<p>I've been thinking for a while now on what I wanted to major in. I first was set on businesks and discovered 60 credits later that I hate business and there's no way I want to do that for the rest of my life. I finally landed on wanting to become an engineer after I recieved my associated in arts. I know that alot of credits won't go towards my engineering degree but I'm not just going to settle for business and being miserable so that's not the biggest concern for me. I've been looking into different degree programs and I came across a dual degree program that is 5 years long. The first two years is at Loyola university and are all physics based courses. After the 2 years the college works with other universities such as Colombia college in New York and a few others. You don't have to necessarily go to the schools they are affiliated with and they've actually had student transfer to university's such as u of I champagne Urbana . But is this first two year portion a waste of time? They say it makes you more competitive compared to other engineers who have just one bachelors but I don't know if that's necessarily true and want to know if I should just go for the bachelors in engineering? I also want to know if you think an Ivy League school such as Colombia is a good place to transfer after the physics degree or if the whole "Ivy League school" thing is more for business majors and not as important for engineers? I know champagne Urbana is highly known for engineering but would it be a better pick compared to Colombia? Would they tie? And answers to any of the questions would be great thank you for sharing any knowledge on the subject!</p>
<p>What kind of engineering are you interested in? You would be better off getting a business degree and an engineering degree rather than getting a physics and engineering degree. If you already have the credits towards a business degree and want two degrees finish the business and then try engineering. It will most likely take you another 3 to 4 years. It isn’t like business where you can take a course at any time; every engineering course builds on the one before it. On that note, a lot of engineers take the business route after working their way up.</p>
<p>In general, these 3-2 BA/BS degree programs have quite the negative connotation. It’s suggested that you complete a standard 4-year engineering program or 5-year program with additional co-ops and internships. </p>
<p>The only case in which the additional degree in physics would be helpful is if you’re interested in advanced research. Even in that case it would be more beneficial to spend your time working in a lab or taking graduate engineering courses and then pursuing a PhD.</p>
<p>Hey, just out of curiosity why do those 3+2 programs have a negative effect?</p>
<p>The negative connotation comes from the fact that few who start in a 3+2 program end up with an engineering degree. Also, backloading all of your technical courses into 2 very intense years in the carnivorous environment of engineering school can overwhelm someone coming from an LAC. Those who complete it, though, tend to be excellent engineers.</p>
<p>If you go to a place like UIUC, you can probably do both without starting at a different school. A lot of mechanical and electrical engineers at my school ([Illinois</a> Institute of Technology](<a href=“http://www.iit.edu%5DIllinois”>http://www.iit.edu)) get dual degrees with physics and engineering in the same amount of time and maybe even less if they have some AP credit starting out.</p>
<p>Lots of these schools also have Applied Physics or Engineering Physics programs which give you both in the shorter time frame. There are also a number of co-terminal degree programs where you can get a B.S. in Engineering and an M.S. in Applied Physics or vice-versa in 5 years. I can’t imagine that their physics programs are worse than the one at the more liberal arts-like school, rather they are probably stronger and more research-oriented.</p>
<p>Unless you really want to start at the non-engineering school for a particular reason, just go to the engineering program directly.</p>
<p>Personally, I wouldn’t recommend double majoring in physics and a traditional engineering degree. Both have long sequences of tough, technical classes, and there could be some serious issues with required courses being scheduled at the same time. </p>
<p>I went with getting a physics minor and was able to only take the classes within the department that interested me. It gave me a lot more freedom to also take a significant number of graduate classes within my department and graduate a term early (I came in with a decent amount of AP credit which helped with the last thing.).</p>
<p>Wow first I’d like thank you all for the replies! I was hesitant before with getting the bachelors in business then going to get my bachelors in engineering because I fear I wont continue after my first bachelors and be stuck with just business (yuck). Especially if it would take me another 4 years after my 2 years I still need for the business degree. The other reason I was leaning towards going to get my bachelors in physics then going to engineering school is because my counselors have stressed that engineering school is very competitive and since most of my classes are business based it might be difficult for me to get admitted without taking a few more semesters at community college and I’m definitely trying to avoid that! I’ve been working and going to school fulltime and havent been 100% on my studies with having to keep a steady income to pay for rent etc. Going to a university living on campus and the whole loan process is something I want to start because I’m 22 and only have my associates which I blame on work. The Loyola program I was already accepted to for the spring and with my credits about 29 or so would go towards the dual degree program. When I mentioned to my counselors about Urbana they stressed the competition level and seemed to have little faith I would be admitted now. I’ve looked into IIT and I know its a very tough school my only turn off was when I was looking at some of the top Engineering schools I didnt see IIT being mentioned. Urbana is at the top and colombia was somewhere in the top 20 I believe. Sorry about my messy comments its just my counselors seem to want me to just stick with business period and havent been helpful and I’ve been a little stressed with my situation and I can’t keep track of all the information I’ve been trying to find over the past few months… Does anyone know other dual-degree programs with engineering without physics bachelors? Or even any type of program that is set up for engineering schools that make you have a higher advantage at all? Again thank you!</p>
<p>Research shows that students are happiest and most successful when surrounded by a similar peer group - one where your scores fit in the middle of the other classmates. Columbia needs to be seen for what it is; a pipe dream and a sales pitch, not a good idea for you. </p>
<p>If you were not a good candidate for their engineering school as a high school senior, you are not likely to be a good match for going there as a college junior. I don’t know you and don’t mean to be harsh, but I feel it is too much of a leap for any but the absolute brightest. The program is great for the multi-talented high achievers, 750+ SATs in both math and reading, with passions in both technology and liberal arts. It is a TERRIBLE idea for someone looking for a backdoor way into a high reach engineering school. I researched these for my son, asked a lot of questions of a lot of people, and we ruled out the WUSTL/Columbia/Dartmouth programs because he, academically, would not be within the average range of those schools.</p>
<p>Do not discount the IIT undergraduate program! It is excellent at turning out real-world working engineers. My undergrad years were spent in a highly theoretical program, well respected for turning out academics and theoreticians and, therefore, highly ranked. If your goal is to be a working engineer, then make your path to success your first big engineering project; get to your goal quickly and efficiently for the least amount of money.</p>
<p>If you choose to go to Loyola, it is a very nice school, and I hope everything works out well for you.</p>
<p>Well in highschool I really didn’t know what I wanted to do. Shocking I really didn’t know much about engineering until last year when I was researching science and math careers. The reason my counselors said I may not get admitted to a school such as U of I Champagn Urbana was the fact I have so many business classes…not because I’m doing poor academically. When I found out about the Loyola program and viewed the transfer guideline for the program I saw I had a semester already knocked out of the way so I wouldn’t have to go there as long, get some engineering classes there and possibly be done with both degrees in about 4 years. What really made it stick out to me so much was the fact that the 60 some credits I already have wouldnt go completely to waste. After the discussion with my counselors they made it seem if I end up going to an engineering school I would basically be starting at the beginning and it would take me 4 or 5 years for the one degree. Part of Loyolas program stated that they have some type of affiliation with Colombia with the program but people that finished the program have also been admitted to U of I. I’ve heard many great things about IIT but my concern was that since its not really listed on the top engineering schools if I were to for some reason be looking for a job in California or wherever would they look at it as being a great engineering school? Or is it a school that people in Illinois would only know how great it is? Thank you very much.</p>
<p>This is the site I’ve been talking about. IIT is #72</p>
<p>[Best</a> Engineering School Rankings | Engineering Program Rankings | US News](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/eng-rankings/page+3]Best”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/eng-rankings/page+3)</p>
<p>As a faculty member at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), I can tell you that the engineering education you get here is quite good and companies are usually eager to hire our graduates. Many of our students have internship and co-op opportunities and the Interprofessional Project courses that every student takes also provides real world experience. My son majored in Electrical Engineering at IIT and got a job within 2 months of graduation in 2010 despite the weak economy. As part of the http:theaitu.org IIT is well known among engineers, not just in Chicago. Companies usually care more about an ABET accredited degree and relevant experience than the ranking of the university.</p>
<p>A more theoretical and research-based program is also available and a significant number of our graduates move on to graduate school in top programs. This is true both of engineering and the sciences (my department is physics).</p>
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<p>In some areas, “IIT” does not usually refer to the one in Chicago.:)</p>
<p>By the way, the name of the Ivy League university in the City of New York is COLUMBIA! “Colombia” is a notorious South American nation.</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus: of course you are correct! Still IIT (Chicago) has a certain reputation…</p>