<p>Question for the engineers: If a student gets an undergrad degree in, say, math or physics or another science, will s/he later be able to pursue an advanced degree in engineering? Is an undergraduate major in engineering an absolute prerequisite to getting an engineering masters or doctorate? If not, what other majors can provide the gateway to getting an advanced degree in engineering? Thanks.</p>
<p>Lot’s of people do that. You may have to take a few pre-requisites. Check some university websites.</p>
<p>For example, at Berkeley you don’t even need a technical degree but you have to take a few prerequisites.
[Prerequisites</a> for Applying to UC Berkeley | EECS at UC Berkeley](<a href=“http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Gradadm/Prerequisites.htm]Prerequisites”>http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Gradadm/Prerequisites.htm)</p>
<p>I think it will depend on the University and the specific discipline. For Electrical & Computer Engineering, perhaps an undergrad computer science, math or physics degree would be OK. But regardless, I think the student would need to take additional courses.</p>
<p>I looked up Rutger’s ECE dept graduate admissions requirements:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.ece.rutgers.edu/grad/GSHandbook2008.pdf[/url]”>http://www.ece.rutgers.edu/grad/GSHandbook2008.pdf</a></p>
<p>Students with bachelor’s degrees in closely related areas such as Physics, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics or Engineering Technology may be considered for admission if they have outstanding GPA’s and GRE’s and after the following undergraduate electrical engineering courses are completed with a grade of B or better:
332:221,222 Principles of Electrical Engineering I,II
332:231 Digital Logic Design
332:252 Programming Methodology I
332:321 Probability and Random Processes
332:322 Principles of Communication Systems
332:331 Computer Architecture and Assembly Language
332:345 Linear Systems and Signals
332:346 Digital Signal Processing
332:361 Electronic Devices
332:362 Analog Electronics
332:366 Digital Electronics
332:382 Electromagnetic Fields
332:415 Introduction to Automatic Control</p>
<p>if you went from a bs chem to grad chem eng, you’d almost have to repeat the last two years of undergrad - assuming you had the math (at or beyond level of diff eq, tensor calculus, etc is rarely part of chem degree math requirement). science is about making it known, engineering is about making it happen. VERY different pursuits.</p>
<p>I did it. Undergrad in chemistry. I did have a lot of undergrad courses I had to make up, but it is doable. I highly suggest that any undergrad thinking of doing this keep up with the math so they are only missing the core engineering ones later.</p>
<p>makes 2 of us, mamom - just goes to show how exceptions support the rule. i’m sure you’ve noticed then how different are the membership screenings for the two professional associations: am inst of chem eng (aiche) compared with am chem soc (acs)? the former is much more specific as to requirements and is not a slam-dunk for chemists who want to claim they can climb both trees. why? not to say one is harder to do than the other, but there is a considerable difference in starting and career salary progression, for example.</p>
<p>^^^^ toodleoo, can you be specific? I have a son who is debating between engineering which, he says, he’s majoring in to Get A Job, and physics, which he really is passionate about.</p>
<p>Former physics major here. </p>
<p>1) the Masters EE program I considered would not consider me until I had a BSEE, so be warned. Masters courses have prerequisites, and you’ll have to satisfy those preqs before taking advanced engineering classes.</p>
<p>2) I’ve worked as a software eng. alongside several physics majors. We all studied enough CS to get considered and hired. So your physics-passion kid should consider that he can either end up w/an eng. degree and take extra physics courses on the side, or major in physics and take enough applied coursework to get considered for a job.</p>
<p>Physics courses cover a broad range of topics - that’s why many of us choose it. But I enjoyed some classes lots more than others. Maybe as an engineering major your son could pick and choose the physics emphasis he prefers (mechanics, electricity/magnetism, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, etc.).</p>
<p>On the other hand, nothing prepares the mind like a physics degree!</p>
<p>Thanks, Treetop. He has the opportunity to major in one thing (anything – Music, or Economics, or even Physics) and get a BA, then hang around for an additional year and get the BE. I’m thinking, why not get the BA in Physics and then get the BE? </p>
<p>Graduate school beyond those two degrees is a whole other decision.</p>
<p>I did a moderate amount of checking into this a couple of years ago.</p>
<p>My conclusion at the time, looking at a large number of graduate programs in EE/ECE, was that </p>
<ol>
<li>For many such programs, it would be virtually impossible.</li>
<li>For others, it would be doable but an uphill battle.</li>
</ol>
<p>So… not sure what the scenario is that this student is considering, or the reasons for wishing to pursue non-Engineering now, and advanced degree in Engineering later. But s/he should do a lot of thinking about not majoring in Engineering at the ugrad level if really wants to go in that direction.</p>
<p>If the kid is already in college and not majoring in Engineering, I would suggest going to the Engineering advising staff, within the particular subdiscipline, and get advice on coursework to take, grad programs where the admission might be more likely… to best set up for success.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies. </p>
<p>jmm: Student is a HS junior. He is interested in engineering, but uncertain, and with a number of other academic interests. Best bet for him is to apply to colleges that offer engineering majors within a liberal arts framework, i.e., schools where he could major in engineering just as another student might major in English, where he could start out taking a variety of courses in different departments, and where he wouldn’t have to commit to a major when applying. But he’s also looking at separate engineering schools within larger universities (Columbia SEAS, Wash U SEAS, etc.). Because he’d have to commit to an engineering major from the gitgo, those choices aren’t optimal, and I wonder how difficult it is to transfer out of SEAS and into LAS if he decides engineering isn’t for him. That’s what prompted me to wonder whether he might be able to take an alternate route to an advanced degree in engineering (specialty unknown). From the replies so far, it sounds like a challenge.</p>
<p>I know that at Texas, you cannot get an MS in structural engineering unless you have a BS in Civil or Architectural Engineering. Even an architecture major, who will have taken basic design classes, would not be accepted. (My dad is a prof there, so I asked him the question after an architecture student posted it on CC.)</p>
<p>That may be because those with an MS in structural engineering are usually expected to become PE’s (professional engineers), which is a license to practice engineering under cases where the law requires an engineer to “sign off” on something.</p>
<p>Part of the requirement to become a PE is to graduate with an ABET-accredited engineering degree, which is almost always a 4-year BS degree. Most (if not all) MS programs are not ABET-accredited. Thus someone who does not already have the ABET-accredited degree may end up with a useless MS if they cannot practice.</p>
<p>Of course, this matters far more in civil engineering where PE licensing is more typical. Other fields, such as electrical, many fewer actually get PE licensed and so it is not as important to have a BS in engineering.</p>
<p>I think it is generally a lot more difficult to transfer into engineering school from an A&S school than the other way around, from engineering to A&S. LOTS of students drop out of engineering, and switch to something less challenging. </p>
<p>Some Us specifically claim that it is easy to transfer between schools at the same University. Tufts said that they are the rare school which overall has more transfers into engineering than out of engineering. WashU said that students are allowed to take classes in any of their schools, regardless of which school you are in.</p>
<p>Treetopleaf - you are too funny! I remember when my hubby was interviewed for a legal publication and the question was “what do you think differentiates you from other top lawyers?” His response - “because I have a degree in PHYSICS” We still joke about that.</p>
<p>jbusc, thanks for the info. I just can’t imagine trying to get a structures MS without taking all the undergrad courses - statics, dynamics, fluids, wood design, concrete design, steel design, computational methods, etc. If you don’t have those under your belt before you start grad school, you’ll be lost! (oops, I typed “before you start GRADE school” first! Things really are accelerating these days.)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This could limit your choices quite a bit.</p>
<p>Some schools charge tuition for full time students - 12+ hours - and don’t limit the number of credit hours you take. If son wants to take extra humanities or extra physics while pursuing engineering, he can do so at those schools. Google uiuc tuition hours for an example. While at the UIUC site, take a look at the engineering physics major within the college of engineering.</p>
<p>sacchi: Thanks for the info on the transfer landscape. Very helpful.</p>
<p>ttl: Thanks for the info on UIUC. I realize that there are relatively few colleges that offer engineering majors within a liberal arts framework, and of those, I think many are highly selective (Yale and Swarthmore come to mind). Other recommendations would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Another “did it” here. Bachelor’s in math with a general science minor (miscellaneous courses in chemistry, physics, and computer science). Master’s in materials engineering. No problem.</p>
<p>as i think more about how the curricula differs for chem vs chem eng, i think the real question is more what kind of work does a person want to do? there is really little comparison between the pure science and its application to process development/operation. the former is more about mechanism, structure, etc on a level so small it can only be dealt with as an abstraction. the latter deals with running a process using factory equipment you start up, operate, maintain, etc. given the scope of high school, i doubt very seriously any 18 y/o graduate has a clue what engineering is really about. the time to change is within the first two years of college during which a lot of the engineering degree covers basic principles of chemistry, and there is room in the science degree to take more advanced math that will be required in the last two years of chem eng. after that, chemical engineering is about unit operation efficiencies, while chemistry is about ordered information that determines how matter interacts. different issues.</p>