Studying in a bad economy

JHS
Tue, 16 Nov 2010 09:21:48 +0000

^ That is ridiculous advice. There is no short-term reason not to apply to MSE programs in the UC system. If the OP is choosing between offers, and some of the offers are private universities or non-UC publics, he or she can take into account the current issues with the UC system. But, honestly, it is hard to imagine that they will be a decisive factor in any final decision – much less such a decisive factor that the OP shouldn’t even try to gain admission there.

There are certainly problems with the UC system, but they are marginal, not a collapse of the system, and they mostly affect undergraduates. Engineering departments tend to be well funded with defense and private-industry contracts, as well as their own endowments, although this will vary from institution to institution. The faculty is still largely in place; if budget problems continue, this will erode, but over a decade, not by next year.

Masters programs are largely unfunded, so the availability of funding isn’t part of the OP’s decision. There may be issues with things like getting a TA position to help with financing, but even with cutbacks such positions remain plentiful, just not as plentiful as they once were. The structural problem is that in-state undergraduate tuitions are kept below cost by political considerations, so that there is a constant temptation to try to educate undergraduates more cheaply. Master’s programs tend to be money-makers; there is no equivalent incentive to chisel on them, and in fact institutions probably worry about losing applicants if they do. And, in any event, if a program decides that it only has space for n graduate students, it will only admit n graduate students, whereas with undergraduate admissions the availability of slots is also in large part determined politically.