how is Pitt engineering?

[Anonymous]

any overall feedback on Pitt engineering? How is it in comparison to Drexel, UMBC, NCSU, Penn state, Texas A&M schools?

[Anonymous]

I asked chat gpt this question and got some useful info. Try it.

[Anonymous]

This is one where I guess just google USNews, name of school and engineering.

Says Pitt is ranked 45 out of 199 engineering programs. Penn State is 31.

[Anonymous]

But Pitt is better for biomedical engineering than Penn State.
My sense is better than the others except maybe NC State.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is one where I guess just google USNews, name of school and engineering.

Says Pitt is ranked 45 out of 199 engineering programs. Penn State is 31.

While I am generally not an anti-US News rankings person, I think that their undergraduate engineering rankings are of questionable utility - the sum basis of their rankings of these programs is a poll of deans and faculty members of other programs. They are asked to rank programs with which they are familiar on a 1-5 scale. It is not clear to me how the opinion of deans and faculty of however many programs they believe themselves to be 'familiar' with is an adequate great measure of the field - a lesser-known program might be great in certain areas, for example, and might get missed in a poll like this. It may be a good measure of certain aspects of the field but as a basis for deciding whether to apply to Pitt or Penn State for engineering, I suspect the USNews ranking should not be that high on the list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is one where I guess just google USNews, name of school and engineering.

Says Pitt is ranked 45 out of 199 engineering programs. Penn State is 31.

While I am generally not an anti-US News rankings person, I think that their undergraduate engineering rankings are of questionable utility - the sum basis of their rankings of these programs is a poll of deans and faculty members of other programs. They are asked to rank programs with which they are familiar on a 1-5 scale. It is not clear to me how the opinion of deans and faculty of however many programs they believe themselves to be 'familiar' with is an adequate great measure of the field - a lesser-known program might be great in certain areas, for example, and might get missed in a poll like this. It may be a good measure of certain aspects of the field but as a basis for deciding whether to apply to Pitt or Penn State for engineering, I suspect the USNews ranking should not be that high on the list.

Well, it's something. They do rank individual specialties as well, so top ME, EE, etc. I gather looking at engineering is some amalgamation of the different specialties.

I wouldn't take anything as absolute, but rather feel good that both programs are probably in the top 25% in the country.

[Anonymous]

I’ve known several very successful engineers that chose Pitt and graduated in last 5 yrs. Could have gone anywhere with their profile (excellent act and Sat scores, high gpa) and chose Pitt.

[Anonymous]

I know a few people that started out at Pitt Engineering who weren’t geniuses and graduated in 4-5 years. So that’s a plus in my eyes, that it’s nurturing enough that kids can stick it out and not be weeded out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is one where I guess just google USNews, name of school and engineering.

Says Pitt is ranked 45 out of 199 engineering programs. Penn State is 31.

While I am generally not an anti-US News rankings person, I think that their undergraduate engineering rankings are of questionable utility - the sum basis of their rankings of these programs is a poll of deans and faculty members of other programs. They are asked to rank programs with which they are familiar on a 1-5 scale. It is not clear to me how the opinion of deans and faculty of however many programs they believe themselves to be 'familiar' with is an adequate great measure of the field - a lesser-known program might be great in certain areas, for example, and might get missed in a poll like this. It may be a good measure of certain aspects of the field but as a basis for deciding whether to apply to Pitt or Penn State for engineering, I suspect the USNews ranking should not be that high on the list.

Well, it's something. They do rank individual specialties as well, so top ME, EE, etc. I gather looking at engineering is some amalgamation of the different specialties.

I wouldn't take anything as absolute, but rather feel good that both programs are probably in the top 25% in the country.

They rank the specialties in the same way so the flaws, such as they are, apply there as well. Nevertheless, they are probably more or less directionally in the ballpark to the extent that matters in engineering - which may not be as much as in other fields.

[Anonymous]

My Dad graduated from Pitt Engineering and had a nice career start as a Chemical Engineer for DuPont right out of college. He then went into oil and gas and added a law degree and retired early with a beautiful nest egg that allows him a few homes and world travel.

[Anonymous]

It was very difficult to make out what the professors were saying.

[Anonymous]

I think Pitt is fine…it’s school of engineering has departments covering some of the most common engineering disciplines. Same is true of Drexel. But schools such as Penn State, NC State, and Texas A&M are going to offer a number of less common programs (e.g. aerospace, ocean, petroleum, nuclear, architectural, etc.).