I’m finishing up my BS in a non engineering field from a decent UC. I’ve been admitted to both UIUC and USC for MS in environmental engineering.
I learned after getting into UIUC how prestigious their engineering program is (3rd in the US). Whereas USC’s environmental engineering program I did not find (but overall engineering department is around 10th). I really like the location, social scene, and how heavily populated USC is located in. I don’t like how UIUC is secluded. However I value the degree and level of education first before anything else, but I really need to have a great atmosphere/environment in choosing graduate school. I plan to permanently move to LA for work when grad school is over.
USC’s environmental engineering program is not as well crafted compared to UIUC, but I still keep in on the table because it was one of the schools I wanted to go to since high school. Ultimately, how does an MS in environmental engineering compare between these two schools in terms of water related projects, college campus atmosphere, and post gradate jobs?