Engineering with honors college

<p>Here is the description on the EE page:</p>

<p>Scholars Program</p>

<p>The University Scholars (BS/MS) Program is designed specifically for outstanding students to complete the requirements for both their bachelor’s degree and a master of science in electrical engineering in an accelerated five year period. The University Scholars Program is intended for very capable and highly-motivated undergraduate students who wish to pursue graduate study in the department. Students accepted into the program will receive dual credit for up to six hours of 500-level courses. The six hours will be applied to both their bachelor’s degree and to their master’s degree.</p>

<p>Undergraduate electrical engineering students who want to participate in the University Scholars (BS/MS) Program must:</p>

<pre><code>Complete at least 61 credit hours towards the bachelor’s degree (transfer credit hours not included)
Maintain a minimum overall GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale
</code></pre>

<p>If you are interested in the Department’s Scholars (BS/MS) Program, please see your adviser or any faculty member in the area of intended graduate study. For information about how to apply to Graduate School, please stop by the department office.</p>

<p>Ok…that’s the University Scholars Program which is offered in a number of majors. </p>

<p>Not sure if anyone on CC has done the EE route, but there are people who have done/are doing the USP route for other majors. Not sure if SEA<em>Tide specifically did USP, but he did get his bachelors and masters at the same time. (go SEA</em>Tide!)</p>

<p>Even if a student’s major isn’t listed below, there is a process that can include YOUR major if Bama offers a grad degree in that discipline…</p>

<p>THE UNIVERSITY SCHOLARS PROGRAM</p>

<p>The University Scholars Program is intended for gifted and highly motivated candidates for BA and BS degrees at The University of Alabama whose objectives include degrees at the master’s or doctoral level. In participating University Scholars departments, with a closely integrated undergraduate and graduate program, qualified students begin graduate study in their senior year; such a program may lead to simultaneous completion of requirements for both master’s and bachelor’s degrees, each within its specified framework.</p>

<p>Students in the University Scholars Program are classified as undergraduates until they complete requirements for their undergraduate degrees and therefore may not hold graduate assistantships until their classifications are changed to graduate status. At that time, University Scholars will also become eligible for graduate fellowships and scholarships.</p>

<p>**Any department that offers a graduate program may, with the approval of the dean of the Graduate School, participate in the University Scholars Program. **The following programs currently are approved to participate in the University Scholars Program:</p>

<p>Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics
Applied Statistics
Finance
Biological Sciences
Chemical Engineering
Chemistry
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Communication Studies
Computer Science
Consumer Sciences
Economics (College of Commerce and Business Administration)
Economics (College of Arts and Sciences)
English
Electrical and Computer Engineering
French
Geography
German
Health Studies (Sports Medicine Concentration)
Human Nutrition and Hospitality Management (Food and Nutrition Concentration)
Mathematics
Mechanical Engineering
Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
Operations Management
Physics and Astronomy
The following are minimum requirements; divisions or departments may set higher standards:</p>

<p>Phase I: Admission to Phase I is by invitation of the department and the dean of the Graduate School. Admission is chiefly determined by the faculty’s estimate of a student’s talents, motivation and potential for graduate study. Students may also apply for admission to Phase I through their major department during the second semester of the sophomore year. Contingent upon completion of 61 semester hours of study and with a grade point average in all courses taken of not less than 3.3 (as computed without the plus/minus system), students are admitted to Phase I at the beginning of their junior year on recommendation of the departments to which they have applied. During the junior year, students will take between four and six courses in their major field, as advised by their departments, to prepare them for the work of Phase II. Students seeking admission to Phase I will be informed by their departments if their admission requirements differ from those specified here.</p>

<p>Phase II: Admission to graduate study is also by invitation and is facilitated by, but not dependent upon, participation in Phase I. On completion of no fewer than 91 hours (ordinarily at the end of the junior year), students may apply for and be accepted for admission to the Graduate School. They must have grade point averages of not less than 3.3 (as computed without the plus/minus system) in all courses. Transfer students are subject to the published residence regulations and must have completed the last 30 hours in residence. Admission to the Graduate School will be granted if the student has (a) met all the criteria above as well as other minimum requirements for graduate admission (see <a href=“http://www.graduate.ua.edu”>www.graduate.ua.edu</a>), (b) completed three-fourths of the hours required for the major and the minor, (c) met all requirements for the core curriculum, and (d) been recommended by the department to which he or she is seeking admission. (In special circumstances, departments may elect to invite an application and recommend acceptance of an applicant with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.)</p>

<p>Upon admission to the Graduate School, the student will begin a program of study leading to the master’s or doctoral degree as approved by his or her department and by the dean of the Graduate School. The program of study for prospective University Scholars must be submitted to the Graduate School prior to the student’s enrollment in graduate classes.</p>

<p>The bachelor’s degree normally will be awarded at the commencement immediately following satisfactory completion of the first year of graduate study and attainment of a total of 128 semester hours of credit or the minimum required by the college. Those courses taken in the senior year/first year of graduate study may count toward both the bachelor’s and graduate degrees. No more than 15 hours may be dual-counted toward both the bachelor’s and graduate degrees. Interested students should check with their departments for specific coursework requirements. Participants in the University Scholars Program are exempt from the degree limit of 36 hours in a single department. The master’s or doctoral degree will be awarded upon satisfactory completion of the requirements for these degrees. In some cases, the bachelor’s and master’s degrees may be awarded simultaneously; the completion of the master’s degree, however, may require an additional time period.</p>

<p>I’m kind of surprised that University Scholars in EE only get to count 2 courses (6 credits) towards both degrees. One of the selling points for University Scholars in many departments is that students can count 5 courses (15 credits) towards both degrees. This is likely why the University Scholars I’ve known who’ve worked towards an MS in engineering disciplines typically take 1.5-2 years to complete their master’s degree.</p>

<p>Remember that University Scholars are able pursue a master’s degree in something other than their undergraduate major(s) if they so desire and that the STEM MBA program is a allows students with majors in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) to complete both a bachelor’s degree and an MBA in 5 years.</p>

<p>If your son has already taken a few courses in college level math or physics and would like to start in higher level courses, I would strongly suggest they contact those departments directly about course selection. The two departments have been known to fast track promising students into upper division and graduate level courses.</p>

<p>Thanks, Sea_tide. He has met with the dean of the physics dept and he is the one who suggested the double major in EE. He has already completed multiple upper level physics classes and math classes. (He has more math credits than are required for either a physics or EE degree.) He has not spoken to anyone in the EE dept since that is a new direction for him. His plans are most definitely toward grad school in physics. </p>

<p>He is still discerning all of his options. Thanks for all of the feedback.</p>

<p>I seem to recall that he’s officially changed his major to EE and will add back Physics once he starts at UA. As such, his primary advisor will be the department offering the EE major. As you likely know, the College of Engineering tends to have a lot of sequenced courses and traditionally advises based on a flowchart. As your son has already completed a lot of the required courses, the traditional flowchart may need to be modified to fit his needs. I would highly suggest that he gets in touch with the dean or an advisor in ECE to talk about his options.</p>

<p>Two suggestions that I would make are that he continues to take some courses in mathematics. Students going on to graduate degrees in quantitative fields typically need more math courses than those who don’t. I would also have him consider taking some of transferable courses over the summer(s) at a school near you or wherever you can find affordable tuition, noting that UA has a lower limit on the courses one can transfer from a two year college than from a four year college. A lot of students choose community colleges near their home, while others attend a public university in their home state. A few students, such as myself, attend a school in a completely different state with very low tuition.</p>

<p>University Scholars who plan to get a PhD are encouraged to get a master’s degree in a subject other than what they plan to study at the doctoral level. This has the dual advantage of preventing the student from needing to take the same courses twice and so the students have a broader field of knowledge.</p>

<p>A great thing about UA is that students who really want to take a specific course can typically get permission to do so with relative ease. This allows top students to further personalize their college education.</p>

<p>He did not know his advisor would be in the ECE dept. Yes,the change to EE is definitely recent and not his original plan. I’ll get ds to make contact with dean of the ECE dept. But, I know ds going to want an advisor in the physics dept.</p>

<p>He has been taking classes at a 4 yr university for a while now. (One of the issues he is discerning is does he go to UA where he can keep all of his credits (I just mentioned the UNiversity Scholars program to him last night) or does he go to other schools where they limit transfer credits or accept none.)</p>

<p>What sort of classes would you suggest he takes over the summer? Would taking classes after high school graduation make him lose his freshman status and freshman scholarships? I know that is true at other institutions. </p>

<p>Ones primary advisor is in the department/college of their primary major, though students with majors in multiple colleges often have to meet with an advisor in each college every semester. It’s relatively common for top students to have multiple advisors who can sign off on schedules, course substitutions, etc. I had three advisors and would often contact other faculty/advisors as well.</p>

<p>Regardless of where your son attends, I cannot stress enough the benefits of finding an advisor whom one gets along with and who understands ones educational needs and desires. </p>

<p>In terms of transfer credits, will the other schools grant him higher course placement or will they have him repeat the courses? While there can be value in repeating a course, a student who did well in the original course is often better off just relearning concepts they have trouble with or which are taught differently at the current school and are used in future courses. </p>

<p>A great way to find how specific courses transfer to UA is <a href=“Transfer Credit Equivalency Home Page”>https://ssb.ua.edu/pls/PROD/rtstreq.P_Searchtype&lt;/a&gt;. Note that not all courses at the other college/university may be listed and one would thus have to contact the UA department or the UA registrar’s office to see how the course would transfer.</p>

<p>UA has a rule allowing graduating seniors to take classes at a community college or possibly a 4-year college/university during the summer between their high school graduation and their first semester at UA while still being considered an incoming freshman for admissions and scholarships.</p>

<p>When scheduling courses, a lot of students prefer to balance out their schedule with courses in multiple subjects. If your son would prefer such a schedule, he can fulfill a lot of core curriculum and elective requirements that way. In terms of choosing summer courses at another college/university, first make sure that the course transfers to UA. Students typically take courses which are very similar at most schools, Calculus I and English Composition I being common examples, or courses where one is not considering much advanced study in the subject. That said, provided a student knows that courses are often taught differently based on the college/university and oftentimes the individual course instructor, they can take most any course and will do well taking further courses on the subject at UA.</p>