<p>How is the engineering department at Hopkins? I know it is legendary for bio med, but what about the other areas? It is ranked pretty high for its overall engineering program. How does it compare to bigger places like berkeley, michigan, or illinois? Even though those schools are more highly ranked. I'm more interested in either aerospace or mechanical and the bigger schools seem to be way higher ranked than hopkins, but is bigger necessarily better in this sense? Hopkins is way smaller and probably has more opportunities for research. Where do the big aerospace companies look to hire people (lockheed, northrop, boeing...)?</p>
<p>I’m not too familiar with the programs at the other schools, but I think some of the big aerospace companies do recruit at Hopkins. In particular, Hopkins seems to have close ties to Northrop Grumman.</p>
<p>In a general sense, Hopkins is a huge research university with relatively few undergraduates, which translates into a lot of research opportunities for undergrads. Roughly 2/3 of the undergrads are involved in research. In particular, you should look at the Applied Physics Lab (APL), which is a division of Hopkins with close ties to the School of Engineering that does a lot of aerospace research. Some more information is [url=<a href=“https://aplapp.com/]here[/url”>https://aplapp.com/]here[/url</a>]. There is a special program for Hopkins undergraduates to get internships at the APL.</p>
<p>And of course if you’re interested in defense (and an American citizen), there are a ton of opportunities in the Baltimore-Washington area, including the APL.</p>
<p>Each undergraduate student in mechanical engineering is assigned an faculty advisor, just like a graduate student. Not sure that you’ll be able to do that in big state universities like Berkeley.</p>
<p>Just curious what schools are considered peer institutions with Johns Hopkins for engineering? Perhaps, Berkeley, Michigan and Illinois are. However, what about the same academic level in addition to similar size, and vibe at the school?</p>
<p>^^ Princeton, Columbia and Rice.</p>
<p>Professor101- Thanks for your response. My d has considered all 3. JHU, Princeton and Rice remain high on her list for either Chem E, Mech E and perhaps an economics minor. I’m grateful that she has liked most of the schools we’ve visited. Her challenge will be trying to pick and choose where to apply. She got a really warm welcome at JHU from the staff as well as the students. </p>
<p>Can anyone tell me if there are plans to add a student union at JHU?</p>
<p>To my knowledge, there are no plans to build a single “student union.” Like many of its peer institutions, Hopkins spreads out the type of facilities frequently found in a student union among a number of buildings including, e.g., Levering Hall, the three buildings comprising the Mattin Center, Charles Commons, etc. Taken together, the facilities are actually quite good. The downside is that there is no one place where most students tend to go when they are not in class. Actually, that is not quite true. The one place students are likely to meet outside of class is the MSE library. Students often joke that the library is the student union–and there is a lot of truth in that joke. In fact, the administration recognizes that fact and that is one of the reasons that the Brody Learning Commons is being added to the MSE. It will not be a place for storing books; it will be a place for group study and socializing in an academic as opposed to partying atmosphere. Pure Hopkins.</p>
<p>Besides, if the university actually build a centralized student union, what in the world would the students complain about then?</p>
<p>
That is hysterical. Students always find something though.</p>
<p>bonaza’s answer about the student union question is excellent. I would just add a few small points. The location of the MSE library as a central point of the Homewood campus is another reason why it has taken on the role of pseudo-student union. Second, Brody Commons addition (which is awesome) does add another of multiple student-gathering spots that the University has built in the last ten years (Mattin, Levering, Commons being other examples). Finally, the University does own an empty plot of land across N. Charles Street where I have heard there has been some discussion about an additional residential/retail complex like Charles Commons in the future.</p>
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I’m wondering why Hopkins does not make the top 17 Mechanical Engg. undergraduate rankings? I know, I know, it’s just rankings, but Austin, VTech, Madison, A&M are all in there…</p>
<p>Size plays a major role in engineering rankings? Compare the size of the schools you listed (all huge) with Hopkins (tiny).</p>
<p>Thanks for clarifying and explaining the lack of a student union:) My d would be more than fine to meet and socialize in a library! During our campus visit, we ate in one of the student cafeterias and it seemed rather lively and a great place to hang out.</p>
<p>Regarding the engineering rankings, I agree that the size of the school must have something to do with it. Frankly, my d thinks JHU is the perfect sized school and her visit there was topnotch!</p>
<p>Size is definitely a factor when it comes to rankings, but I would also say that in my personal opinion there are two other factors. First, Hopkins undergraduate programs are only 1/3 engineering. There is a significant difference in rankings for engineering programs when reviewing a school like Hopkins that is a liberal arts AND engineering school versus a school that is a technical school or a large state university. Each provides a very different perspective on an engineering education and the choice for each individual student should come down to personal preference versus rankings. A specific engineering program might not be ranked, but that does not mean it does not provide a strong education, extensive research opportunities, and a reputation that will assist in a job search or grad school application.</p>
<p>The second factor is that Hopkins engineering has a major reputation for studies in bioengineering fields and that at times with overshadow more of the traditional hard-engineering, applied science fields like Mechanical or Electrical. Having worked with the Whiting School directly for the last 8 years I can absolutely attest to strong faculty and resources across all disciplines, even though the reputation for bioengineering is the strongest. </p>
<p>In the end, personal preference should matter much more than arbitrary rankings with ever-changing methodologies.</p>