<p>I got contacted by one of the professors at Mudd. I think it was extremely nice of her to personally take her time off and answer my questions. I think these questions are what we are all trying to get answered and she cleared it VERY WELL. Awesome.</p>
<p>1) What is the difference between having a specialized engineering degree and having a general engineering degree? I am very much set on graduate school, so if I pass out from Harvey Mudd with a general engineering degree, how will I fare against other students with specialized degrees applying to lets say, Masters in Electrical Engineering? I am aware that I can still specialize in Mudd by using the electives, but is it as comprehensive as a traditional specialized engineering degree?</p>
<p>Prof: </p>
<p>In terms of graduate school prospects, I genuinely think the Harvey Mudd general engineering degree is a strength rather than a weakness. One of the very distinctive things about Mudd is the breadth of each graduate's education across the technical fields. People who hire our graduates -- either as graduate researchers or as employees in a corporate setting -- often remark on their ability to interact with technical personnel from many fields and solve problems at the boundaries between disciplines. The same thing is true within engineering. More and more technical problems /are/ at the interfaces between different areas, so the general engineering degree is a great foundation. This is /especially/ true for someone who is planning to specialize further in graduate study.</p>
<p>As for getting /in/ to graduate programs... an example comes to mind. We have a /physics/ major graduating this year who is going on to graduate school in bioengineering (!). He is choosing between several top programs including Berkeley and the California Institute of Technology; he has received a National Science Foundation fellowship for graduate study, and a prestigious 5-year fellowship offer at Berkeley. So... there is no need to graduate with a specific type of engineering degree to go into that field. A strong general engineering degree, showing you can handle rigor and can work at field boundaries, is at least as good.</p>
<p>2) Since I believe I am fairly proficient in college physics, especially in Introductory Classical Mechanics and Relativity, may I know what are the placement tests available to take higher Physics courses? I am very interested in Physics/Engineering so it would great to go more in depth :D</p>
<p>Prof: </p>
<p>Physics placement: we ask incoming students to take a short pre-placement test over the summer, and we then offer longer placement tests once you arrive. Every year, about 5% of the class places out of intro mechanics, and another 15-20% place into an accelerated version of that course. One or two students a year place out of our E&M course as well, in which case they may choose to enter the sophomore quantum mechanics course as freshmen. Very few students place out of the special relativity course (a half semester in freshman fall), but I think it has been known to happen. _____ of ______ took our intro special rel / quantum course, but next year when the course is only special rel the story might be different. That's something you'd work out during the summer / early fall with Professor Townsend, who is overseeing the special rel course next fall.</p>
<p>3) How are the research opportunities at Mudd? And what is the quality of research available here? I was very impressed by the high level/quality of research displayed in Clay-Wolkin fellowship at Mudd. I would like to know if there other fellowships like that in the Engineering/Physics department.</p>
<p>Prof:</p>
<p>Research: there is lots of research on campus. Many students are involved in research much earlier than the senior year, but /every/ student must complete a senior-year or 'capstone' research experience as part of the graduation requirement at Mudd. For engineers, the capstone experience must be a 'clinic' project, or team research project commissioned by an external company. For physics majors, the capstone experience can be a clinic project or a traditional academic research project in the research group of a professor on campus. All professors have research programs; my own field is experimental quantum optics, and I tend to have 4-6 students in my group during the academic year, and 2-3 students doing research internships each summer.</p>
<p>I hope she answered most of your tough questions. Really nice of her :D Hope u gain something from this.</p>