Maybe it's their more serious attitude or the large amount of time they spend off campus. Perhaps it's the nature of their work and the individualized or small-group style in which they learn. Then again it could be the simple fact that they are outnumbered by staff four to one. Whatever the reason, UCSF's 3,700 students and scholars can sometimes seem an afterthought within the biomedical research juggernaut so frequently in the headlines. In truth, these students are the University's lifeblood. Smart, self-directed and curious, they train to be dentists, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, research scientists or health policy experts alongside faculty or volunteer clinical teachers. Yet theirs is not a passive endeavor. UCSF graduate and postgraduate students, selected from an enviable applicant pool, leave an indelible imprint of their own. Phrased another way, UCSF often gets as good as it gives. In the stories that follow, we demonstrate just how much UCSF's character and culture owe to its stellar student body.

• Pharmacy: Juan's Way
• Nursing: Dawn Dailey
• Dentistry: David Trent
• Sexsmarts - Medicine: Karl Jeffries & Genevieve Preer
• Diary of a Grad Student