Chemical Engineering at Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering

<p>Hey everyone. I was accepted to Olin and was wondering if I could get some insight in regards to studying Chemical Engineering at Olin. I know Olin does not specifically have a chemical engineering major, but I know you can design a concentration under the general engineering degree. Does anyone know if a chemical engineering concentration is possible? Will it be comparable to a chemical engineering degree from another top school such as MIT, Cornell, RPI, UPenn, Columbia, etc.?</p>

<p>Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.</p>

<p>I don’t know the answer but didn’t want your post to be lonely.</p>

<p>Here are my guesses. Yes, you can make some sort of E:Chemistry degree at Olin but it may be more difficult than some other degrees. Since I haven’t been at Olin for 2 years, I checked out the faculty profiles and found that Chris Morse is the only current faculty that specializes in Chemistry. You would likely have to work with him creating your concentraion. Your faculty adviser would also be able to help.
[Olin</a> College | Faculty Bio](<a href=“http://olin.edu/faculty_staff/bios/bio_cmorse.asp]Olin”>http://olin.edu/faculty_staff/bios/bio_cmorse.asp)</p>

<p>Also, do you know much about Material Science? It’s related to chemistry but more applied. We have two professors of Material Science at Olin and they might also be able to help you some, especially Debbie given her focus. I know people who have or have considered having a concentration in Material Science so that adds hope for your chemistry desire.</p>

<p>Debbie focuses on organic materials.
[Olin</a> College | Faculty Bio](<a href=“http://olin.edu/faculty_staff/bios/bio_dchachra.asp]Olin”>http://olin.edu/faculty_staff/bios/bio_dchachra.asp)
John Stolk focuses on inorganic (aka Metals) materials.
[Olin</a> College | Faculty Bio](<a href=“http://olin.edu/faculty_staff/bios/bio_jstolk.asp]Olin”>http://olin.edu/faculty_staff/bios/bio_jstolk.asp)</p>

<p>For Chemistry you would likely need to take some courses at Wellesley or Brandeis to supplement what Olin could offer and also do an Independent study or two where you design your curriculum and have a faculty advisor.</p>

<p>Unless things have changed, you are limited to one course at each other university per semester.</p>

<p>Here is Wellesley’s Chemistry Depart page
[Chemistry</a> Department](<a href=“http://www.wellesley.edu/Chemistry/index.html]Chemistry”>Redirect to Wellesley College web site)
Brandeis’s
[Chemistry</a> Department | Brandeis University](<a href=“Department of Chemistry | Brandeis University”>http://www.chem.brandeis.edu/)</p>

<p>I would talk with an admissions officer at Olin who could give you more up to date information. Specifically ask if any current or former Olin students have done a E with Chem. (That would make your life easier). Also ask about a professor you could talk about this with.</p>

<p>The professors at Olin are amazing at helping out.</p>

<p>For this question:
Will it be comparable to a chemical engineering degree from another top school such as MIT, Cornell, RPI, UPenn, Columbia, etc.?</p>

<p>My guess is: No. You are getting an engineering degree with a concentration in Chemistry, not a Chemical engineering degree. I imagine you would end up with more breadth and less depth than one of those graduates. Also, because Olin’s curriculum is so different (more projects, do-learn, integrating teamwork, presentations, ect.) even an Olin MechE degree wouldn’t be the same as an MIT MechE degree. Whether or not it is better or worse would depend on you and the company (or school) you work for some day.</p>

<p>Hope this helps a little until someone with more knowledge about this comes along.</p>

<p>Thank you. I don’t know why anyone else hasn’t replied. I know they already have a designed concentration for Materials Science, but isn’t that different from Chemical Engineering? And your saying it would be a general engineering degree with a concentration in chemistry? Not so much a chemical engineering degree? Then perhaps, if chemical engineering is really what I want to do, should I reconsider attending Olin? Although it is an amazing school, if chemical engineering is really what I want to do, then maybe I shouldn’t attend. What do you think? I have already emailed Dr. Nolan and asked him my question in the hopes that he could answer or refer me to someone else who could answer my question. I am waiting for his reply. Thank you so much for responding.</p>

<p>Congratulations on your Olin acceptance! Research and think through your decision carefully, which it sounds like you’re doing. Olin is an amazing place (as I’ve said in other posts), and I think you may be able to fit your interests into the curriculum. No, you won’t be getting a chemical engineering degree, but the curriculum does offer some flexibility to tailor to your passions. My son, who’s a sophomore there, has found that theoretical physics is really what he’s interested in, and Olin faculty are helping him make this work with the Olin program. He was just home for spring break and I asked him at this point, given what he knows about his academic interests and Olin, whether if he had it all to do over again he’d rethink his choice of Olin and instead enroll at one of the liberal arts colleges he was accepted to. He replied that the total Olin experience of incredible classmates, faculty, and tightknit community is so special that he’s still happy with his choice. This summer he’ll be doing a research experience with a Wellesley Physics professor so he’ll have a chance to pursue that interest. Don’t take Olin off of your list without careful consideration - you have until May 1 to make your final decision!</p>

<p>Thank you. I was ecstatic when I received my acceptance letter. I am carefully considering my options and I also think Olin is an amazing place. But I want to be able to obtain a degree which will prepare me for higher studies, industry, and for founding an energy company as a chemical engineering degree from another institution would. I want a degree which will also be viewed by industry as comparable to a chemical engineering degree from another insitution. At this point, I am not sure if the degree from Olin would be comparable to a regular chemical engineering degree and would prepare me suitably for the aforementioned things. I am a little worried and unsure of what I should do. I have emailed Olin in an attempt to garner an answer to my question but I have yet to hear back from them. Thank you for your post. If you have any more insight please respond back.</p>

<p>Hello, NRG-
Congrats on your acceptance to Olin, a unique school.
I’m curious about which school you decided on ??
My S, a h.s. junior, also is interested in ChemE with some of the same puzzlements…</p>

<p>@ Bristol:</p>

<p>Thank you. Ultimately, I picked Olin. It was quite a hard decision, but I am very happy with it. If you would like to discuss with me my reasons for doing so, just shoot me a pm.</p>

<p>My youngest son is a junior in high school and is also interested in chemical engineering. His first open house will be in October at Olin, so I will be watching this forum very carefully.</p>

<p>Congrats,</p>

<p>on getting into Olin,</p>

<p>Im looking to apply soon.</p>

<p>Olin’s degree will only apriciate over the years, plus since you are interested in Business, thats a plus because they are very business oriented.</p>

<p>any tips on the group interview/ project in the second part of addmissions</p>

<p>Be yourself–plain and simple!</p>

<p>Yeah, I don’t have any real tips for you, sorry. Susgeek, how did your son’s open house visit go? I hope you both mentioned his interest in Chem E to everyone you met. Haha. It would probably help us both out a lot!</p>