<p>Is it true Berkeley is only strong in engineering? Is it also strong in the social sciences?
Is UCLA stronger in humanities/social sciences?</p>
<p>i meant</p>
<p>How strong is Berkeley in the humanities/social sciences compared to ivy leagues?</p>
<p>Do you have a specific school in mind? Also, it is relative to the major you are considering. Lastly, the term “strong” is relative. So you will have to be more specific</p>
<p>I want to study either philosophy, English, psychology, political science, or economics in the College of Letters and Sciences.
For “strong” I meant, if the education, the professors, the classes, research opportunities, the TA’s, and the prestige of Berkeley is considered better than IVY LEague schools.
Mostly everyone amazes how academically competitive Berkeley’s engineering and sciences is compared to schools like MIT. Are Berkeley’s other UG departments as strong?</p>
<p>bump…</p>
<p>Yeah, I’d also like to know how Poly Sci and the Humanities/Social Sciences fare. I’m sure it’s pretty well off, but I’d just like some comparison.</p>
<p>Economics should be moderately strong, seeing as otherwise Haas wouldn’t be as prestigious if its own undergrad program is weak.</p>
<p>Berkeley is strong in almost all of its departments. You can look at the [NRC</a> Rankings](<a href=“http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~jnewton/nrc_rankings/nrc41indiv.html]NRC”>NRC Rankings in Each of 41 Areas) to see that Berkeley is rated in the top 10 for virtually everything. (Rankings are a little old, but universities don’t change that drastically over 10 years.) We have good economists, including Christina Romer, Obama’s pick for Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, good philosophers, including John Searle and Hubert Dreyfus, and the list goes on. The people teaching here are solid and accomplished individuals who are often on par with the people at top Ivies. The big issue with Berkeley is how much you’d get to access them as undergraduates.</p>
<p>Oh, and the GSIs (Graduate Student Instructors) here have been excellent so far. After all, Berkeley is a top-notch grad school, so you have top-notch grad students.</p>
<p>With the exception of English, our interests match rather well.</p>
<p>In terms of Economics, Berk. has one of the best economics department in the world (and can prob compete with most Ivy leagues with the exception of maybe Un. of Chicago). Berk. HAAS school of business, which is a solid top ranking business program, also provide a business-based economics program (I think).</p>
<p>In terms of psychology, all the lectures (via Berkeley Podcast) are extremely interesting. I can’t speak beyond that.</p>
<p>Berkeley is bigger than all the IVY, and that will affect the education experience. But with that exception, and your definition of strong, I believe Berkeley is at the same level as many IVY league schools.</p>
<p>How dependable are the NRC rankings in general (i’m not asking just because they’re outdated)?</p>
<p>For the grad rankings look at </p>
<p>[Best</a> Social Sciences and Humanities Schools - Graduate Schools - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/grad/socsci.html]Best”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/grad/socsci.html)</p>
<p>Here is for Programs in general I believe</p>
<p>[World’s</a> Best Colleges: Top Arts and Humanities Universities - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/worlds-best-colleges/2008/11/20/worlds-best-colleges-top-arts-and-humanities-universities.html]World’s”>http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/worlds-best-colleges/2008/11/20/worlds-best-colleges-top-arts-and-humanities-universities.html)</p>
<p>[World’s</a> Best Colleges: Top Social Sciences Universities - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/worlds-best-colleges/2008/11/20/worlds-best-colleges-top-social-sciences-universities.html]World’s”>http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/worlds-best-colleges/2008/11/20/worlds-best-colleges-top-social-sciences-universities.html)</p>
<p>blueducky, the NRC rankings are conducted by the U.S. National Research Council. You can read a little more about the organization [url=<a href=“http://sites.nationalacademies.org/nrc/index.htm]here[/url”>http://sites.nationalacademies.org/nrc/index.htm]here[/url</a>], but in general they are a de facto government organization. From what I have heard from other people, they give the most reliable rankings of graduate programs. The downside is that they take a long time to get their reports out.</p>