<p>What is the purpose of a General Engineering degree? How does it work? What are its benefits? I don't understand.</p>
<p>I've researched it, and I still don't get it. Maybe some of you engineers can't shed some light upon my dim, dark, ignorance.</p>
<p>Which program are you looking at? The general engineering degree at Harvey Mudd is very different from the general engineering degree at your local state university, for example.</p>
<p>(The B.S. program?)</p>
<p>(Is it different in the way that ChemE is different at Princeton or MIT, or is it more specific?)</p>
<p>Harvey Mudd, Harvard, and The Cooper Union came to mind when I posed the question...</p>
<p>I think schools that offer it most often refer to it as "Engineering Science"</p>
<p>Okay, all of those programs are very different. This is something you have to look at on a case-by-case basis.</p>
<p>That's actually why it's hard to evaluate "general engineering" or "engineering science" programs... With some schools, it's kind of an easy, watered-down version of engineering, like a series of survey courses with some math and physics thrown in. With programs like the ones at Mudd or Cooper Union, those are a lot more intense. I know at Mudd, they literally teach you <em>all</em> of engineering (I was a huge skeptic before my brother got his engineering degree at Mudd)... and then you focus on one area more than the others when you get towards your senior year. I'm not as familiar with Cooper Union, but ken285 went there and can probably speak more about their program. </p>
<p>I'm also not as familiar with Harvard, but I've never personally met an engineer from Harvard, so... I'm still skeptical. It's not Mudd, it's not Cooper Union. I would not have chosen their program. When I was waiting for my perpetually-late Harvard-grad best friend once when I visited her in Boston, I looked in the Coop and their engineering textbook section was woefully lacking, so I got a little disillusioned at the lack of resources. Also, the idea of commuting to MIT for most of my classes kind of irritated me, and the MIT student I talked to in the civil engineering department looked like he'd had his soul gnawed on. Others have differing opinions, and I know plenty of people who've had great experiences at both Harvard and MIT. I just haven't met any Harvard engineers in my field, so I reserve judgment.</p>
<p>The Cooper Union offers general engineering as an option, but few people take this route. Most major in civil, electrical, mechanical or chemical engineering with the remaining 10 or 20 out of 120 majoring in general engineering. GE is not an intense program; it's nothing like Mudd's. You pretty much take the same general core courses as the other majors (math, pure sciences, humanities) and then you basically get to choose whatever courses you want for the remaining credits. Of course there are some guidelines, but they're very loose. </p>
<p>Most people who do general engineering at Cooper never really planned on doing engineering as a career. Their plans are investment banking, finance, medicine or law. The program is commonly thought of as the easiest major since many of the students just take the easiest courses to keep their GPA's high.</p>