I will either be applying transfer to UC Davis with Tag this fall for environmental science management for my bachelors or transferring to San Diego State. I will have roughly 90 units from my community college transferring and was wondering if there’s anything I can do to speed up the time at whichever university I choose. I have spoken to multiple school counselors and they ALL have told me something different. Also does getting your degree at UC Davis make a huge difference over San Diego State as far as getting hired by people? I plan to apply for my masters after my bachelors if that helps.
Hopefully someone can share any type of advice! The junior college counselors haven’t been much help.
Both the UC and Cal state systems cap transfer units at 70 semester/105 quarter units. The rest of the units are given subject credit.
To spend a shorter time at either school, you can take additional classes if available during the summer sessions but all depends upon what classes you have completed at your CC and what classes are needed to obtain your Bachelor’s degree.
UC Davis has a highly ranked Environmental Science program and has more Environmental course offerings that SDSU. For Graduate school, UC Davis might be the better option.
Environmental science is a difficult and not a high paying field without Graduate school and/or job experience.
Older son attended UC Davis as a ESM major. He loved the program and the campus. He was able to do research with 2 of his professors and is currently working for an Environmental consulting company.
I would apply to both schools, see where you are admitted and then make the decision.
2 Likes
Thank you for responding! I am going to be doing the tag program. I was told by one of my junior college counselors it doesn’t matter what I do at the junior college, that no matter what I’d have to still be at a university 2 years minimum. Yet a different counselor said it won’t go by years but what classes are required to graduate. Then another told me something completely different so just was trying to specifically look at Davis for my bachelors, then probably transfer to sdsu for my graduates.
The time you spend at any university as a Transfer will depend upon which classes you have taken at your Junior college and which classes are still needed to be completed for your Bachelor’s so the 2nd counselor was correct. It could take you 2 years or less or more.
UC Davis and SDSU have a joint PhD program: https://grad.ucdavis.edu/programs/gesd
1 Like
Depends. Some folks may preference a school. But in general, the student will hustle to find a job. Both are well reputed. Find the curriculum that fits the student best and check career outcomes. Unlikely to be a great paying major vs others.
Good luck.
1 Like
You need 120 semester (180 quarter) units to complete a bachelor’s degree. With maximum unit credit of 70 semester (105 quarter) units, you need at least 50 semester (75 quarter) units, in addition to fulfilling subject requirements for the major and general education (obviously, having completed as many of these as possible before transfer will help). For a typical full time load of 15 units, that will take 4 semesters (2 academic years) at a semester system school like SDSU, or 5 quarters (1+2/3 academic years) at a quarter system school like UCD. Of course, if you take more or fewer than 15 units per term, you may change when you will have enough units to graduate.
2 Likes
To take the 2nd part first since you also expressed interest in finishing your education as fast as possible then check at both schools to see if there is an option to get your BS & MS in 5 years total college time.
For hiring, on-campus recruiting tends to be regional. Companies within a few hours drive are more likely to send a team to a local school than fly them across the state or country. This isn’t an insurmountable problem, with Zoom you can do a first interview with a company located anywhere, but if you know you want to work in one end of the state or the other this might be a tipping factor.
More important than which school, though, is what you do while in school. To have the best prospects not only should you work for good grades but you should get to know a few profs so you can get personalized recs, you should get internships, you should try for relevant part-time work related to your studies during the school year if possible, you should develop your network in school by taking part in clubs related to your interests. Companies often extend job offers to those who have had internships since it’s effectively a 3 month interview and they know you well.
4 Likes
So far the plan is bachelors from Davis and then apply for grad school at sdsu. I appreciate everyone’s responses so much!
1 Like
If anyone else has anything related they want to add about this and maybe experiences, please feel free to!