Engineering at UChicago?

Hi everyone!

I’m trying to decide on attending UChicago but I wanted to know about the engineering options or (lack thereof) there.
Is it unheard of for students at UChicago to go on to become successful engineers? If I went there and majored in Physics or Applied Math, could I still get into a good graduate engineering program or through some other route become an engineer (I’m thinking mechanical, civil, or aerospace)? I’m also wondering if someone could major in an unrelated science like Biochemistry or Chemistry and then become something like a mechanical or civil engineer.

If I do choose to go down this path, what would I have to do during my time at Chicago? I’m guessing that I’d have to pad my resume with activities like engineering internships but I’m more curious about the ScavHunt, which I’ve heard ppl call the “unofficial engineering curriculum” at UChicago bcs people build crazy things like nuclear reactors. Do the ScavHunt projects really look like engineering projects, and is there any way doing stuff like that could help me build my case as an engineer?

Lastly, I’m also thinking about the new Molecular Engineering undergrad major. Since it’s so new and different, what is its reputation like to graduate engineering programs? Will people respect it as much as a traditional engineering curriculum, or take it less seriously? (Sorry if that came across as really blunt, I’m just compiling all these random things I heard and putting them here for opinions.)

Thanks!

Calling Scav the “unofficial engineering curriculum” is a joke, don’t take it too seriously.

If you really want to be an engineer, go to an engineering school. Look at the requirements for engineering grad school at MIT: http://meche.mit.edu/education/prospective-students/graduate/apply

You simply can’t take classes on “materials, control, design and manufacturing” here as far as I know. I wouldn’t bother with MolEng unless you actually want to do Molecular Engineering, it isn’t the same thing.

According to your other thread you are waitlisted at Chicago and in at Cornell. Commit to Cornell, dude. Don’t do this to yourself. It would be dumb for you to come here anyways. You’ll get a great education at Cornell. You’ll learn to be an engineer. They’re all a bunch of dorky nerds, too. You’ll have just as much fun (or not) there.

A lot of the CS students end up being software engineers. For other engineerings, you will probably have to go to grad school (which can be a pretty good thing for many STEM fields), or just be Elon Musk.

Don’t be so charmed by UC (and I truly think it has many charms) that you go to a school that doesn’t offer your major. Go to an engineering school – try Harvey Mudd, for example.

If you have a CS degree (from the CS dept vs computer engineering) you cannot call yourself a software engineer. You can however call yourself a software architect. Live with one.

He’s already in at Cornell. No need to apply to Mudd.

You don’t need to have a computer engineering degree to call yourself a software engineer, or to be one. Heck, you don’t even need a degree at all.

Yes, you need a license to call yourself an engineer. My H has a PhD in CS but cannot call himself an engineer of any sort. Hence the “software architect” title.

Ah, sorry, missed that he is already admitted.

I have to disagree that a license is needed to be a software engineer (at least the common type).

Actually a person can be hired as a software engineer even without a degree (college or high school) but it is rare. You will find many software engineers at big software companies do not have computer science or computer engineering degrees. Usually they have some kinds of STEM degrees like Math, Physics, Aerospace,etc. As long as a person can program s/he can be hired as a software engineer. It happened frequently during the dotcom burst period and it still happens.

A person with computer BS/BA/MS degree usually enters workforce as a software engineer. As s/he develops the person can advance to software architect or (engineering) manager, etc.

A computer PhD degree holder has more advanced training her/his initial title can be data scientist, maybe architect, etc. Many of them can also be hired as software engineers with more advanced titles like Sr. Staff, Principal, etc.

I think software engineer is different than traditional engineers somehow.

What @goingnutsmom is referring to is that most states have statutory rules about commercial use of the terms “engineer” and “engineering.” Someone who does not have accreditation as an engineer could not solicit clients to hire him as an engineer or be a principal in an engineering firm. That doesn’t really have anything to do with whether a large employer wants to call its staff computer scientists “computer engineers.”

There is a credential called Professional Engineer that requires a BS degree in an engineering field, passing an exam on engineering fundamentals (usually taken around the time one finishes the degree), acquiring 4 years of qualifying experience, and then passing another exam. The PE license is given by the state, and each state has its own requirements, which will almost certainly include what I said. This is relevant for traditional engineering fields.

Only PEs can sign and seal engineering drawings, be in responsible charge of a firm in private practice or serve as a fully qualified expert witness, but plenty of people work as engineers without ever needing to becoming a PE, especially if they work for a large company.

Software engineering does not really have a well-established path to licensing in most states, although some groups would like it to. Neither does computer engineering.

As far as the job goes, typically, a software engineer should have more skill at managing the software development process when compared with a mere programmer, and a typical CS degree program will require a course or two in software engineering. Then people learn a particular company’s process on the job. A computer engineer is supposed to have knowledge about the hardware, and especially the hardware-software interface. People can learn this in a program called Computer Engineering, or by choosing the right set of electives in a CS or EE degree. Any employer can call its staff whatever they want.

The molecular engineering program is just starting and they are only taking a very small number of majors right now until they have all the staff in place. There is no guarantee you would be accepted and it isn’t ABET certified so not sure if there would be any benefit to that major over something like physics to try and apply to engineering grad schools. Definitely go to Cornell. Even the CS program at UChicago is very theoretical and would not be the best fit for future engineering plans.

Most PEs are in the field of civil engineering. I’ve never heard of a professional software engineer title. Sounds more like certifications you take classes in.

NCEES does give a PE exam in Software Engineering.