Heyo! I just got accepted into UC Davis for Managerial Econ and UCSB for Econ and Accounting. I was just wondering which program do you guys think is better. What kind of jobs I can apply for with those majors, which one has more opportunities for internships, and which school is overall better for this sort of thing. Thank you
Bumping this because I’m wondering this as well
Can’t tell you which is better for your major but internships are available at both schools with a slight edge in opportunity at UCD (due to campus size, proximity to large city, etc). You are the one that needs to do the work to seek out the internship opportunities. Don’t just rely on employment fairs but watch for postings on Handshake on a regular basis.
Also check out the career center for both schools since many internships will be posted there along with research opportunities. I agree that internships will just not land in your lap, you need to be proactive and seek out these opportunities. Also the campus “vibe” is very different at both these schools so visiting them is very important. Both are excellent UC’s so compare the curriculums for each to see if one school has an advantage over the other academically.
My son is also considering between the two UC’s. He is thinking of Econ major and I just found out how good UCSB is in Economics major program. UCSB is ranked #12, much higher than UCLA #24 and UCB #30. MIT is #13, Cornell #11, Standford #9. UCD Econ program comes way way below these. I was surprised to see this 2018 rankings. You can see the list here: https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/economics/rankings/top-ranked/p2.html
Only downside is they do not have UG program for BA but then most other top schools do not have that. That’s because they consider BA program is superficial from academic depth standpoint. They think that once you have Econ program done, you can get BA experience from real job or pursue MBA later. Based on this, my son is tending toward UCSB.
Look into the pre-major requirments for UCSB for econ because it can get tough to het into. That said, UCSB’s program is stronger for job opportunities with top accounting firms recruiting and other top employers. UCD is good too but not as strong for job placement.
The pre-major requirements are clearly laid out. You need to attain a 2.85 GPA in three lower division courses. If you don’t, there is another option. See https://econ.ucsb.edu/undergraduate/pre-major-gpa-policy
Admittance to the Economics and Economics & Accounting Major at UCSB
To enter the Economics major at UCSB, students must attain a 2.85 GPA or better in three courses: Economics 1, 2, and 10A. To enter the Economics and Accounting major, students must attain a 2.85 GPA or better in five courses: Economics 1, 2, 3A, 3B, and 10A. In calculating this pre-major GPA, the Economics Department only counts the grades from courses taken at a University of California campus. A student who has completed all courses except Economics 10A at a non UC college or university must earn a B or better in Economics 10A at UCSB. All other pre-major policies apply.
For students who have not met the pre-major GPA requirement, the Department is offering another avenue for admittance to the major. This avenue is open to students who have completed Economics 10A once and receive a grade of C or better. Students cannot have taken the course any other time, even if an “NP” was received in the first attempt. Students meeting these criteria will have two additional opportunities to take a comprehensive exam on the material in Economics 10A.
The first opportunity for the re-take exam is in the beginning of the quarter immediately following the quarter Economics 10A was initially completed, and the second opportunity is the final exam for Economics 10A at the conclusion of the next quarter. Students may take one or both of these exams.
The grade on the exam will only be used to give students an additional opportunity to get into the major. A student’s grade in either of those exams will be used to replace the grade they earned in the first completion of Economics 10A for the purpose of calculating their pre-major GPA.
The grade in those two exams will not change the original letter grade earned in Economics 10A.
If students do not take either of these additional exams in the quarter immediately following the completion of Econ 10A, no other options or exams will be offered.
Here are two examples of how this works:
Example 1: A student receives a B in Economics 1 and 2 and a C in Economics 10A. The student’s GPA in the three pre-major courses for the Economics major is 2.66, which is not high enough to be admitted to the major. Because the student has received a C or higher in 10A (the first time), he or she can take the final exam in 10A in the following quarter. In the first exam, the student receives a C+. The student’s pre-major GPA is now 2.76, still not high enough for admittance into the major. In the second exam, the student receives a B-, raising the GPA to a 2.90. The student is now admitted to the major, but the student’s grade for 10A is still a C.
Example 2: A student receives a B- in Economics 1 and 2. When taking Econ 10A the first time, the student went against the advice of the department and changed their grading option to P/NP and earned a grade of NP*. The student then re-takes Econ 10A and earns a C+. The student’s GPA in the three pre-major courses for the Economics major is 2.56, which is not high enough to be admitted to the major. Because the student has taken 10A twice, they are not eligible to take the extra exam. They now need to find a new major. No matter the grade the first time you take 10A, if 10A is taken twice, students cannot take the extra exams.
*Please note students should NOT change any pre-major classes to P/NP. Some students do not take this advice and do it anyway, and we want to illustrate that this does not change your exam eligibility.