Harvard’s engineering program is currently ranked 20th, but it has recently a $400 million grant towards the school. How will this change the program and is it possible for it to become top 10 within four years?
http://money.cnn.com/2015/06/03/investing/harvard-record-gift-400-million-john-paulson/index.html
Harvard has been upgrading their engineering programs for the past few years. They’ve added some concentrations, added degrees that are ABET-certifed, and are becoming increasingly assertive in recruiting. This endowment is as much a result of the past few years of effort on their part as it will be a cause of further development. Harvard engineering is on the upswing.
@notjoe
How long do you think it’ll take before harvard threatens mit and Stanford? Reaches the level of Cornell or princeton or umichigan? Will they make it a priority to reach that level, or will they be content with reaching top 15?
They’re never going to “threaten” MIT or Stanford, but they will become more competitive than they are. From what I’ve read, they’re already a top 25 program. I think that they’ll continue to do what they’ve been doing, which is expand their offerings.
@theanaconda @notjoe Very, very few people pick Cornell or U Michigan over Harvard. Sure, some ranking puts Cornell engineering over Harvard-- but what does that mean? It comes down to reputation, and what gets you a job. The folks sitting in Silicon Valley are not referring to US News when making hiring decisions.
I do think Harvard loses STEM students to MIT and Stanford, because their reputation actually lags in terms of STEM to those schools. This donation will help boost the program.
I made no mention of University of Michigan or Cornell. But I will say generally that if one wishes to be an engineer, traditionally, one favors an engineering program. The Wall Street Journal a few years ago published a list of top schools from which companies like to hire engineers. In other words, who hires whom after graduation to be an engineer. Harvard was not among the top schools on this list.
I think Harvard is working hard to change that perception, and I believe it will succeed. I think this endowment is part of their long-term strategy to become a great engineering school But up until recently, the path to becoming a working engineer has not gone through Harvard.
“Threatens MIT and Stanford”?
Top performers aren’t threatened by competition and excellence. Instead, they welcome it.