<p>My daughter's dream is to work as an imagineer for Disney. She is an incoming freshman and narrowing it down to UCB,UCLA,USC and UCSD. Her major is mechanical engineering. Our thinking is that she may want to minor in computer science to give herself an advantage. Anyone want to chime in which is the best school and why? Our thinking is that interdisciplinary approach is important and seems that schools like USC and UCSD are more focused on that then UCLA or UCB. I know USC has big contributions by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, but its $50,000/yr vs. $22,000 at any UC. Is USC worth the extra costs?Any opinions on this?</p>
<p>imagineer???? is that even a real ..occupation?</p>
<p>Yes, FYI
Walt</a> Disney Imagineering - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</p>
<p>k thanks for clearing that up</p>
<p>Berkeley is known for engineering. Go with it.</p>
<p>S has a friend going to school in the midwest who did an engineering internship with them (although it might have been in Orlando, so perhaps not Imagineering if that one is only in Cal?). I remember looking at their website back when I thought S might be interested in this (in hs he thought it would be "cool" to work for an amusement park but then switched to chem eng after starting college. Another thing to keep in mind, kids often do change their minds about what they want to do or study). </p>
<p>Have you looked at their Imagineering website and the info available on their college programs? I suspect that where you go to school may not matter very much. It appears that they also recruit and present at several schools throughout the country.</p>
<p>Disney</a> Professional Internships Walt Disney Imagineering</p>
<p>Thanks for all the feedback. Keep it coming!</p>
<p>Fullerton State University, which is located near Anaheim, has long had a reputation as "Cal</a> State Disneyland", because so many of their students and graduates work for Disney. Don't know if their engineering graduates are more likely to become imagineers though.</p>
<p>My son is in civil engineering at UCLA and last year he was recruited for a summer internship at Disney Imagineering.</p>
<p>Regardless of the school, I would encourage you to check out the annual design competition that Imagineering has:</p>
<p>It is open to pretty much any field, but I did it as an engineer. Finalists get to spend 2 weeks working on their concept at WDI and it is a great way to get a foot in the door. PM with any quesitons.</p>
<p>What are the best high school courses to take if you want to be an Imagineer?</p>
<p>Cal Arts in Valencia California was always the feeder school for Disney, for decades. That’s what they did—train animators and such. </p>
<p>[About</a> CalArts | california institute of the arts](<a href=“http://calarts.edu/aboutcalarts]About”>http://calarts.edu/aboutcalarts)</p>
<p>Also, UCI is very close to Disneyland, although I have no idea about their engineering program.</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon - Randy Pausch taught there and also was an Imagineer for a time.</p>