Engineering path at a liberal arts college?
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Anonymous
Other options Harvest Mudd Franklin & Marshal OP mentions a son, but if you have a daughter you can add Smith to the list. These are 4 year programs - not 3/2 programs. So no need to go additional oyears or go to another school to finish your degree. |
Anonymous
I think Loyola MD is ABET. Another school to check out at least |
Anonymous
OP, if you have a daughter, there are specific scholarships for women in stem and women in engineering that your daughter should pursue |
Anonymous
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I would avoid or 3-2 programs and highlight LACs/Small campuses that have engineering programs:
Dartmouth Swarthmore Harvey Mudd Tufts Union Lafayette Manhattan York WPI |
Anonymous
OP here, nope just a run of the mill white boy, but maybe someone else with a DD can benefit |
Anonymous
We actually did, but it's larger and you have to apply directly into one of the four schools, one of which is engineering, another is business. That's too locked in for DS. |
Anonymous
how important is ABET? What does it do? Explain it to me like I'm 5 please, this is all new. |
Anonymous
ABET sets standards for engineering curriculum. ABET is important in traditional engineering fields like mechanical, civil, and electrical (electrical overlapping with computer engineering, which is different from computer science). ABET accreditation is less important in computer science. |
Anonymous
Of those the only one where the majority might have the ABET-associated license is civil engineering. |
Anonymous
| CNU has a small ABET EE major and a larger business school. You don’t officially declare your major until Sophomore year. |
Anonymous
Do these schools require the student to apply directly into Engineering? Also, do students need to delineate which type of engineering (e.g. electrical or chemical)? Would they have to reapply to another "program" if say they change from Electrical to Mechanical Engineering? |
Anonymous
ABET is the accrediting body for Engineering Schools in the USA. It defines minimum standards for engineering curricula. One really ought to be getting one’s engineering degree from an ABET accredited E School in almost all cases. The exceptions to this “ought” are the top-10 E Schools, places such as MIT or Caltech, which might not bother with obtaining ABET accreditation. Their curricula still follow the ABET guidance in general, but possibly vary by requiring more rigor than ABET requires. Note that one wants an ABET accredited school for any sort of engineering, even for engineering degrees (e.g., Computer Engineering) which will not later require a PE license to be employed. |
Anonymous
NCCES.org handles the PE licensing bits, but they agree that an ABET-accredited engineering curriculum is sufficient. A degree from an ABET accredited E School (honestly, most US E Schools are ABET accredited) matters even for folks (like me) who do not have or need a PE license. Exceptions exist - MIT and Caltech do not bother with ABET - but they also are global top-10 engineering schools, so no one doubts that their engineering curricula meet expectations. |
Anonymous
Generally, an engineering major isn't something you dip your toe in and explore. It's a pretty rigid and demanding major. Like if you dilly dally freshman year and don't take the pre-reqs and weed out classes, you probably will have to add an extra semester or two to graduate with an engineering degree. You should be ready freshman year to get going with the Chemistry and Calculus pre-reqs. Better to start as an engineering major and then drop it and change majors if it's not for them. I don't know about the SLACs, but generally engineering programs are super competitive. Make sure they get through at least Calculus BC in high school if considering an engineering major. |
Anonymous
| My advice would be if he is genuinely interested in Engineering, to only pursue schools that have ABET Engineering programs. Perhaps, find a few schools that have both ABET Engineering and decent liberal arts curriculum? I think if he winds up at a LAC that doesn't have an Engineering program, he likely will not finish with an engineering degree, (which is not the end of the world, unless that is his passion) |