My HS junior son is in the process of narrowing down his list of engineering programs to apply to. I was looking for some insight with regards to engineering class sizes at U of I. I realize there will be a wide range in numbers depending on the class but any info would be greatly appreciated.
My son is in his second year and majoring in civil. Class size really varies. CS 101 might be as large as 800 people, but there’s a discussion section which would probably have around 30. Calculus classes might have 200-300 but would also have a small discussion section. Introductory physics classes are much like calculus, except they also have a lab section. My son is in a sophomore level civil class this semester. It has close to 200 students. I think higher level classes are usually smaller. To give an example, I looked up a few mechanical classes while typing my post. At least one had around 150 students, while several others had lecture with 50-60 and a much smaller discussion section.
@bigdadreed If your son applies to UIUC make sure he understands that he can list a 2nd major choice. Some kids either are too stubborn, naïve, not informed about this. If they applied to a competitive major, are surprised if they get waitlisted or denied. Some, as seen on this website, want to go back and add in that second choice. But it is too late if decisions have already come out.
Also, when looking at engineering programs, see if the student is directly admitted to the major or has to “recompete” – like at Purdue. They have the first year engineering program to acquaint students to all engineering disciplines. Then based on factors (maybe GPA?) they get to select which engineering discipline to go into.
The particular engineering program your son is interested should be an ABET approved program. You can look the school up on the ABET website to see which engineering programs are approved at that school.
Right- classes with huge professor lectures are almost always broken down into typical classrooms for discussions or labs, usually given by a grad student TA. Also, once you get into upper level classes, many are similar to high school classrooms with 30+ students, but popular ones may be 50-60. This is pretty typical for many large state flagship public R1 universities and even some of the largest private universities.
We were told some engineering and science disciplines have had enrollment and class sizes nearly double over the last decade or so at UIUC. This is basically a major way the university has responded to state budgetary problems.
It would be a rare class that has a size of 5-10 people with all the students on a first name basis with professors, like you might expect in a smaller program at a medium-sized private university or a small liberal arts college.