Looking forward to interrogating students at my college 
Thank you for your input! 
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My daughter graduated last year from UCD with a design degree with a fashion emphasis. She was also deciding between UCSD and UCD. She is a very academic, intellectually curious kid and she loved her time at Davis! The vibe is very collaborative and friendly.
Since school doesn’t start until late September it’s only hot for a couple of weeks at the beginning and end of the school year.
Regarding the design program; she was able to take a wide variety of studios and feels that she learned all the skills that the industry is looking for, but I’ll be honest, breaking into fashion design after graduation has been tough! If I could give any advice, it would be to get internships starting asap. She only did one the summer between Jr and Sr year. Most entry level jobs are asking for 2-5 years experience. I wish she had known this earlier.
If you think you might want to work in NY (because that is where the jobs are), then that is a point in favor for the UCSD/FIT program.
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Also, with respect to graduating in 3 years, my daughter’s first year was completely online, from home because of Covid. I know she mourns that lost year. College is fun!
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Hey! I love that you offered a new insight on the weather! That’s good to know.
I wonder if there are internship opportunities for design students at Sacramento🤔
That would mean I’ll have to survive summer at Sacramento.. or just go to LA for summer internships.
UCSD does offer an advantage because of the unconventional path to a career. I feel like I’d be able to offer more to the industry. But also, if I minor (or double major 
- I’m not sure if it will take more time) at something else at Davis and solidify it with internships, I can get my foot in the door of a different industry and carve out an interdisciplinary path. One that doesn’t rely on immediately going into fashion, but still keeps the door for it later.
In terms of lending a job, I’ve heard job fairs/career events are very useful 
High school may also be fun, but I graduated early. I also have an experience with an online school. I don’t feel like I was missing out. I have a hope that college will be better than any of my school experience, but definitely not a guarantee. You are right though. UCSD/FIT college path is certainly very different. It’s more career-oriented and doesn’t really suit “college is fun” thing.
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You know I’m going to ask you to stop “dismissing” Davis as a “non-academically driven school” because that is untrue. It’s a challenging environment. Because Davis is collaborative, that’s what throws people off. She chose to go to Davis. She got into UCSD but didn’t like the environment.
She could’ve attended Berkeley, but she chose to go to Davis because she loved the environment and the town.
My daughter got into the UCSF med school. That’s hard to do. She also had an intense internship in Spain. Her friends from Davis were admitted to their med programs all over the country. She had friends and roommates in every major and the courses are not easy. Many of her friends were in engineering and Sciences. Viticulture and agriculture studies are famous at Davis as they involve chemistry and safety of food and drugs.
The people who go to Davis, choose it for a reason. It’s evident that you are 90% UCSD and that’s fine, but please don’t dismiss the other schools that are great colleges by saying that the students aren’t academically driven. That’s unfair and incorrect.
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I love to be challenged in that way. Again, thank you for your perspective and sharing experience. I need a reality check sometimes. 
UCSD is known for a very tough and rigorous environment. UCD is more welcoming and laid-back, but I should not forget that it is a UC /research school. I don’t see it as a cute little thing though. )) College is college. It’s just students seem to be more obsessed with academia at SD. But again, thank you for your insight.
I feel like I’m now deciding between career opportunities at UCSD and college experience at UCD.
Colleges don’t assure success or non success.
Kids at both schools will succeed. Or not. Or somewhere in the middle.
You are going to visit UCSD so see what happens.
Here are companies and jobs where UCD grads ended up. And UCSD. To me, the majors seem different. Which curriculum interests you more ? It doesn’t seem apples to apples ….
I don’t see any info on ucsd FIT. can you link it ??
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Two thoughts …
- In light of @Blmom23’s point about internships, perhaps you could connect with the career services offices at the two schools to see what interacting with them is like, what they can say about design / fashion internships?
- I maybe missed this, but is grad school a possibility? If so, perhaps you’d be able to not worry quite as much about the job prospects coming out of undergrad, and focus more on the undergrad experience (plus internships) for the next four years?
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Hi again!
I’d like to clarify what I meant by career opportunities.
While you can definitely point to higher potential earnings at UCSD due to its heavier STEM presence, I was really referring to outcomes by major. More tech-related roles (which I’d be closer to at UCSD) generally offer higher salaries than fashion/textile roles (like at UCD). Fashion is also harder to get into without strong connections (I do know a couple people in LA). In this job market, it’s tough across the board, but it appears to be a bit easier to find a job after UCSD. At least I’d feel more secure.
I’ve compared companies that hire from both schools previously - both have solid networks, but UCSD’s companies just seem “cooler” to me. I also found that both schools rank high in social mobility, which is amazing.
Location-wise, UCD is close to Sacramento (the capital) and San Francisco. San Diego is also a major job hub, so I don’t think I can go wrong either way.
And you are right! It’s definitely not apples to apples, but I have confidence that I’ll excel at either major. So now I’m just seeing how I feel when I visit UCSD on the admits day. Thanks!
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This is a genius recommendation to connect with advisors. I already inquired about the number of them and their availability, since it depends on the field of study, and hopefully I’ll get a reply on Monday. I only met with advisors for agricultural(?) majors during my UC Davis visit, so I will need to follow up on that myself.
I’m convinced that grad school is for the privileged at this time. In this economy, I don’t see a high return of investment when comparing debt vs salary. I know it was different in the past. Going to grad school means acquiring a lot of debt, and debt is the major reason people don’t move up the ladder.
The only grad school that I see worth pursuing for me personally is law school, but honestly, I doubt I want it that bad. If my job doesn’t require a master’s, I won’t see a practical reason for it. But I’ll reevaluate that option once I’m settled - when I’ve got property, my kids’ ed is funded, and I’m married to a financially responsible person. :))
Thank you!
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I want to add, for the second suggestion, I wish it was an option! This is a refreshing and interesting way of looking at it, honestly.
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I attended Triton Day at UCSD. It didn’t bring any value to decision-making process, but I learnt more stuff. I didn’t get the feel of clear yes or no.
The library is actually amazing. My college is the least pretty, and it’s such a striking contrast with a newer one located close-by, it’s funny. Don’t think it’s a concern though, I like its brutality. The coffee shop, vegan and Mediterranean food are close-by. No cooking opportunities at my dorms (have to bear with whatever), but there are cooking sessions at another building once a week, which I think is nice. ) What I didn’t expect to hear was that my college is the most social and intimate one, and I want to say I really liked the clubs it offered! There is an artsy one, and one that releases dark humor magazines, def fits my vibe.
The weather was similar to LA beach area and at some point I thought I needed gloves, but it seems more manageable than heat. Maybe! :))
Cog Sci is as great as I thought it would be by the way.
I also spent over an hour talking with students and making bracelets with them. It was interesting! and I’m glad I had that opportunity to connect with them. Two guys from STEM majors weren’t nice to me though, but everyone else seemed welcoming! It’s a campus full of shy people for sure. ))
I’m now in contact with a Design student at UCD and Cog Sci design student at UCSD. I will also be communicating with my advisor and teachers. They are usually very helpful and offer a valuable insight and advice. I also met and emailed my major advisor at UCSD and will attend an online meeting for UCD soon.
I will update you later this week. Feels like a blog at this point honestly. Maybe leaning towards UCD now, since I felt more connected to the campus compared to UCSD. But who knows how it’ll change. I’m surely overthinking.
Anyways, I’m appreciative of all your concern, advice and perspectives you’ve loaded me with! Thank you so much for being here.
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It seems like you prefer Davis - but here’s one other thing to think about -
it could be that you’d excel at both places.
Sometimes it’s not one works, the other doesn’t.
Sometimes it’s both work - or both don’t.
Best of luck.
PS - i still can’t find info on the FIT thing - is there a link??
Thanks
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Both options work, for sure. There is no perfect option, which makes it hard to choose.
I’m not sure what exactly you were searching for, but here is the link to FIT website: Home
It’s a fashion school in New York.
Here is the link for their surface/textile design program:
Thanks - I know FIT - I guess my question is - why does it work with UCSD (which is cognitive) but not UCD?
Upthread you noted if you went to UCSD, you can access FIT - and I found nothing online that showed the connection - so I was curious to learn about it.
It actually seems more in line with the UCD major - or am I missing something?
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It works with UCSD because I can experience the best of both worlds - heavy research university and the major’s interdisciplinary approach with a great fashion school. I can have 3 years at UCSD and one year at FIT - seems like a good blend. I think overall it gives me an advantage in a job market and I can do a variety of things with both of these degrees.
There are some things that are similar among UC Davis’s design program and the surface/textile design at FIT. But the UCD is more focused on the textile as a material as a whole + research, and the FIT’s program is more hands-on and design heavy (CAD, printing, drawing etc).
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I’m sorry, I don’t think I answered your question properly. This option doesn’t work with UCD because they do not have three year programs. UCSD does have. It could be possible to grind in and complete all the credits in 3 years at UCD (since it’s a smaller major) if I try very hard, but that would also mean that I’d have to take classes at summer.. in heat. Ugh no. Oh no.
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One of the cool things about UCD’s Design degree is that it is somewhat “choose your own adventure “. My daughter took a lot of hands on design classes like textile printing, pattern design, construction as well as typography, interior design and others. You can be as focused or not as you like.
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Also it would be very hard to graduate from UCD in 3 years. The studio classes meet for 6 hours a week but require many more hours to complete projects. The design kids are often pulling all-nighters at the end of the quarter. Which for some of them is part of the fun. In addition a lot of the studio class times overlap so you can usually only take two a quarter.
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