My son has been admitted to several schools with engineering programs. Some offer BSME, a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering and some just a BS in Engineering with an emphasis or concentration in Mechanical. At this moment his plan is to either to go to grad school for aerospace engineering after getting his BS, or transfer and complete the 4 year in aerospace engineering.
My thinking is that the universities that offer a BSME would be more desired and specialized than a BS with an emphasis in Mechanical.
All are ABET programs.
Should he only be considering the BSME? Or also consider the BS programs that have an emphasis option?
If he wants to be an AE, why didn’t he apply to AE programs? The chosen route seems unnecessarily circuitous.
On the other hand, many people work in the aerospace industry with ME degrees. He doesn’t specifically need an AE degree to be in the industry. Why does he want an AE degree? What would he like to do with it?
Thank you for answering! That is his interest right now, but he’s young and it could very well change. If you take out the aerospace part of the equation and just consider the BSME over the BSE with concentration, wouldn’t the BSME be more valuable and looked upon more favorably whether for jobs or grad school?
Which schools are in the running? Is it an LAC that is offering the BSE with concentration? IMO, there is a lot more to it than just the degree program when choosing a school - internship/co-op opportunities, facilities, research, etc…
He’s in enough places that I’d take the one that isn’t accredited off the list. Religious affiliation is obviously something very important to him. That probably means leaving Michigan Tech off the list (as long as you can afford the rest). None are widely known engineering programs. All are very small. The chance of running into anyone out here with extensive knowledge about any of them will be low. That said, my gut says to choose a full ME program over a general engineering program with a concentration. Of his top three Grove City is the only one that offers BSME. It is also a pretty significant red flag to me that neither Hope nor Taylor have ASEE profiles. Sorry I can’t be of greater assistance. Hopefully someone else out here can be. Good luck.
I was actually accepted to Hope College back in 1980 … but at that point I think it only had science programs, not engineering (?). I opted for an engineering school in my home state of NY. It was a great education experience, and I really appreciated the career placement services.
Thank you for your replies. I spent some time researching the question today. The matter of specialization seems to be key in job opportunities and acceptance to grad schools. I could not find an instance where the General BSE was recommended or preferred over the BSME I think Grove City might be a great fit for him the more I look into it.