<p>Here are the schools with engineering majors cited by The Princeton Review for having good campus career/job placement services. This list is by no means inclusive but these schools are good for finding a job. I think co-op programs are also very strong at these schools because of the job placement and connections whether its regional or nationally:</p>
<p>Northeastern University
University Of Texas - Austin
Penn State - University Park
Rose-Hulman Institute Of Technology
Clemson University
University Of Virginia
University Of Notre Dame
Yale University
University Of Florida
Cornell University
Smith College
Villanova University</p>
<p>Kettering University has a great reputation in many industries. They have diversified themselves tremendously in the past couple of decades going from having just GM as a co-op employer to over 500 different companies that students are partnered with. </p>
<p>What really sets Kettering’s co-op apart that no other university offers is the MANDATORY co-op. Yes, Northeastern and other universities do offer co-op, but it is not mandatory and if they are, not for as long as Kettering requires you to co-op for. Presently, Kettering students complete 9 academic terms and have the opportunity to co-op 9 work terms. 7 work terms are REQUIRED for graduation including 2 of those being a senior thesis project for the employer. That is another big selling point…many graduate schools do not require thesis projects and as far as I know, Kettering is the only undergradute university that requires a thesis project to graduate. </p>
<p>As far as reputation, Kettering is of course going to be most well known in areas where engineering and science and business are most prevalent…the midwest and the coasts. Kettering presently has co-op employers in at least 46 states and as I said before, over 500 different companies. You should really check the school out, you get a lot of bang for your buck…and yes, co-ops at Kettering are ALL paid.</p>
<p>I’ve spent 30 years in industry and academia, working for everything from start-ups to Fortune 50 companies. I have never met a Kettering graduate, and their reputation isn’t so great. Perhaps it’s better in the auto industry, but for non-auto manufacturers, they have a poor reputation.</p>
<p>Kettering is a great school if you want to have plenty of experience for graduation. I know a bunch of kids who went there…they co-oped at GM, John Deere, Cargill, etc.</p>
<p>Anyways, I wouldn’t place an extreme amount of emphasis on going to a school where co-ops are important. I go to Michigan, where very little emphasis is placed on co-op. But many companies recruit co-ops at the career fairs, so if you want one, you definitely have the opportunity. I ended up accepting a co-op position with the very first company I talked to at the career fair.</p>
<p>I do encourage you to co-op…it is great experience, and the opportunity to make some serious cash. I am doing back-to-back semesters of co-op and by the time I’m done will have made $40k+</p>
<p>Kettering is not as well known as it is by its former name: GMI - General Motors Institute. Kettering is a school completely focused on hands on learning and real world experience. As mentioned before, students graduate with about 2.5 years work experience. This work experience starts as a freshmen, you get paid, the school helps you find the co-op, it applies to every major, and it is a requirement for graduation at the university.</p>
<p>For some engineering program statistics:</p>
<p>Industrial/Manufacturing Engineering
Kettering is in the Top Five in the United States:
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Kettering University
Bradley University (IL)
Rose-Hulman (IN)
San Jose State University (CA)</p>
<p>Mechanical Engineering
Kettering is in the Top Five in the United States:
Rose-Hulman (IN)
Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo
Cooper Union (NY)
Harvey Mudd (CA)
Kettering University</p>
<p>Overall ranking Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs (highest degree is a bachelors or masters)
Kettering is the Top Twenty in the United States:
<p>Almost every college has a similar program, most do not make it mandatory, though. Mandatory co-op hurts students interested in research.</p>
<p>Also, comparing the non-PhD program rankings is like saying that Penn State had the best basketball team last year because they won the NIT. Sure they had a good team, but it’s impossible to say how they would have finished compared to the top teams.</p>
<p>You’re comparing apples to oranges though. Students don’t usually go to Kettering with PhDs in mind…they go there with the idea that they will get experience through co-ops and be well-prepared for the workforce. I don’t see how the “mandatory co-op” is harmful to students in this case. You definitely know what you are getting in to.</p>
<p>I would say 99% of undergrads don’t full understand engineering before college. There really isn’t an easy way to gain exposure, so why would they? As a result, you see very few students know whether they’ll pursue grad school or not in high school. Sure you have some students that claim to know exactly what they want to do, and some may even follow through, but the vast majority of students start to figure things out in their second or third year (sometimes later). So I don’t think you’re seeing much self-selection in applicants.</p>
<p>Of course, if you want true self-selection, just make co-op programs available but not mandatory. Students with an interest in industry sign up, and students with an interest in research don’t. </p>
<p>The problem with a school like Kettering is that there just isn’t the world-class research available to allow a student to pursue an in-depth research proposal and head to a top school. So really, attending that school pretty much means that you have to go into industry. They’re just formalizing that situation with a mandatory co-op.</p>
<p>Northeastern University is by far the best school to go to for cooperative education. My dad is an electrical engineer/astronomy professor at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center For Astrophysics and he is looking to hire a Northeastern University co-op student (he specifically said Northeastern, not Tufts, Harvard, MIT etc…)</p>
<p>I am concerned at a number of your comments. To say Kettering has a poor reputation outside of automotive when you said you have never met a Kettering graduate does not add up. Kettering has over 500 different companies that they are partnered with most being outside of automotive such as UPS, Fisher Price, Stryker, etc. </p>
<p>Also, you suggest that Kettering students are not prepared for graduate or advanced research beyond their undergrads…that too is false. Kettering is the only university in the nation where Harvard does not cap the number of undergrads they receive students from: they will take as many qualified undergrads as they can from Kettering. Also, 1/6 Kettering/GMI alum are Presidents/CEOs/Owners of their respective companies, you rarely get that high in a company without some further advanced degree such as an MBA. Medical schools have recognized Kettering as a haven for students seeking to go into medicine because of the training they receive as engineers in the classroom and at co-op. </p>
<p>Additionally, research opportunities do exist on campus. For example, Kettering’s crash safety center is the only one in the nation open to undergraduate research. All others in the country require students to be at least at the graduate level. </p>
<p>Please do some further research before you are so quick to shoot down a very good university.</p>
<p>First of all, I have done my due diligence in research. </p>
<p>Second, my comments are not contradictory. I have not met a Kettering graduate, but that does not mean I have no knowledge of the school. As a director of college recruiting for a Fortune 100 company, I was responsible for reviewing the schools from which we would hire. Out committee met with hiring managers from other top engineering companies to compare notes and we also used several of the industry resource guides that follow engineer performance from different schools after graduation. Kettering did not perform well in any analysis.</p>
<p>I am sure several of the automotive companies chose to hire there, but in a non-automotive setting, it is not well regarded. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Not true. I state that they are at a substantial disadvantage for research-based graduate school admissions, and that is true. The most important criteria when I review applications to my graduate program is the amount and type of undergraduate research performed. A university without a cutting edge research program will not be able to support “hot” academic research that would lead to admission to a top academic program. What a school like that can do is support industry driven projects (e.g. crash safety) that will not gain you admission to a top program.</p>
<p>Professional graduate schools (MBA, JD, MD, etc.) or research-based graduate school after some industry experience are entirely different situations.</p>
<p>When we visited Marquette last summer, we were most impressed with the coop program. Sure, it adds a year to your education, but graduating with a resume is so worth it. There is even a six year program where you get your BS/MS with a coop. I know this is a lot of years back to back, but it will be totally worth it when you go out into the job market. One question I asked was, do any kids go into coop, and then never go back to school. The reply, that’s never happened. I know procedurally, there’s an agreement to not lure the student away from the school, but really impressed how a kid can go back to school after tasting the good life of living on his own, earning a paycheck, and no homework to come home to. A major reason many who go out to work and say they’ll go back and get their master’s on their employer’s dime very rarely do it. Once you’re out in the real world, raising a family, making money, who wants to go back to the books? Husband and I never did, and have always regretted it. Was so embarrassed when my son asked us why we never got our masters. Oh, well, a different time, when getting a college education was a major accomplishment. We’re both around 50 and are from the south and were only able to go to college because we received scholarships.</p>
<p>In engineering, no degree almost certainly means no job. So companies are willing to hire you as essentially a “trainee”, but if you drop out of school (and in many cases, if you change majors), you’re not longer qualified for that job.</p>
<p>I keep making the mistake of comparing coops to kids that take a few semesters off to earn money, take a break, and never go back. Hard to get back into the momentum of things. Still, I have a lot of respect for the kids that do it. Got to have a lot of motivation and maturity. But what a great experience. Would you recommend coops at geographical locations other than your schools? Would be great to broaden their horizons.</p>