International Airport. Fares are $1.50 to $2.00 for regular service and express (no intermediate stops), respectively. This is by far the cheapest way to get to the airport if your flight is during the day. The Yolo Buses run all day Sundays and other times when Unitrans buses do not, such as finals week and vacations.

UCD Transportation and Parking Services also runs a twice daily Davis Berkeley shuttle to the UC Berkeley campus. This bus picks up and drops off at Shields Library. Tickets are $5.50, one-way. Info on where to purchase ticket and reservations is at: [WWW]http://www.fleet.ucdavis.edu/buses/shuttles/berkeley/schedule.php.

Finally, UCD also runs a UCDMC Bus Line between the Sacramento UCMC campus and the Davis campus. Students living in Sacramento often use this shuttle to get to and from campus. More information is at: [WWW]http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/parking/transportation/index.html.

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2007-08-13 17:44:15   Living outside of Davis in Citrus Heights or Carmichael is actually pretty cool. Lots of young people who seem to be down to earth. Basically avoid living anywhere close to the freeway and north of old Auburn Road. San Juan/Auburn Road in Citrus Heights is not a good place to live, with lots of biker bars and strip joints in this part of town, but Fireside Lanes has awesome karaoke! As an aside, the commute through Natomas to and from Davis is getting worse and worse. Take this into consideration. —SlutMan

2008-05-07 14:30:00   Hey SlutMan! Where are all these down to earth young people in Citrus Heights? When I lived there, I couldn't find any such people. Of course, I spent most of my time in Davis, even then. All I had was my house and a bunch of big-boxes nearby (you can probably guess my stance on big-boxing Davis). Anyhoo, for students, I suggest either living in the City of Davis or somewhere nearby like Midtown. It's nice for young people/students and it's not that far away from campus. —CurlyGirl26

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