UCI v UCD v UCSD for civil engineering

College Search & Selection
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Pros and Cons between these UCs. Any input would be appreciated!

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I am a UCSD ME grad. If you been able to visit the UCSD campus? It has great facilities for civil and structural engineers. I cannot speak to UCI or UCD which I am sure are great options too.

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While we were unable to tour the engineering facilities on the inside, UCSD is my daughter’s top choice now for structural engineering! Thank you

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That’s awesome! Congratulations. Ucsd is a great university for engineering but of course I’m biased. Which college was your daughter accepted into?

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All 3 UC campuses programs are ABET accredited which is important for Civil Engineering meaning that it is a form of quality assurance for programs in the areas of applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology. The accreditation is recognized globally as evidence that a program meets the standards set by its technical profession.

UCD’s CE program has been accredited since 1965 so one of the oldest accredited programs except for UCB.

I would look at the course curriculum for each school to see if there are any specific emphasis of interest for one campus vs. the others.

https://ucdavis.pubs.curricunet.com/Catalog/civil-engineering

http://plaza.eng.uci.edu/degree-program/civil

https://structures.ucsd.edu/academics/undergraduate-program/undergraduate-course-offerings

Civil Engineering can span many specialties such as Structures, Geotechnical, Environmental, Water resources, Transportation and Planning so looking for the courses available for each program may help define the decision.

It may come down to where your student feels they are the best fit academically, socially and financially.

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Not sure if it matters but UC Davis’ Civil Engineering program is ranked #14 by US News whereas UCSD is ranked #22 and UCI is not in the top-30.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-doctorate-civil

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She’s in Seventh College and several of her AP classes count towards GEs, 7th college requirements, or her major. Definitely more than Davis or SLO.

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UCSD does not have a true civil engineering major. It has structural engineering which overlaps with some parts of civil engineering, but is ABET-accredited with general criteria only (as opposed to being accredited as a civil engineering major).

So your first decision is, do you want to conventional civil engineering major (UCI or UCD) or a variant structural engineering major (UCSD)?