Hello Berkeley CC users!
I have just been accepted to Berkeley’s College of Chemistry, and intend to major in Chemical Engineering. Unable to find much information about Berkeley’s ChemE program (rankings, etc), I would like to start a forum here to learn more about it. This is my most likely option that I will go to.
Some questions that I have:
- How is Berkeley’s ChemE program? Course difficulty, professors, classes?
- How does it compare to other universities programs? (I’ve also been accepted to UIUC under Undeclared Engineering with James Scholar)
- Is it possible to minor/dual major in other programs? I might be interested in majoring/minoring in economics or another type of engineering as well.
I will appreciate any and all responses, and look forward to joining you Golden Bears this upcoming fall!
From what I have heard, Berkeley’s college of chemistry is ranked number one in the world, so if you only look at rankings, Berkeley is the place to go for chemistry. However, the ChemE major is really difficult, so you really do have to put in great amount of effort for a decent grade. My friend is actually in the ChemE major and she the amount of time she spends studying and doing homework is incredible (I think last semester she told me that she didn’t even have time to read textbooks because of all the homework, but she was also taking a CS class at the time that probably ate a lot of her time).
It is possible to minor/dual major, even outside of your college, but you really might not have the time to do so. I cannot imagine how you would manage to double major while majoring in ChemE, but I guess I shouldn’t say that it’s impossible, since it really depends on the person. Minoring is more reasonable and I would suggest talking to an adviser and see what s/he has to say.
I’m not in the college of chemistry so I don’t know too much details about the courses and professors. From my premed chem courses, Professor Pete Marsden is really awesome! He’s funny and very approachable, and his lectures are very easy to understand and follow. He usually teaches the ochem series for non-majors, so I’m not sure if he teaches any major courses. Oh, and Professor Arnold’s pretty cool as well~ I have heard bad things about Professor Majda, but my GSI says that he likes students who are hard-working and serious about the subject, and if he sees that in a student, he can be very helpful. Professor Pedersen is also really great~ He has really clear-cut rules and he’s pretty strict about them, but he’s overall a very good professor and I have friends who really like him.
Thanks for the quick reply!
Does anyone know what I can do now till fall in order to prepare better for the difficult course? I will have all summer to do so, and I would like to come in as ready as I can. Currently, I take IB HL Chemistry and HL Math, but I was wondering if there was anything that I could do to supplement my learning.
I really appreciate the evaluations of the professors, and I find that really helpful. If anyone else as any more input please feel free to comment!
Comments on rooming, living and miscellaneous information are also welcome! I’d also appreciate it if a current ChemE Bear would be willing to talk about scheduling classes, etc.
Thanks!