NPB at UC Davis

[umbrellalalala]

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What is the NPB major at Davis like? Pretty ambiguous question I know, but any experiences with the major, classes, profs, etc?

 

[Medgirl55]

Wow, such a specific question!! Well luckily for you I just graduated from UC Davis and my major was NPB. The major isn't that tough in my opinion. You take classes in neurobiology, physiology, and behavior. You can focus on the area that you like best. I prefer physiology and behavior so I only took one neuro class. The major requires systemic physiology lab and an advanced lab which can be a lot of work. The more infamous lab is the chicken lab where you do surgery on chickens. The labs can go for 12 hours and you have an anesthetist, surgeon, etc. etc. The lab reports are kind of intense, but I'm sure it's like that at any other school. It's a very good major for pre-meds since it's encompasses a lot of subjects. Hope this helps!

 

[umbrellalalala]

Haha that chicken lab sounds amazing! What class is that? I'm assuming that's an advanced lab? Anyways, yes, you helped, thank you! I've got more questions! 🙂 How are the professors? How the heck can lab be 12 hrs long? How many classes did you take per quarter? I've heard that it's one of the tougher majors at Davis but who knows. I've been told that x class and y class are super hard, but when I get around taking them, they don't end up being that hard (of course difficulty is subjective. I'm going to transfer to Davis next fall btw). I'm just trying to get an idea of the load, since I'm coming from a cc on a semester system. Also, based on the load, I'm trying to determine whether or not I'll have time to drive to Sac for work or not. And if not, then I can give them an early notice.

 

[umbrellalalala]

anyone...?

 

[drkang]

What is the NPB major at Davis like? Pretty ambiguous question I know, but any experiences with the major, classes, profs, etc?

HEY! GOOD TO SEE A FELLOW UCD Student

im a second yr, biochem major. some of my friends are in NPB and it seems like a really decent major. I heard you learn some things that they teach you in medical school in this major. only downfall i see of npb major is, the job outlook is preety hard unless u go into med school, the main reason i decided to go biochem in case my med school plan fails.

 

[nick_carraway]

I PMed the OP, but I'll extend my offer of advice/answers to any UCD students. Just PM me and I'll give you my email.

I graduated in 2007 in NPB and have just been accepted to med school, so I can help with what to do with life after Davis while strengthening your app too.

 

[horo1988]

HEY! GOOD TO SEE A FELLOW UCD Student

im a second yr, biochem major. some of my friends are in NPB and it seems like a really decent major. I heard you learn some things that they teach you in medical school in this major. only downfall i see of npb major is, the job outlook is preety hard unless u go into med school, the main reason i decided to go biochem in case my med school plan fails.

Well, I am a 4th year biochem, but recently I just plan on switching to Biotechnology because of the job market. 🙄🙄

NPB to me is not one of the tough majors at UCD, but they offer some sort of "pre-med" preparation.🙂

 

[SFO-IST]

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[umbrellalalala]

Thank you guys so much for replying! I'm glad to hear the npb classes are enjoyable and not just interesting in name. So far it seems like I won't have enough time to work unless they let me work less than 20 hrs a week. I'm looking forward to next fall though! Especially since most davis students I encounter always give me stellar reviews about the school! I'm hoping the transition from a semester to quarter schedule isn't too rough though.

 

[drkang]

Thank you guys so much for replying! I'm glad to hear the npb classes are enjoyable and not just interesting in name. So far it seems like I won't have enough time to work unless they let me work less than 20 hrs a week. I'm looking forward to next fall though! Especially since most davis students I encounter always give me stellar reviews about the school! I'm hoping the transition from a semester to quarter schedule isn't too rough though.

oh personally I think QUARTER system is AWESOME!

first, you don't get to cram and it keeps you focused all the times since midterm is once every 3 weeks, and at end of 10 weeks its finals.

second, since its quarter system, you get to take more classes and scheduling is a lot more flexible than the semester system.

 

[Medgirl55]

Haha that chicken lab sounds amazing! What class is that? I'm assuming that's an advanced lab? Anyways, yes, you helped, thank you! I've got more questions! 🙂 How are the professors? How the heck can lab be 12 hrs long? How many classes did you take per quarter? I've heard that it's one of the tougher majors at Davis but who knows. I've been told that x class and y class are super hard, but when I get around taking them, they don't end up being that hard (of course difficulty is subjective. I'm going to transfer to Davis next fall btw). I'm just trying to get an idea of the load, since I'm coming from a cc on a semester system. Also, based on the load, I'm trying to determine whether or not I'll have time to drive to Sac for work or not. And if not, then I can give them an early notice.

Hey...I meant to reply earlier but got caught up in the holidays and took a little SDN break. So the chicken lab is an upper division lab. It can be 12 hours long because although it's scheduled for three hours long, you can only leave when you're done! And the surgery parts take a really really long time in a few of the labs. But it's part of the fun in a way. 🙂 I think that was probably one of the hardest classes I took in Davis, along with the original physiology lab. But mostly because I HATE writing lab resports. And o-chem was a lot of work but nothing else was really hard, just took a lot of studying. If you are going to be an NPB major and want to graduate on time, though, you will have a lot of work and probably will not have time for a job if you want to keep your grades up. That's just my opinion, because you will want to save time for research/hospital internships, etc. But some people can do both it really depends on the person and your goals. What year are you going to be at Davis in the fall?

In terms of professors, I really enjoyed a lot of the NPB ones. One of my favorite classes was animal behavior (NPB 102) with Dr. Nevitt. I also enjoyed the CHA 101 class as well (try to TA for it the following year - it is loads of fun and a great experience).

Let me know if you have any other questions. Sounds like there are a lot of UCD alums in here who are doing well with getting into med school. Good luck!

 

[alibai3ah]

Loved NPB at UC Davis! It's a great major, although it is a lot of work and can be challenging. As long as you are up for it, I think you can't go wrong as a NPB pre-med.

Some classes that I would recommend.

1) NPB 111L (Chicken lab)- long labs (like 10-12 hours straight)
2) NPB 130 (Endocrinology)- amazing professor, a hard one though
3) NPB 168 (Neurobiology of drugs/narcotics)

I would pick NPB over MCB,MIC, and Biochem b/c the information is a lot more interesting for pre-meds. Biochemistry always seemed boring to me. And MIC and MCB seem too focused. In contrast, NPB allows a lot more flexibility and the courses seem much more applicable to medicine.

 

[Medgirl55]

Loved NPB at UC Davis! It's a great major, although it is a lot of work and can be challenging. As long as you are up for it, I think you can't go wrong as a NPB pre-med.

Some classes that I would recommend.

1) NPB 111L (Chicken lab)- long labs (like 10-12 hours straight)
2) NPB 130 (Endocrinology)- amazing professor, a hard one though
3) NPB 168 (Neurobiology of drugs/narcotics)

I would pick NPB over MCB,MIC, and Biochem b/c the information is a lot more interesting for pre-meds. Biochemistry always seemed boring to me. And MIC and MCB seem too focused. In contrast, NPB allows a lot more flexibility and the courses seem much more applicable to medicine.

haha I actually took all of those. I guess not that much of a coincidence. I HATED NPB 168, found it to be the most boring class I ever took in my life. It was so boring - it made me want to do drugs lol. But that's just my opinion.

NPB 130 was a lot of work, but not that hard. The professor was adorable (in an older grandfatherly type way).

 

[umbrellalalala]

I'll be transferring as a junior in the fall even though as of now I am in my third year of college, but I changed my major which tacked on another year of prereqs since barely any of my classes overlapped. And yeah after hearing about some of the classes, it would probably be pretty unrealistic of me to be working, being a full time student, volunteering, etc, while keeping my grades up. What made npb 168 boring to you ^? That class sounds amazing!

 

[csmittyB]

I'm going to transfer to Davis next fall btw). I'm just trying to get an idea of the load, since I'm coming from a cc on a semester system.

As a CC to UCD student, my advice is to stay on top of things. The semester system allows you to fall behind and easily catch up. The quarter system is nowhere near as forgiving. Stay on top of things and you should be fine. Can't really speak about the NPB major (I was biochem/molecular bio), I only took NPB 101 as an elective my senior year. The class was interesting.

 

[umbrellalalala]

Thanks for the advice! I was also wondering how difficult it is to get into classes, because from my experience at cc's, it's hard to get in the class unless you have established yourself at that particular school (ie new students don't have priority). Is it the same at Davis? I was thinking it wouldn't be since lower division classes are somewhere between 300-500 people per class, but I really don't know.

 

[csmittyB]

Thanks for the advice! I was also wondering how difficult it is to get into classes, because from my experience at cc's, it's hard to get in the class unless you have established yourself at that particular school (ie new students don't have priority). Is it the same at Davis? I was thinking it wouldn't be since lower division classes are somewhere between 300-500 people per class, but I really don't know.

Not really sure. Just remember that CA is in a budget crisis and the UC system is going broke. These factors may make it tougher to get into classes.