<p>My son is considering mse after 2 years of chem e.
The problem- he has not done well in his chem e classes- two d's and 2 c+.
He is not the partying kind, and completes all his assignments and aces quizzes. he just finds exams challenging and these make up the bulk of the grades. right now he is confused and a little depressed. (he is in a "reach" school)</p>
<p>He is talking to others about the options of switching, but I wanted some advice as well from experienced people on cc.
Does mse require different skill sets from chem e when it comes to solving problems on exams and how are the two subjects really different from each other? </p>
<p>Does ChemE require tons of memorization? Maybe Material Science Eng. is more theoretical and it would suit him better? Ask him what he finds the hardest on in the difficult exams. IMO if he likes the subject better, he’ll do better.</p>
<p>Or he could consider transferring to an easier school. My nephew did that in CivE and graduated and now has the job he hoped for in that field. Better to graduate with the degree you want than live life as a dropout of an excellent school. Hang in there!</p>
<p>D has a friend who switched from ChemE to MatSci and loves the change. Don’t know many details but it sounds like he is much happier and doing better.</p>
<p>S just graduated in MatSci. I’ll ask him what he thinks. He thought about ChemE but stayed in MatSci and loved it. </p>
<p>Does your S have any idea what kind of MatSci he wants to do. Apparently there are lots of different things you can do with this degree. His concentration was metals and that is what his school mostly did.</p>
<p>worryingmom, I asked my S and of course he said it depends on where he goes. My S said that his school did not require much memorization and I know that it has a practical approach to engineering, not theoretical.</p>
<p>If you want to PM with more information I’ll try to get him to answer you with more concrete answers. He said he knows quite a few ChemE’s.</p>
<p>Worryingmom, my S is a fourth-year doctoral student in MSE. He majored in chem UG. His advisor/PI is tenured in the MSE dept. and has a doctorate in chemistry. MSE is interdisciplinary. MSE grad students might have backgrounds in any of the science or engineering disciplines. S works with faculty, post docs, and grad students from chemistry, theoretical physics, applied physics, mechanical engineering, chem E, and electrical engineering. He’s published in applied physics, chemistry, and nanotech journals. Within MSE, there are different areas of specialization, depending on one’s research interests and background. It is largely theoretical at a basic science level. My S’s interests lean more toward applied than theoretical, so he will be pursuing a career in industry rather than academia.</p>
<p>Your S will probably get the best advice from profs in the MSE dept. at his school as to where his interests and skills fit better. You might also try posting on the engineering forum here as to specific differences in coursework at the UG level.</p>