Our D is planning to major in ChemE and has applied at (besides Cal Poly) CalTech, UCB, UCLA, UCD, UCSB, UCI, and UMin (Minnesota - Twin Cities). We knew in advance that Cal Poly doesn’t offer ChemE but they DO offer “Materials” Engineering so we kept an open mind and she applied anyway. She does plan to go on to grad school.
The Materials Engineering undergraduate curriculum at Cal Poly is quite a bit different than ChemE. However we’ve noticed that many graduate programs (such as those at UCB and CalTech), offer only Materials Engineering in liu of ChemE. So we’re wondering if maybe studying materials engineering (instead of chemical engineering) as an undergraduate wouldn’t necessarily put her at a disadvantage after all, when she applies to grad school.
Does anyone have a perspective on this? We’d love for her to attend CalPoly, if it’s the right fit for her interests.
First, I would never plan on graduate school until a bit later. Things change. Students sometimes get burned out or find they can get everything they want out of a career with a BS. There’s no harm in going to graduate school, but all plans should be sufficient to stand on their own merit should that plan fall through. Now, on to major. Personally, I think MatE is a better major. It’s much more flexible. JMHO.
I know both chemical engineers and material engineers (from different colleges) and as you said, they’re very different. Material engineering at Cal Poly, and at any other university most likely, will be much less difficult than chem.
As eyemgh said, thinking about exactly what grad program to apply to might be a stretch at this point. I would choose the undergraduate curriculum that most interests your D. Does organic chemistry, biochemistry, inorganic chemistry interest her?
I would argue it’s more important to look at what her career might be with either of those degrees, with just a BS. Look up job postings in California that require one of those degrees. Chemical engineers would be prone to burnout much earlier IMO, so they might seek a career before starting grad school.
Just a slight clarification, no engineering is “much less difficult than chem.” All engineering is hard. How difficult one is versus another is largely related to how well an individual is prepared and their aptitude for a specific subject.
Thank you for your responses. I agree that graduate school should be considered only an option for the future rather than as a necessity. But as someone who lost way too many credits through transfers as an undergrad, I’d like to help ensure my D doesn’t make it any tougher than necessary in getting into a graduate program if that’s what she eventually chooses. If an undergraduate major in MatE limits her chances of getting into a ChemE graduate program, I’d prefer to find out now rather than later.
It appears to me that generally, ChemE deals more with liquids and gases with applications trending towards research and medicine while MatE focuses on solids (metals, ceramics, polymers, etc.) more specifically useful to manufacturing and industry. I’ll keep looking into this question but would really appreciate hearing from others who have experience in these fields.
D has looked over the curriculum for MatE and says it doesn’t include the type of chemistry in which she’s really interested, so sadly it looks like we’ll have to drop Cal Poly from consideration and look more seriously into the ChemE programs at other schools. Some of her classmates who are planning to become engineers were very surprised to learn that Cal Poly doesn’t offer it.
Many of my friends in MatE came in because there was no ChemE option. While the MatE department here is very strong, if ChemE is what you desire than I would look for a dedicated program.