San Diego Campuses

BY Barbara Harris

A visit to two of the top campuses in San Diego: UC San Diego and University of San Diego, provided a view of two totally opposite but excellent campus experiences for the right student. 

UC San Diego

Idyllically located along the coast in beautiful La Jolla one would expect a laid back California vibe. UCSD is anything but laid back. Probably one of the busiest and most highly charged campuses I've ever visited, The campus is bustling with it's 36K (30K undergraduate) students. As the #1 school in the country for female STEM students and one of the top in the country and #17 in the world for STEM,UCSD prides itself on innovation and those who desire in-depth examination of their discipline. UCSD offers over 130 undergraduate majors, again with a strong emphasis on STEM. It's 7 colleges all have a specific focus for example Thurgood Marshall focuses on social and environmental justice, Sixth College on Culture, Art and Technology. Unlike the other UC's students apply to the college not the major and thus it fosters a much more interdisciplinary approach. While the emphasis is on STEM UCSD also offers a broad array of majors with a particularly strong Dance department. Students who are strongly self motivated and truly fascinated with their subjects would flourish here.

University if San Diego

Here is the laid back California vibe on one of the most beautiful campuses imaginable. But University of San Diego is more than just a pretty face. University of San Diego offers small classes with 60 programs across 7 schools with 40% of classes with less than 20 students. Particularly strong in Business and Engineering, USC also offers Nursing and the Jona B Kroc School for peace and Justice. A robust study abroad program also offers opportunities to intern abroad with your program in the Business school, with 78% of all students partitipating in study abroad. The vibe is laid back but students are serious about their studies and future careers.