IMaGecko

I figure that I might get biased opinions since I'm on the FSU forum, but please try to keep answers as un-biased as possible.

I am probably going to major in something like Molecular Biology/Biotechnology.

I know that UF is generally considered a better school overall, but which is better for my major?

Oreos&Milk

I was wondering the exact same thing. I've heard that UF is better with science in general, but FSU does have that new chem and bio building now... I'm curious to see what people think on this topic as well.

JOKER23

When it comes to math and science oriented programs Uf blows FSU of the water. FSU is better in the social sciences.

Jman2306

how exactly does it blow fsu out of the water

parent2noles

In truth, UF is not significantly better than FSU in much of anything except areas of historic strength like engineering (where FSU shares an E-school with FAMU) or agriculture (duh - UF is an ag school while FSU is more liberal arts oriented). Sweeping perceptions of quality greatly overstate a relatively recent UF surge in some ratings. For example, consider this report from 1996 which plainly shows Florida State having a better graduation rate than all other state schools, including UF: Institutional Research Report - June, 1996.

Of course, this analysis and discussion from 2006 further supports the contention that UF is NOT, if at all, significantly better in many program areas: USNews Rankings - PhD: FSU vs UF vs USF vs UM

This push for so-called "superiority" by some fans of UF is not news, as this news article from 1988 shows: http://news.google.com/newspapers?ni...g=6416,7729797

I would agree that UF has recently pushed ahead, to their credit, in FTIC stats and currently enjoy an advantage in that area over Florida State. However, history shows that oscillations occur in this area and I'd not put too much emphasis on such movement.

As to what is best for you, if you are ambitious you need to visit FSU and meet with the faculty in your area of interest. My D1 had superior opportunities at FSU in biochemistry than at UF, which she turned down. She took them and is now a first year med student at Florida State's CoM.

goufgators

I completely agree.

IMaGecko, UF is a top 5 biotechnology institution when it comes to technology transfer and commercialization. This means UF biotech research is able to come up with solid, formidable breakthroughs that solve real-world problems which will end up being spun-off into companies -- a true measure of how important and relevant the biotech research is at UF.

Another thing you want to keep in mind is that UF is also very strong in engineering, ag, medicine and all the other science fields. You may ask: But I'm a biology major, why would I care about engineering or ag? That's a great question. UF is taking advantage of all these individual strengths by encouraging interdisciplinary research. And the best part about it? It's all on one campus.

One example of this is a new technology created to minimize surface bacteria. Interestingly enough the idea spawned off from a project to minimize barnacle growth on ships to eliminate the need of using poisonous paints on ship hulls. Clearly this is a College of Ag and Life Sciences project. Because of the interdisciplinary culture at UF, this idea, the way I understand it, was brought to the College of Medicine where this project can be used to minimize surface bacteria in hospitals and operation equipment. Later, a team of researchers from Materials Science/Engineering and Biological Sciences were pulled into the project to mature the technology. Currently, the product is being installed in California hospitals for testing.

Its easy to look up in the rankings and see that UF is higher than FSU in your field of study. But what separates the two institutions are the intangibles of the interdisciplinary collaboration at UF that makes it an extremely strong national research university.

yankee boy

I transferred from FSU to UF as a Biology Major 2 semesters ago. There are so many resources for science based majors here at UF, access to LOTS (much more in Biological Sciences than FSU) of research, strong faculty (which FSU does have) and more.

parent2noles

Interdisciplinary research and graduate degree programs are available at Florida State:


Interdisciplinary Graduate Degree Programs

* Aging Studies
* American and Florida Studies
* Asian Studies
* Biomedical Sciences
* Biostatistics
* Chemical Physics
* Computational Science
* Demography
* Epidemiology
* Geophysical Fluid Dynamics
* Health Policy Research
* History and Philosophy of Science
* International Affairs
* Materials Science
* Molecular Biophysics
* Neuroscience
* Public Health
* Russian and East European Studies
* Secondary Science and/or Mathematics Teaching
...to date.

See: Interdisciplinary Graduate Degree Programs / Degree Programs / Academics & Research / The Graduate School / FSU - Florida State University The Graduate School

Individual undergraduate research opportunities abound at FSU. D1's research allowed her to use the facilities at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory which is headquartered at Florida State.

Seriously, if either school interests you, you likely need to go and visit and speak with the faculty in your area of interest.