<p>Ok, so I just switched my major to envo engineering and I'm scheduled to take Modern Mechanics, Calc III, Chem, and Eng. My question is, how much of a disadvantage will I be at if I dont take the usual first year engineering seminar going forward? What exactly do they teach you in those classes?</p>
<p>Engineering seminar, if it's the same sort of engineering seminar that I always had, was my favorite part of engineering school. It's like a lecture series on outside research or projects or it talks about the more random aspects of engineering that you're probably not going to cover in your classes. It's typically different every year... They bring in a lot of outside speakers and present some really off-the-wall things... The fun part of seminar at UIUC was bringing in people who had some odd research going on and then watching the old emeritus professors sit politely through the lecture and then tear them apart during Q&A.</p>
<p>If that's what it is, I don't think you'd be at a huge disadvantage in terms of missing a semester of it. It's just informative, and sometimes pretty interesting.</p>
<p>I get the feeling that engineering seminar might not be the same everywhere, though. What does the course description say?</p>
<p>In my undergrad, engineering seminars were required zero credit pass/fail courses taken each semester during freshmen and sophomore years. I guess in general, it focused more on professional development than anything else. Topics included things such as licensure, sustainability, life-long learning, career development, stress management, presentation skills, speaking skills, etc. Though four semesters may sound like a lot, we only had one hour sessions five to ten times per semester.</p>
<p>In my grad school, it's an optional zero credit "course" where only grad students attend. It is set up much like aibaar's description, though I didn't like it as much. Maybe it's because I didn't like how the speakers presented their research. Many presenters, particularly those who were current students, assumed everyone were intimately familiar with their field of study, and that was not true. The audience was pretty diverse, so the material was usually over the head of many people if the topic isn't their area of expertise. Presenters who are professors tend to be better of course.</p>
<p>Just make sure your engineering seminar isn't required for graduation. I wouldn't worry about missing these classes.</p>