<p>They are both great schools, Berkeley however is slightly more renown. Apply to both and then choose the school that best fits you and not over which one is the true “flagship” of California.</p>
<p>There is no standard definition of a “flagship school”. To me, a “flagship school” is one that’s in a completely different class above the other schools in the system. Examples might include the Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan, or the University Park campus of Penn State. There are multiple UM and Penn State campuses, but everyone realizes that the flagship campuses are primary, and that the other campuses are at a secondary level. </p>
<p>By this standard, the UC system has no “flagship”. UC Berkeley was the original campus, may have qualified as a “flagship” in the 19th or early 20th century, and may still be the single highest-ranked campus today. But the other UC campuses have grown out from under Berkeley’s shadow, and now have strong reputations (to varying degrees) of their own. Berkeley no longer has any special “primary” status relative to the schools in the system.</p>
<p>So the “flagship” model works fine in some states, just not California. It’s simply not realistic to compare UCLA (or other UC campuses) to a campus like Penn State Beaver.</p>
<p>For undergrad they’re equally selective. But as overall universities Cal is “the flagship” and more prestigious.</p>
<p>I would say undergrad, they’re equal- for grad school, Berkeley is one of the world’s best institutions, public or private- right up there with Harvard. UCLA is not quite at that level, but still world-class in a broad range of departments.</p>
<p>oh yeah, UCLA has Tao…</p>
<p>It’s so much easier to figure out the “flagship” of Illinois. California residents should be happy they have a few good options for public schools instead of one.</p>
<p>Corbett:</p>
<p>Definition of “flagship”: the best or most important one of a group or system.</p>
<p>Berkeley is the flagship campus of the UC system.</p>
<p>“cal is the state flagship, but there is no difference in academics, student body, etc between the two. people try to differentiate, but truly, whatever. cal students like to say it’s harder, but hey, that’s just 'cause la students have LA and a nicer campus at the fingertips, while cal students have …”</p>
<p>…San Francisco, great sports teams, great culture, etc.</p>
<p>
But the “flagship,” according to the oldest definition, is the most important, because that’s where the commander is. This definition works perfectly for many university systems. For example:</p>
<p>The Board of Trustees of Penn State U is based at the University Park campus.
The Board of Regents of the U Michigan system is based at the Ann Arbor campus.
The Board of Trustees of the U Illinois system is based at the Urbana campus.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the Board of Regents of the University of California system is … not based at the Berkeley campus. In fact, the headquarters of the UC system are in an office building in downtown Oakland – granted, not too many miles from Berkeley, but clearly off-campus. The [University</a> of California Systemwide Home Page](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu%5DUniversity”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu) displays this Oakland address.</p>
<p>This is not to suggest that an Oakland office building is the “flagship” of the UC system; the point is actually that the “flagship campus” concept doesn’t work well for this system. Berkeley may be the single oldest and most important UC campus, but it does not dominate the system the way a real “flagship” campus does (although it may have historically), and it is not where the headquarters of the system are located (although they may have been historically).</p>
<p>Bottom line: if someone has to ask which campus is the flagship … then there probably isn’t one.</p>
<p>Cal. It means Berkeley. No question which UC is the flagship.</p>
<p>Berkeley is the flagship. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s “the best”, but it’s the flagship.</p>
<p>for the poster above, there is no flagship of Pennsylvania public colleges. The University of Pittsburgh and Penn State are close enough that you can’t have an outright winner</p>
<p>
No one claimed that University Park was the “flagship” of all Pennsylvania public schools. But it is the undisputed flagship among the 24 Penn State campuses specifically. Pitt is not part of this system. Neither is Temple, or many other public schools in Pennsylvania.</p>
<p>States commonly have multiple public school systems, and therefore the potential for multiple “flagships”. For example, Texas has both the UT system (with Austin as a clear flagship) and the TAMU system (with College Station as a clear flagship).</p>
<p>California has both the UC system and the Cal State U system. I don’t think either of the California systems have real flagships, although obviously some people feel that Berkeley deserves this status in the UC system. Similarly, I’m sure that other people would maintain that San Jose State (the oldest CSU) or Cal Poly (the most selective CSU) or CSULB (the largest CSU) should be considered the “flagship” of the CSU system. But in reality, neither system has a single truly dominant campus.</p>
<p>As far as people on the East Coast are concerned, Berkeley without question.</p>
<p>Cal duh. Look who just got another Nobel Prize winning professor?</p>
<p>Elinor Ostrom has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
Ostrom received her political science degree ('54), her master’s ('62) and her doctorate ('65) at UCLA. She is the first woman to receive the prize in economics since it was established in 1969.</p>
<p>Cal by a mile. The race is for second with UCLA having to hold off the rising UCSD.</p>
<p>Berkeley is more prestigious internationally.</p>
<p>I’m kinda surprised this is a serious question. Cal of course is the flagship. Sure, their undergrads are equal in quality, but Berkeley’s various grad schools rape most Ivy League schools, let alone UCLA. Just look at the number of Berkeley Nobel Prize Winners.</p>
<p>Edit: Then again, being the ‘flagship’ is only indirectly related to being the best school in a state. But I’m just saying Berkeley is better.</p>
<p>What flagship? Go there and find out what you like. Would you rather hang out on Telegraph and People’s Park with all the bums or in Santa Monica or Hollywood? Do you like dorms that are open to visits from homeless people or modern high rise dorms. You choose after you see both.</p>
<p>^^^Santa Monica and Hollywood? Gee, I never knew those areas were adjacent to the campus? I mean you can hang out in San Francisco just as easily as you can at those places.</p>