Delaware not an engineering school... But has good ChemE

College Majors Engineering Majors
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<p>I am considering a long list of schools, which all have well recognized engineering departments such as Virginia tech, georgia tech, rose-hulman, purdue, etc. I am interested in Chemical Engineering and so of course I have noticed Delaware on the ChemE rankings. Delaware overall engineering ranking is no where near the previously mentioned schools, because it is not primarily an engineering school. However, The one engineering program it is top notch in, is chemical engineering. It is ranked 10 on the chemE list, which is above Virginia tech and other schools I am considering.</p>

<p>So basically my question is even though Delaware has high ranked ChemE, would it still be a better idea to go to a university more well known overall for its engineering program such as virginia tech?</p>

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<p>Good question. I don’t have an answer because I have thought of the same question myself but on a grad school level.</p>

<p>Should a prospective graduate applied math major consider NYU’s Applied Math program? Should a nuclear physics major consider Michigan State?</p>

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<p>exactly. I’m hoping someone might have any insight. This is gonna be a tough decision… I mean in the Delaware area I’m sure it is well known among employers that Udel has a good chemE program. But also i’m considering ROTC, in which case i would be gone for 4-8 years. When I come back who is to say I would be in the Delaware area. Does its ChemE acknowledgments leave the state?</p>

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<p>For undergraduate education, I would highly advise going to a well recognized school (not department).</p>

<p>For PhD, the strength of the department (more specifically, your adviser and research group) is more important than the strength of the school.</p>

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<p>Georgia Tech’s ChE department is as good as Delaware’s, and its overall Engineering school is much better.</p>

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<p>Probably not, and even if it did, it doesn’t really seem to matter anyway. For example, according to USNews, the top 2 ranked chemical engineering departments are MIT and Berkeley, and I think we can agree that those programs (especially MIT’s) are respected not only within their respective states but throughout the country and probably the world. But that respect does not really translate into better salaries, as MIT and Berkeley chemical engineering graduates do not seem to make significantly higher starting salaries on average than the average chemical engineering starting salary nationwide. Heck, in certain years, graduates from the top programs will make lower average starting salaries than the corresponding nationwide starting salary. That’s right - lower. </p>

<p>The upshot is that chemical engineering employers do not really seem to care about the quality of undergrad programs.</p>

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<p>If you’re doing ROTC I imagine most potential employers will care more about your service time after graduation than which school you went to for undergrad.</p>

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<p>don’t agree with this</p>

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<p>So does anyone have an answer to the question: Should I add University of Delaware to my list, due to its high ChemE ranking, despite the fact that it has low overall engineering credibility compared to other schools on my list? Also taking into account that after undergrad years i will be in the army for several years, and then am considering graduate school after that.</p>

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<p>You should add Delaware to your ranking. The reason Delaware’s ChE program is so strong relative to other engineering fields is because DuPont has such a strong presence in Delaware. Delaware’s chemical engineering program is top notch.</p>

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<p>How certain are you on chemical engineering?</p>

<p>Delaware is well known enough in chemical engineering that it should not hold you back for jobs or PhD programs. But if you change to a different major, it may be less recruited, or less regarded by PhD program admissions, in those other majors.</p>

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<p>This is an old thread.</p>