Does Cal Berkeley best SMU in academics?

[Insane_Pony_Posse]

Would Cal Berkeley be one of the few schools
we play that probably has higher academics than SMU?

Rankings and reputation:

"In the 2013 Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings Berkeley was ranked the world's 5th most prestigious university and one of six globally recognized "super brands." Among world universities, Berkeley had the 2nd highest number of academic programs rated in the Top Ten in their field by QS. In 2009 the Center for Measuring University Performance placed Berkeley 9th among national research universities. Berkeley was ranked as the number 1 public university in the world by US News and World Report in 2013, marking its 16th consecutive year as the top public university"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University ... ,_Berkeley

[Cardinal Puff]

They make Rice look like a juco

[max the wonder dog]

Yes, for most programs, including their JD and MBA programs.

The undergrad student body is strong because it is the best public university in an enormous state, allowing them to be extremely selective.

[Mustangs_Maroons]

Would Cal Berkeley be one of the few schools
we play that probably has higher academics than SMU?

Rankings and reputation:

"In the 2013 Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings Berkeley was ranked the world's 5th most prestigious university and one of six globally recognized "super brands." Among world universities, Berkeley had the 2nd highest number of academic programs rated in the Top Ten in their field by QS. In 2009 the Center for Measuring University Performance placed Berkeley 9th among national research universities. Berkeley was ranked as the number 1 public university in the world by US News and World Report in 2013, marking its 16th consecutive year as the top public university"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University ... ,_Berkeley

I love SMU, but not sure if this is a serious question. The answer is Berkeley is a national powerhouse in terms of academics. It is in my view the number 1 public school (only Michigan comes even close). They are a top 20 undergraduate program, but their real strength is in their graduate programs. In graduate programs, they hold their own and compete directly on most of the areas of study with the top schools - think Harvard, Princeton, Upenn, UChicago, MIT, Yale, Caltech, Columbia, etc). We don't come close to that in the graduate programs, but we have a nice niche in UG programs, such as our UG business program, which in my mind only competes with UT in the Southwest.

[CalallenStang]

Berkeley is a fantastic university. I love SMU but we aren't even on the same planet academically

[LA_Mustang]

I think UVA is ranked higher than Michigan but there's no doubt Cal is best public university in the country.

[LA_Mustang]

btw, Cal-Irvine may be ranked higher than SMU nationally. Most of those University of Cal schools are very strong academically.

[East Coast Mustang]

I think it was Reagan that once said he was glad to have just left the campus of UC-Berkeley and be back on American soil.

[Harry0569]

Wasn't sure if this was a legit q.

UC-B destroys us academically.

[SMUstangs22]

Am I the only one who has seen SMU MBA rankings lately...? But yes overall

[East Coast Mustang]

I don't think FTHP would have been admitted to Berkeley

[AustinPerson]

Is any student at SMU actually intellectually curious? I always viewed it as a bunch of kids who need to go to college to get some skills to manage their trust funds.

For full disclosure, I'm waiting on a trust fund to come through in a few years so I can upgrade to the red seats like some of you all.

[sadderbudweiser]

Is any student at SMU actually intellectually curious? I always viewed it as a bunch of kids who need to go to college to get some skills to manage their trust funds.

For full disclosure, I'm waiting on a trust fund to come through in a few years so I can upgrade to the red seats like some of you all.

We always said women chose SMU to pursue an MRS degree.

[Fooball]

btw, Cal-Irvine may be ranked higher than SMU nationally. Most of those University of Cal schools are very strong academically.

Not that I put all the weight on this one ranking, but U.S. News has Cal-Irvine at #49 and us at #60. We do, however, have many more students in fraternities/sororities

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandrevie ... rvine-1314
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandrevie ... rsity-3613

[FriscoChuck]

I just got done touring UCLA Engineering school with my daughter. Yes, the academics are top notch. However, it seems to me to not be as well-rounded as SMU. The people we met were very square, very academic-minded and seemed to lack social intelligence. SMU students seem to have much more diversification, more liberal-arts minded and overall more social. But yes, Cal students are very smart.