<p>OK, this might be stupid but...Can students get an undergraduate degree in a non-engineering field (like go to an LAC and major in math or something) and then go to graduate school to become an engineer?</p>
<p>most grad programs I know about in engineering require an engineering degree to do so, but you may want to check the admission requirements for grad school you would be interested in</p>
<p>Actually many (likely majority) of grad schools for engineering will consider persons without engineering degrees but you generally need to have majored at least in a physical science (like physics or chemistry) or math. If accepted, you may have catch up courses you need to take and chances of admission are better if, in college, you took all the chemistry, physics, and math courses that an engineering student would typically take in the first two years of college.</p>
<p>Yes, you can definitely get into engineering grad school with another major. The other majors you can choose are typically physics, chemistry, math, and even computer science. You may be required to take extra courses though.</p>
<p>What about the reverse situation. How easily can an engineering major get intro a non-engineering grad school such as say economics or a hard science.</p>
<p>Vernon Smith did EE as an undergrad at Caltech. He then later got his PhD in Economics at Harvard and won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2002 for his pioneering work in behavorial economics.</p>
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernon_Smith%5B/url%5D">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernon_Smith</a></p>
<p>Heck, you don't even need to gone to have a degree in a specific field in order to make great advances in that specific field. Robert Aumann won the Nobel Prize in economics last year, despite not having any formal degrees in economics. His bachelor's, master's, and PhD are all in mathematics, and his doctoral dissertatation at MIT had to do with knot theory. </p>
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_J._Aumann%5B/url%5D">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_J._Aumann</a> </p>
<p>Mr. "Beautiful Mind" John Nash also never got a degree in economics. Instead, his PhD from Princeton was obtained in mathematics. But that didn't stop him from winning the Nobel Prize in economics in 1994. One of Nash's co-winners in that year was Reinhard Selten, whose PhD was also in mathematics. </p>
<p><a href="http://nobelprize.org/economics/laureates/1994/selten-autobio.html%5B/url%5D">http://nobelprize.org/economics/laureates/1994/selten-autobio.html</a>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Forbes_Nash%5B/url%5D">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Forbes_Nash</a></p>
<p>As far as hard science goes, I would point out that Jack Kilby, legendary engineer at Texas Instruments, won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000 for his invention of the integrated circuit. His bachelor's and master's degrees are in EE (he does not hold a PhD).</p>
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kilby%5B/url%5D">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kilby</a></p>
<p>You do not necessarily need an engineering undergraduate degree to be admitted to an engineering graduate program. However, having the math prequisites would be very helpful and probably required. If you completed what a typical engineer student would by the end of his 2nd year, then you should have all the basics down.</p>
<p>Obviously there are going to be individual cases, but for the average engineer or even slightly above average (but not nobel-prize winning quality) engineer, how feasible is such a transition. </p>
<p>In other words, how big of a factor is it in admissions. Is having an engineering degree as opposed to a econ degere in undergrad, a big deterrent towards admission into an econ masters/PhD program. </p>
<p>More generally, I guess what I am asking is what do most masters programs look at in admissions. Is one's undergrad major a significant factor, is it research, test scores, etc?</p>
<p>Obviously, if you know for sure that you want to get a PhD in a particular subject, then the easiest path for you to take is to just get your undergrad degree in that subject.</p>
<p>What I would say is that an engineering degree is one of the most versatile degrees you can get. For example, a guy with a bachelor's engineering degree is far more likely to get admitted to a PhD economics program than a guy with a bachelor's econ degree is to get admitted to a PhD engineering program. One could argue that physics and math degrees are even more versatile (with math perhaps being the most versatile of all), however an engineering degree also brings the benefit of delivering a pretty decent starting salary should you decide that graduate school is not for you. This is something that a physics or math degree cannot really deliver. </p>
<p>The first thing that academic graduate programs look for (MS or PhD) is the quality of your rec's. The truth is, a superstar rec from a superstar prof will get you into almost any academic graduate program. For example, if Milton Friedman writes a rec saying that he knows your work well and he enthusiastically recommends you for a PhD economics program, that's pretty much a slam dunk. </p>
<p>The 2nd biggest thing they care about is your research experience. If you can demonstrate strong research experience in the field in question, especially if you have actually published something, then that goes a very long way towards getting you admitted.</p>
<p>However, the truth is, most students won't get a superstar rec or be able to demonstrate strong research experience. In this case, the programs will closely examine the relevant coursework you have taken and how well you have done in it.</p>
<p>
[quote]
One could argue that physics and math degrees are even more versatile (with math perhaps being the most versatile of all), however an engineering degree also brings the benefit of delivering a pretty decent starting salary should you decide that graduate school is not for you. This is something that a physics or math degree cannot really deliver.
[/quote]
Very true. I would recommend going for an engineering degree and being more focused on the math portion. Take more higher level courses if you must.</p>