Engineering: Pitt or JMU

[Anonymous]

Makes sense if you're in state. Both great schools.

[Anonymous]

Also in the same boat. We are in VA and our daughter likes JMU but feels Pitt has more to offer on the Engineering side. We are not sure it will be worth the $$ paying out of state tuition.

[Anonymous]

JMU in state

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:JMU might not be famous for engineering, but it’s still a great program and a fine school. Everyone doesn’t need to go to Harvard to get a job afterwards you know.

JMU is a general engineering program. They do NOT have Chem Eng, Mech E, EE, CompEng, Civil Eng, etc. So yes there are many many levels between JMU and Harvard. If a kid truly wants to be an engineer, it would be better to find a school that has ABET accredited variety of actual Engineering degrees. Those can be found at great schools that do not cost a fortune. But JMU is a general program not a true engineering program with the specific degrees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in the same boat and know Pitt is more established in engineering. Live in VA so not sure if it worth all the money as she wants to eventually find a job in the DC area. Not sure if her general engineering degree will be competitive in this market.

What do you mean by this? I am aware that Pitt is more established in engineering.

You guys are killing me. “Pitt is more established…”. It’s a full fledged school of engineering with a half dozen or more programs. It is established. It’s not up and coming. It’s been here.

Yup! ANd JMU is a "general engineering program" attempting to get started in engineering. If your kid thinks they want to be an engineer, go somewhere that you can actually major in a specific type of engineering (EE, Chem E, Comp E, Mech E, Civil E, etc.) and the programs are ABET accredited. JMU's program is akin to an Engineering Physics at some universities, but it does not allow focus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whats the financial impact? Im from PA and would say Pitt but not at full price vs in state JMU. I will be honest, no one outside of VA has heard of JMU and they HAVE heard of Pitt, but that all vanishes after job 1.

Do you have any idea just how many OOS students are at JMU? Plenty of people outside of VA have heard of it.

only 22% of jmu students from oos
I’d probably pick Pitt for networking reasons and it’s a better fallback if engineering doesn’t work out

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:JMU might not be famous for engineering, but it’s still a great program and a fine school. Everyone doesn’t need to go to Harvard to get a job afterwards you know.

JMU is a general engineering program. They do NOT have Chem Eng, Mech E, EE, CompEng, Civil Eng, etc. So yes there are many many levels between JMU and Harvard. If a kid truly wants to be an engineer, it would be better to find a school that has ABET accredited variety of actual Engineering degrees. Those can be found at great schools that do not cost a fortune. But JMU is a general program not a true engineering program with the specific degrees.

JMU engineering is ABET accredited.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We attended an Engineering Open house and was also concerned about the general degree. However, we got a sense there were a lot of opportunities for research and internship opportunities at JMU.

I am a PhD level engineer and hire engineers every year. I would not hire a general engineer. Sorry

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:JMU might not be famous for engineering, but it’s still a great program and a fine school. Everyone doesn’t need to go to Harvard to get a job afterwards you know.

JMU is a general engineering program. They do NOT have Chem Eng, Mech E, EE, CompEng, Civil Eng, etc. So yes there are many many levels between JMU and Harvard. If a kid truly wants to be an engineer, it would be better to find a school that has ABET accredited variety of actual Engineering degrees. Those can be found at great schools that do not cost a fortune. But JMU is a general program not a true engineering program with the specific degrees.

JMU engineering is ABET accredited.

Oops, my mistake. But I still stand by the face that General Engineering is not really the way to go. Much better to be at a school with at a minimum, the 5-6 basic specialized engineering. Exiting college your kid will be competing with EE, MechE, CompE, Civil E, Chem E and BMEs. I'm going to hire someone who has the more exact qualifications for the job, not a general Engineer.
JMU's engineering requirements are simply the basics that are the CORE of what many engineering programs require of all Engineers . But what's missing is the 10+ specific courses that are unique to each type of engineering. At JMU there are several Capstone Design courses, but most engineering degrees have 2-3 Capstone Design courses that are specific to their major. SO while JMU is a nice introduction, it's really just the first 2 years plus a few courses of what engineering is at most universities---it's a general degree. If you know you want engineering going in, there are much stronger programs at almost any school with Engineering degrees

[Anonymous]

Our student wants a career in Engineering but unsure in what area. She is concerned about the general degree but due to OOS tuition, has to strongly consider staying in state. We are just not sure paying 2-3 times more than in state to go to Pitt is the right move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our student wants a career in Engineering but unsure in what area. She is concerned about the general degree but due to OOS tuition, has to strongly consider staying in state. We are just not sure paying 2-3 times more than in state to go to Pitt is the right move.

Figuring out what "area" is the purpose of the first year or two of the program. Two years general engineering and two years in the department of your choice. More or less. And it is not all that unusual to switch your "area".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our student wants a career in Engineering but unsure in what area. She is concerned about the general degree but due to OOS tuition, has to strongly consider staying in state. We are just not sure paying 2-3 times more than in state to go to Pitt is the right move.

Have you considered some other schools in Virginia? VCU and ODU, for example?

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately we had a short list and she was waitlisted at her top choice. If we were in PA. perhaps she would choose Pitt but it is so difficult knowing if spending so much $$ for Pitt is worth it.

[Anonymous]

OP I would not choose Pitt OOS. Could your DC take a gap year and reapply to GMU, VT and elsewhere?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our student wants a career in Engineering but unsure in what area. She is concerned about the general degree but due to OOS tuition, has to strongly consider staying in state. We are just not sure paying 2-3 times more than in state to go to Pitt is the right move.

Keep in mind that discussions about departments - Chemical, Civil, Electrical, Mechanical - don’t stop there. Kids inevitability gravitate to specialization through elective selection. Take Civil for example. Traffic and Transportation? Structural? Geotechnical? Environmental? A comprehensive offering will have all of these and more.