I was offered a full scholarship to both Tufts University and the University of Southern California. I am an aspiring environmental scientist and I want to go to the best school that I can. Tufts offers environmental studies as a second major, meaning I would have to pick a first major and then take on env sci. At USC I would be able to solely focus on an environmental science major.
Does anyone have any advice as to which school has a better program? I only have a few days before I have to decide between the two. Please send opinions!
I know pretty much nothing about USC’s environmental studies program. I just happened to come across this article today, which may give you an idea of the kinds of things it’s involved with.
USC undergrads won 3 environmental science and 1 environmental engineering NSF graduate research fellowships
Tufts undergrads won 7 environmental science and 2 environmental engineering NSF graduate research fellowships
This would suggest that Tufts offers undergrads better access to high level research than USC
Because Environmental Studies is an interdisciplinary major, a rigorous treatment of the subject requires more courses than a single disciplinary subject. (Tufts requires 16 courses for the standalone major vs 10 courses for a single discipline major),
The thought process behind the notion of a second major for an interdisciplinary subject is that it effectively gives you a choice of many different concentrations within the major. The first major (i.e discipline) is in effect the area of concentration within the interdisciplinary field. The twenty required courses with the double major usually gets reduced by a couple of courses due to some overlap between the two majors and/or the distribution requirements.
This structure provides lots of flexibility without having to create lots of different tracks within the major. It also ensures that graduates don’t end up being “a jack of all trades and a master of none”.
@Mastadon Thank you for the insight! I am still not sure which school I am going to pick. However, you just a pretty good reason for seeking the degree through Tufts.
The Tufts website does a nice job of showing track paths based on interests; you should ask USC if they have something like this. If not, it seems like Tufts has thought their curriculum through a little more clearly. Additional information I would gather includes the number of students enrolled, the research/travel opportunities, whether your funding will cover these costs, and the internship opportunities? Look at everything and cross check how it integrates with your priorities for your education.
I will note that if you are a named scholarship recipient (e.g., Trustee or Mork) at USC then they do offer excellent supplemental funding opportunities for research and travel. No idea if the same is true of Tufts.Another good question.
I see by your other thread that you are a non-traditional transfer student. Having been on USC’s campus many times I would say there is definitely a professional vibe and with so many master’s students you will not feel out of place at all. I cannot comment on Tufts’s as I have never been on that campus.
I have a student at USC and she has been very happy. She took a sustainability class as an elective last semester that she rated as outstanding and which really sparked her interest in the field, but I don’t have facts/figures about their program to share.
Please don’t base your decision on opinions of strangers, however helpful they are. As @privatebanker noted, we all have our biases. No school is perfect, but do your homework and prioritize what’s important to you.
Please post your decision and the factors that swayed you one way or the other, and best of luck!!
@jmek15 I appreciate your post! I am going to lay all of my cards out and decide accordingly. I will definitely post my decision. Thank you so much and I agree that I cannot place my decision on other people’s opinions. However, being that I havent visited either school, I figured getting advice from others might help me put a better picture together. Thanks for the input on non traditional students at USC. You are very helpful!
Based on information from other threads @jiggity was accepted to Tufts’ REAL program. This is a program especially designed to meet the particular needs of non-traditional students. It dates back to 1970, it has a long track record of success. Admission to the program is based on merit, but financial aid is based purely on need. This means that your financial aid does not go away if you have a bad semester. A $1000 “enrichment fund” is also provided to all REAL students for education related expenses. Tufts has a number of other programs for funding academic travel, summer research and summer internships which are available to all students via application.
in his new post - I now believe the REAL program is the clear winner for you. I read the link. Good for tufts. It’s a real need today. It’s like a really top notch honors college within a school that’s like one to begin with. That would make it a very easy decision for me. BEST of luck
Tufts recently won an NSF grant to develop a graduate-level scholarship program that hopes to attract REAL students.
The tricky part is that it appears to be engineering focused…
@Mastadon So I took the basic classes in community college. I did gen chem 1 and 2 which I loved. I took calculus 1 which I did very well in but being honest, I did not enjoy. A couple general bio classes also did really well and enjoyed. Took oceanography and GIS and I liked both. All of the environmental classes I took, I liked. I do enjoy geography classes a lot, and I love food sustainability. I have not decided on a track because everything about the environment intrigues me and I was hoping to get a better idea of what I wanted to focus on at the four year I go to. However, I am realizing that I should probably pick my track now. I see myself doing so many different careers (drives me crazy) and I haven’t exactly narrowed it all down. Thank you so much for the insight and encouragement!
@Mastadon No physics, no geology, basic comp science, no foreign lang, and a general and globalization class.
Now I am learning about the large foreign language requirement at Tufts
From your other posts, it appears that you want to enter as a Junior. Majors are typically selected sophomore year to ensure graduation in 4 years. With careful planning it is usually possible to keep multiple tracks within a major open through junior year, but that will be a function of how different the tracks are and the number and type of courses you are transferring.
You need to consider the graduation/general requirements for both schools as well as the requirements for your selected major at each school. Tufts has more graduation requirements than USC.
Tufts is known for its global focus - hence the 6 semester language/culture requirement. USC has a more typical 3 semesters but adds a “tradition and history” course. Most students admitted to Tufts took multiple years of language in high school, so this will be harder for you.
The easiest option for you is probably to do three semesters of a language and three semesters of classes in a foreign culture. Two of these courses can usually be double counted as the arts distribution courses. Note that a large percentage of Liberal Arts students (engineers do not have a language requirement) take at least one semester abroad. Language/culture courses are typically taken abroad. Tufts has 10 of their own study abroad programs that you can use your financial aid to pay for. There are also a couple of summer study abroad programs. I am not sure how financial aid works for those, but I know that some of the students in the BEST program attended the program in the French Alps.