What is the point of having Univ of Cali, and Cali State Univ (San Diego: real estate, 2013)

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by sarahhorselover

From my perspective (I graduated from UCDavis in 2002, so it's been a while), the UC system is more about theory, critical thinking, and big picture, while the CSU system is more about practical skills. I learned that the hard way when I wanted to change from Computer Science to Accounting in my junior year. UCDavis doesn't offer an accounting degree because that's too "practical" for a UC. I would have had to transfer to Sac State in order to get an accounting degree. Instead, I got a super useful (ha!) economics degree.

My mom had a similar experience with UCBerkeley in the 60s. She heard about this new "computer" fad and wanted to study them. The advisors told her that the UC system didn't teach such "practical" skills and that she should seek out a vocational school if she wanted to study computers. She ended up dropping out and getting trained by Alameda County on punch cards (ah, the good old days) and went on to have a long career as a computer programmer. And then Berkeley came around and embraced computers eventually.

I was considering transferring to a California university after finishing the basics at the community college here in Texas a few years ago. A lot of Google searches revealed that the UC system only had a complete business school in Berkeley and the graduate business school in UCLA and the recently established undergrad business school in Irvine, both which serve the L.A. area.

I was shocked that it was easier to study history anywhere in California in the UC system but a baccalaureate degree in Accounting required you to move to Berkeley before Merage opened 10 years ago. A cousin of mine had to move from SoCal to study at the top-tier UC system for his Accounting degree for a few years. It was an interesting experience for sure, but a definite culture shock for him. (At least he went on a scholarship!)

[radiolibre99]

Don't most states have a University of State AND a State U?

[Harpaint]

Originally Posted by sarahhorselover

I didn't call it "Cali."

Interesting about Berkeley's CS degree. I wonder when they first started offering it. My mom was born in '44 and went to UCBerkeley at age 18, so that would have been about 1962. She majored in Linguistics and Math for about a year and a half before wanting to switch to studying computers, but that's when she was informed that she'd have to find a vocational school. So that would have been around '63 or '64. You say they already had people graduating with degrees in CS by the early '70s. That's quite a change in stance! I wonder what I can find in a Google search.

Aha! The Department of Computer Science was established in 1968 and the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences was formed from a merge in 1973. Interesting!

We had the beginnings of CS at UC Santa Barbara by 1967.

[CBB_bear]

UCs are research universities. This means they have both undergraduate and graduate programs. Cal States have a few masters programs, but are mostly more undergraduate focused. Cal States do not typically grant PhDs and certain other terminal graduate degrees and typically do not have professors who are primarily focused on running a top tier research program.

Research universities and primarily undergraduate institutions serve different educational purposes

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by CBB_bear

UCs are research universities. This means they have both undergraduate and graduate programs. Cal States have a few masters programs, but are mostly more undergraduate focused. Cal States do not typically grant PhDs and certain other terminal graduate degrees and typically do not have professors who are primarily focused on running a top tier research program.

Research universities and primarily undergraduate institutions serve
different educational purposes

That was the way it was supposed to work, according to the "Master Plan" mentioned in a previous post. Nowadays, folks can get both master's degrees and doctorates at many Cal State campuses. As a matter of fact, San Diego State has just as many Ph.D. programs as some of the newer UCs (e.g. UC Merced and UC Santa Cruz).
San Diego State University -- Graduate Degree Programs
UC Merced -- Available Graduate Degrees
UC Santa Cruz Graduate Programs

[sarahhorselover]

Originally Posted by KerrTown

I was considering transferring to a California university after finishing the basics at the community college here in Texas a few years ago. A lot of Google searches revealed that the UC system only had a complete business school in Berkeley and the graduate business school in UCLA and the recently established undergrad business school in Irvine, both which serve the L.A. area.

I was shocked that it was easier to study history anywhere in California in the UC system but a baccalaureate degree in Accounting required you to move to Berkeley before Merage opened 10 years ago. A cousin of mine had to move from SoCal to study at the top-tier UC system for his Accounting degree for a few years. It was an interesting experience for sure, but a definite culture shock for him. (At least he went on a scholarship!)

When I was at Davis, their closest thing to a Business degree was called Agricultural Economics. I considered that degree, but it would have meant going beyond four years (since I was changing degrees in my junior year) and I was struggling to see how that would work in job interviews after I graduated. "No, I didn't just study cows. It's a business degree. I swear!" Oh the joys of a school that got its start in agriculture. That's what I get for choosing my college based on the availability of an Equestrian Team. They did rename the degree around the time I graduated to something like Managerial Economics. Why couldn't they just call it Business?

The agricultural emphasis of the school did me some good eventually, though! I took a goat class as an elective one year for fun. I learned useful stuff like how to vaccinate goats, bathe goats, and trim goat hooves. My husband and I recently lived on 1.2 acres next to a family with 11 acres and a small herd of 19 goats. I bought myself a horse and some fencing to keep him contained in about half an acre of our land. I traded our neighbor goat hoof trimming services in exchange for him installing the horse fencing for me. UCDavis for the win!

[CBB_bear]

Originally Posted by Jonah K

That was the way it was supposed to work, according to the "Master Plan" mentioned in a previous post. Nowadays, folks can get both master's degrees and doctorates at many Cal State campuses. As a matter of fact, San Diego State has just as many Ph.D. programs as some of the newer UCs (e.g. UC Merced and UC Santa Cruz).
San Diego State University -- Graduate Degree Programs
UC Merced -- Available Graduate Degrees
UC Santa Cruz Graduate Programs

These are of course generalizations, but typically the graduate, particularly the doctorate degrees offered at Cal State campuses are more vocational--for example Doctor of Education, PhD in nursing, doctor of physical therapy (DPT), etc. Whereas the UC schools have PhDs most of the traditionally academic disciplines (e.g. chemistry, molecular biology, math, English, history, etc.) and research intensive areas (e.g. engineering, chemistry, biology, computer science, etc.) and have a much broader range of graduate degrees available. The more research oriented and traditionally academic PhD programs are all joint with a UC--for example San Diego State has a chemistry PhD program that is joint with UCSD.

UC Merced is so new that their graduate programs are not nearly as developed as the other UC schools.

Still, as a general trend, it holds true. UCs, more of a research university, Cal State's more undergrad and vocationally oriented universities.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by Jonah K

Unfortunately, over the last 56 years, some institutions have forgotten about the "Master Plan" and deviated from their original missions

Including free tuition back in the 1960s.
Interesting about how costs to attend the UCs and CSUs have become so expensive, at least compared to earlier days.

"How did California tumble from being a tuition-free state to one where college is practically unaffordable for many middle-class kids?"
Bernie Sanders' idea for free tuition at public colleges deserves an A - LA Times

[payutenyodagimas]

Cal State System have the exclusive mandate to offer PhD in Education (its roots being a normal school) and the UC System have the exclusive mandate to offer MD and Law Degrees. anything in between they can both offer, heck even the community colleges can now offer bachelors too if its not being offered by the CalState and UC system like embalming science (maybe the profs were sent to Moscow to learn from Lenin's embalmers)


the general difference is the former is a teaching school and the latter is research school

[payutenyodagimas]

Originally Posted by KerrTown

I was considering transferring to a California university after finishing the basics at the community college here in Texas a few years ago. A lot of Google searches revealed that the UC system only had a complete business school in Berkeley and the graduate business school in UCLA and the recently established undergrad business school in Irvine, both which serve the L.A. area.

I was shocked that it was easier to study history anywhere in California in the UC system but a baccalaureate degree in Accounting required you to move to Berkeley before Merage opened 10 years ago. A cousin of mine had to move from SoCal to study at the top-tier UC system for his Accounting degree for a few years. It was an interesting experience for sure, but a definite culture shock for him. (At least he went on a scholarship!)

degree majoring in Accounting are generally offered by the Cal State System