My son was accepted to SLO & UCSD and waitlisted at UCD. We are in-state and will visit the campuses. He’s fairly sure he wants to do something related to water systems and sustainable infrastructure but a little worried about the rigor of engineering/math. He’s attracted to the hands-on SLO philosophy and prefers to have nature nearby/loves outdoorsmanship. Don’t see him as the frat type necessarily but he’s not snobbish about it and is a joiner and finds his people. He’s independent and adventurous. Not a huge partier but would like an active social life for sure.
Any input about the culture, pedagogy and vibe of the respective programs and campuses? Thanks!
These are all very good universities, it is really going to come down to fit. I do not personally have a child in any of these programs, I can only comment on my S23’s visits to SLO, UCSD, and UCD. (At the time, he was comparing programs in materials engineering.)
My son felt that he got a very good sense of these schools from attending their visit days, particularly SLO. During the open house, SLO arranged an in depth session with my son’s specific engineering department, he was able to visit labs and project spaces, and had the chance to meet and talk to faculty and students. They did a good job of structuring this visit so that he could get a detailed understanding of the curriculum and teaching methods.
Talking to students really helped my son learn about the vibe and culture at these schools, as well as how the students felt about teaching, class accessibility, rigor, support of student projects, etc… so I would suggest that your son put effort into meeting and talking to current students! UCSD and UCD visits don’t have quite as much built-in depth introducing admitted students to their specific departments, so your son may want to seek out students in his specific major program to talk to, and also contact students in any engineering clubs he might be interested in. He can look at the schools’ web sites to find out about clubs, and contact the clubs beforehand.
In general, for engineering majors, the required curriculum is going to fill all four years of study. So I also think it’s really important to look at the curriculum in depth at every school that is under consideration. Does your son feel confident that this curriculum works for his interests? Is he potentially interested in other majors (or other specific classes)? How much flexibility is built into the major?
If your son visits, talks to students, and looks at the curriculum in depth, I think he’s likely to start to see differences and get a sense of his preferences.
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So to me there’s no choice. CP SLO is accredited in both civil and environmental. I don’t see ucsd offering either so what is the major there ?? Structural ?? That is accredited.
50% of engineers who start don’t finish but your son got into top schools. Math will be crazy.
While I hope he doesn’t need it, who has the back up majors of choice.
UCSD has an entire in depth env sciences program.
Would one work for him or the CPSLO Env Mngmt and Protection major?
But on the initial question, it seems like it’s CPSLO to me - has two majors. But if he’s truly not of 100% conviction in engineering, then choose on who has a really fantastic backup major. UCSD might win there.
As for culture, you’ll find all kinds at all schools. UCSD might be more to the liking but they don’t appear to have the majors. UCSD has the residential college system.
Both seem to be on the quarter system which for some will be tough. Math will come fast.
Good luck.
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I assumed that they were admitted to Structural Engineering at UCSD (which doesn’t have Civil), and they’re comparing it to Civil at SLO (which doesn’t have Structural). But it’s a good point to note that these universities don’t have the exact same majors.
In addition to the majors you mentioned, SLO also has majors in the College of Architecture and Environmental Design, such as architectural engineering, city planning, and construction management. But I’m assuming the OP is talking about Civil at SLO.
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Yes it’s structural at UCSD. And all his engineering picks are ABET accredited. (He made sure all his OOS WUE safeties were too and I encourage others to do the same after our research.) Good point about backup majors. He started the search feeling equally engaged by the idea of both environmental engineering and environmental sciences. Then we learned that civil is broader (in the right way for him) and the env sci path to jobs maybe a little less clear or certain at the moment. I think his backup at SLO would be either the policy major you mentioned or something agricultural. For what it’s worth he leans SLO but I thought he should give SD a firm look. Not used to guiding a STEM kid; his dad and I aren’t in that field and his elder sibling is in the arts.
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My D26 recently toured SLO and had an engineering-specific tour, and she got really excited after talking to the Civil Engineering students… enough that she’s now thinking about majoring in Civil. (She originally wanted biomedical engineering!) She thought SLO’s Civil Engineering sounded like a fantastic program, and the students she met seemed happy. (It also helped her impression that she met several women in that program.)
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Yes civil at SLO; structural at UCSD. Davis (waitlist) also appeals and I can’t recall if he chose civil or environmental there.
To be honest, I’m struggling to understand the difference between civil and environmental, and which nests in the other. Also, whether specialization is good in civil type engineering – Particularly if you don’t know exactly what you want to do – or if it’s better to get a broad education. Perhaps someone who knows about engineering disciplines can weigh in.
That is so great to hear. We’re definitely going to admitted students day and I hope he will get to talk to people in the department then.
You and your son can start by looking at the specific curriculum for all the schools and programs of interest. The coursework will help start to sort this out. Different schools will have different emphasis as well!! Then talk to teachers and students in those specific fields.
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Does beach access matter (ucsd) or the residential college system (ucsd)?
I personally wouldn’t consider Davis.
Sure maybe he gets lucky but I’d get jazzed about the ones who love me now !!
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He surfs but beach doesn’t matter. Likes hiking and smaller towns. Trust me: fully jazzed and feeling fortunate!
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Historical waitlist statistics for Davis are relatively favorable (see here), so I don’t think it’s crazy to keep Davis in mind if it is a top choice, and to make a plan on how to visit if the student is admitted. On the other hand, the student might decide now that he prefers one of the other options.
Yeah that’s why he kept it in the mix. He likes the campus culture there.
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S24 came off UC Davis’s waitlist last year for engineering. He really enjoys his freshman year so far. He joined cycling team and F1 racing team. Good Luck.
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I know nothing about the programs you are talking about, but I have been a civil engineer (from Virginia Tech) for over 30 years.
Civil engineering contains infrastructure projects environmental is sort of loosely fits, I suppose, but it is a newer discipline and probably fit there the best. I think some uni’s now have it separate?
Structures (like @MaineLonghorn ) is a huge part of civil, but structural engineers only do structures once they are out of school. (Or so I think - I’m not one)
I started off thinking I’d do environmental, as I loved my intro class. Then I discovered transportation and loved that. I took a land development class and honestly that one class probably taught me more about what I’ve done in the last 30 years than everything else combined. There are also soils/geotech engineering and water systems.
I forgot! I also loved my structures class. I was very good at it and my senior year I was toying between two job offers between a very small structures company and a bigger land development/transportation company. I chose the latter. And the last 28 years I’ve been an engineer with a small city local govt doing a very very wide assortment of projects - but no structures.
So I would not think someone wants environmental/water to go to a place that only has structures. But will he want to stay on that track? Who knows. I would personally steer someone who has more options. (But also note that I have no knowledge of California school programs. I’m on the other coast)
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Thank you for this wonderful primer in these different areas of engineering and how they do and don’t intersect! It’s easy to read basic definitions of the different specialties, but harder to envision how they look in the real world and in the workforce. this is so helpful
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No problem! Civil engineering covers soooo many different areas. We are everywhere. I was talking to my kids this morning that my favorite class material wise, was my airport design class. I love airports and wanted to do aero until the recession hit when I was in school. So I chose civil because I figured I could get a job anywhere. At Virginia Tech everyone starts off as general and they teach you about all the disciplines before they have to choose the end of your freshmen year. That was probably a good thing for someone like me.
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I knew I was interested in structural engineering from the start. That’s why I didn’t major in civil engineering. I had no interest in all the other fields of civil. I wanted to concentrate on classes that would help me in my career. There is SO much to learn!! I actually majored in Architectural Engineering, focusing totally on building design.
I’ve been a registered engineer for 35 years. It’s been a good career. I met my husband in grad school and we started our firm, out of our house, in 1999.
If you CAN narrow down your interest before college, it’s helpful, but not a disaster if you don’t.
One great thing is that engineers, as a rule, are nice people. When we started our firm, other companies sent us business. Now we try to do the same for other firms. There’s more than all the firms in Maine can handle right now. It’s nuts. We tell people it will be two months before we can even start another project.
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All three schools, Davis, San Diego and SLO are on the quarter system. But SLO is switching to semesters for the Fall of 2026.
Just be aware that the midterms come really fast in a quarter system, often 3 +/- weeks into the quarter. 
With quarters, one gets more bites of the apple, in terms of grades. So, one has opportunity to increase one’s GPA in a quarter system. Or the other way around. 
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