<p>Which has the better political science program and the better international relations program?</p>
<p>Also which one do you believe has the better campus life?</p>
<p>UCLA is generally better at most majors than UCSD besides UCSD’s specialty majors such as bioengineering. The campus, nightlife, and the sports teams (all D1 at UCLA) are vastly superior at UCLA than at UCSD. Unless you are going into a major where UCSD is really known for being very good (Bioengineering & Biology Grad Program), UCLA is much better in almost all departments across the board. This isn’t even factoring in UCLA’s huge name recognition over UCSD.</p>
<p>Source: Me. I had to make this decision last year so I had to research everything and ask around a lot.</p>
<p>UCSD has a very, very highly ranked poly sci department, often more highly ranked for graduate studies than UCLA. If graduate school is eventually in the picture, an undergraduate degree from UCSD in poly sci is an asset. It is also a big department on the UCSD campus, providing lots of areas for specialization. A bigger issue for UCSD in my mind is which college you are admitted to since the core requirements vary widely. Some students who are not in STEM majors would prefer to avoid Revelle given the extensive science, math and humanities requirements.</p>
<p>Like arabrab said, UCSD has a great polysci graduate school. I don’t really think that trickles down enough to undergrad to warrant going to UCSD over UCLA unless you are planning on getting a Ph.D. In all actuality though, UCSD is ranked 3-5 spots above UCLA in polysci and that is one of UCSD’s top “highly ranked” programs as arabrab said and it only still eclipses UCLA by 4 spots. What are 4 spots in a magazine anyway? It wouldn’t really translate to much in real life. However, yes UCSD is great for polysci, you can’t really make a wrong decision for your studies. As for as social scene goes, UCLA has D1 sports all around and a vibrant nightlife that I haven’t heard UCSD has. </p>
<p>Here are the rankings for grad departments, I don’t think UCSD is that much better than UCLA to beat the UCLA name:</p>
<p>[Best</a> Political Science Programs | Top Political Science Schools | US News Best Graduate Schools](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/political-science-rankings]Best”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/political-science-rankings)</p>