Dear All,
I am a student from India and hold a degree with a major in Mathematics with a respectable GPA. I am keenly interested in pursuing a qualification in Mechanical Engineering in the US.
But when I enquired with several universities in the US, I learnt that most do not permit an admission to a second undergraduate degree and those that do, do not allow admission to a closely related major. From the survey that I carried out, I learnt that Mathematics,Physics,Chemistry,Computer Science etc. are the majors that fall in this category.
This situation has actually put me in a fix, in that, now I am eligible to be admitted only into graduate programs in ME and I do not at all have the core undergraduate knowledge(except Mathematics) of ME to be able to start a graduate program right away.
I wish to know, as to how I can complete core undergraduate courses in Mechanical Engineering.Should I be joining an Associate program in Mechanical Engineering Technology in some community college?Will the Associate program coupled with my Maths degree make me eligible for a graduate program in ME.Or should I apply to any university and complete core ME courses as a non-matriculated student?The problem with this route is that ,most universities have stated that spots for undergraduate engineering courses are limited and hence reserved for undergraduate degree students. Kindly help.
I think the best route is to complete the prerequisite courses as a non matriculated student. But you note the issue.What do people do in your home country when they want to make such a switch? Really you are in a tough spot with that particular target major as upper division requirements not offered at a CC are pretty extensive.
Have you looked at taking some of these core classes in India? Also, some of the other engineering majors, like Engineering Mechanics or Engineering Science, may be more math intensive, more flexible with core requirements and a better fit over ME.
You don’t need a second degree to make the jump from BS Math to MS engineering, it’s not that uncommon, but you will need to have taken some (but not all) of the core classes.
Good Luck!
I would be willing to bet that most of those graduate schools would allow you to take said core courses on their own campus as a graduate student as part of your graduate program. It may take an extra semester or two to complete the degree, but that’s to be expected.
OP, if your goal is to obtain the broad engineering background provided by a BSME, then your only real option is to find a school that will let you take the second undergrad degree. Since there are no hard rules binding US universities, it is likely that there is one out there that would enroll you, if perhaps not one of the more prestigious. Please note that I am not endorsing this option (it is a bad option!), just noting that it is probably possible.
If, on the other hand, your goal is simply to get an engineering degree and work as an engineer, then you can go straight to the MS - people change fields going into grad school all the time. You will need to pick a specialty, and your admission chances will be related to your preparation in that specialty. Grad programs will tolerate some shortcomings in your preparation (as boneh3ad noted), but there are limits, so it would be in your best interests to take some of the undergrad courses in your selected specialty prior to application or at least enrollment.
Now you are indeed correct that spots in undergrad ME courses are often preferentially assigned to undergraduates, but that does not mean that you cannot get in, it just means that it may take longer. You may also be able to find grad-level equivalents, which will mean a steeper learning curve but will provide you better preparation and will avoid most or all of the restrictions.
Oh, and avoid “Technology” degrees if you want the ME degree. They are poor preparation for grad level engineering study, and are designed for a different purpose entirely.