With pass times for winter quarter taking place in the next week, everyone is furiously checking Schedule Builder. Looking for lower division classes to fulfill GE requirements? Here are some fun and relatively easy GE’s I highly recommend for all majors, and some tips to get an A in these classes.
1. FST 10: Food, Folklore, and Health
GE Credit: SE, SL, SS, VL, WC
This is one of my favorite GE’s because you get to learn about food! UC Davis is the number one agricultural school in the country; therefore, taking a class from the agricultural college is a must. There’s only four midterms and one score is dropped. In order to get an A in the class all you need to do is memorize the PowerPoints. Make a Quizlet or flashcards for each midterm and you’ll be golden.
2. ENL 44: Intro to Topics in Fiction
GE Credit: AH, WE
If you need an English class this is the perfect one to take. All the readings are super enjoyable and not difficult at all. There are two essays. Visit the professor’s or TA’s office hours to get help with your essay; they are happy to read a draft. My one advice for this class is to make sure you do all the readings: don’t use Sparknotes. If you do you’re going to be stuck when it comes time to write an essay. Also, there are usually reading quizzes for every text, but as long as you actually read you will be just fine.
3. NUT 11: Current Topics in Nutrition
GE Credit: OL, SE, WE
This is the perfect 2 unit class. It’s only once a week and you get a participation grade for talking about food. This is a great class for all majors because while it’s a science
class, all your assignments involve writing. There is no final. My only advice for this class is to speak up and participate.
4. ENL 5F: Writing: Fiction
GE Credit: AH, WE
This is by far my favorite class that I have taken at Davis. The first half of the class involves reading short stories and then discussing them in class. The stories are fantastic and are easy reads. During the next half of the course you write your own story. You will get to read and discuss everyone’s story, so your own piece will also be read by your classmates. While writing a story can seem intimidating at first, you will feel prepared by the time writing comes around because the teacher spends a lot of time showing you what elements a good story must have. Also, the class is for beginning writers so the grading is fair. My advice: Don’t write about death or anything too drastic. Also, don’t make your story a dream in the end. While we see these things over and over again they are tough to master.
5. AAS 10: African American Culture and Society
GE Credit: DD, SS, ACGH, WE
This is a great history class. The lectures were interesting and open to discussion. Also homework is 50% of your grade so there is less pressure on the tests. My advice: Do the textbook reading because most of the test questions are from the book.
6. CMN 3: Interpersonal Communication Competence
GE Credit: SS
Virginia Hamilton is a great professor. Her lectures are interesting, informative, and hilarious.The best part of this class is that the material you learn is evident in real life outside the classroom. There’s a fun and simple group project at the end of the course. Fill out the study guides for the 2 midterms and the final and you are set.
7. PSC 1 General Psychology
GE Credit: SS
The material in this class is interesting and like CMN, you will also be able to notice it outside the classroom. The tests are not difficult–just make sure you know the textbook material.
8. ENL 3: Intro to Literature
GE Credit: AH, WE
This is one of the classes you can take to fulfill the university English requirement. It is a great class because you learn how to write a successful essay and what to look for in order to analyze a text. The texts are not easy, but after you discuss them in class they become simple to navigate. My advice: go into office hours to have your esssay drafts read before they are due.