<p>it is well known in the San Diego area that ucsd is a "theoretical" engineering school while san diego state is "hands on." every counselor i talked to when i thought of applying said this. just what exactly does this mean?</p>
<p>and which one is better? a "theoretical school" or a "hands-on" school.</p>
<p>oh and btw even though ucsd is "theoretical," we have been building circuits in labs ever since we've been learning about them. we even built a robot for our intro course. i don't know what this jibberish is.</p>
<p>UCSD is definitely better. Theoretical is exactly what it means - that is, you get an indepth look of the math and science theory behind the device, whereas hands - on sounds more like a trade or vocational school, learning just the wiring without really understanding why it all works. I'm pretty sure that's not completely true, they probably learn something about circuit theory, but UCSD will be better viewed by employers.</p>
<p>SDSU and UCSD are so wildly different in student quality that it's hard to compare the different methods of each program. If one compared Cal Poly to UCSD I think one would find a better comparison. I'd simply think that Cal Poly has far more labs. A quick perusal shows that Cal Poly EEs take 15 EE labs (not including senior design).</p>
<p>Now what does that Poly leave out because of that? I don't know. One would have to basically have to go through both BS programs to find the differences in lecture.</p>
<p>Theoretical is to algebra like practical is to arithmetic.</p>
<p>Theoretical teaches you how to think and builds analytical tools that can be used to solve a broad class of problems including those that nobody's even thought of yet. Practical teaches you how to do things today one way with a set of particulars. If you can handle it, you're much better off with theoretical approach, which I'm sure also provides opportunities to learn practical stuff.</p>
<p>It sounds like its Engineering VS Engineering Technology. If you choose the ET, just make sure its ABET accredited, other wise its a waste of time. You can get a job quicker with ET degree out of school, however traditional Engineering is more in depth and prepares you for research at a graduate level rather than just doing the "engineering work".</p>
<p>The analogy some of my professors used is Engineering Technology is implimenting existing technology into improving or designing new products, while Engineering is for developing new technologies.</p>
<p>The "hands on" Engineering Technology is a little easier. There is less calculous involved, but your still going to need to learn basic calc and diffeq's to understand the theoretical portion of why this and that works, however i believe that varies from school to school because i heard some universities don't even teach you that. The rest of the course work is pretty much trig based.</p>
<p>double post.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Theoretical is to algebra like practical is to arithmetic.</p>
<p>Theoretical teaches you how to think and builds analytical tools that can be used to solve a broad class of problems including those that nobody's even thought of yet. Practical teaches you how to do things today one way with a set of particulars. If you can handle it, you're much better off with theoretical approach, which I'm sure also provides opportunities to learn practical stuff.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Student quality equal, I think the marketplace places a significant premium on well done "hands on" programs.</p>