Is U of C a good college for engineering?

<p>I 've heard it's more into the social sciences.</p>

<p>The University of Chicago is philosophically opposed to vocational/professional education at the undergraduate level. For that reason, it does not offer any undergraduate engineering program, or anything even resembling an engineering program. “Engineering” is sometimes used as a code for “what we don’t do here”.</p>

<p>There are many funny, self-deprecating t-shirt slogans about the University of Chicago. One of them is “The University of Chicago: ‘That’s fine in practice, but how does it work in theory?’” A little bit of hyperbole, but solidly based in the college’s preference for theory over practical application.</p>

<p>It’s not a question of social science vs. hard or lab science. Chicago has great undergraduate programs in biological sciences, chemistry, and physics. It is probably one of the best places in the country for math study. It is possible to study those things at Chicago, and then to get a master’s degree in engineering elsewhere.</p>

<p>The bottom line of which is that Chicago is a place where it is IMPOSSIBLE to study engineering as an undergraduate, and they aren’t in the least ashamed about that. Sorry.</p>

<p>That being said, that certainly doesn’t mean that undergraduates don’t pursue engineering after graduation. While there is no undergrad engineering program, there are extremely strong programs in physics, mathematics, etc- students can be competitive for the same job market/grad school market without majoring in engineering as an undergrad.</p>

<p>That’s a little misleading. There are actual jobs out there that are open only to graduates of accredited engineering programs, and recent University of Chicago graduates need not apply (and don’t). University of Chicago graduates may be able to get an engineering credential with some extra training, and may wind up going farther and faster in engineering because of what non-engineering background they bring to the table. They will be competitive for jobs that don’t require an engineering degree, and for all sorts of graduate programs. But however you look at it the lack of an accredited undergraduate engineering program would have a meaningful impact on a Chicago student who wanted to be an engineer.</p>

<p>UChicagoPSAC - I agree with JHS here. If a student really wants to be an engineer, I don’t see any real benefit to going to Chicago. Engineering schools have specific recruitment fairs and entertain employers that only want grads from an accredited engineering school. Going to Chicago won’t really open up opportunities on this front.</p>

<p>(And please, to applicants, do your homework on Chicago - you guys should know before even posting on this board that Chicago doesn’t have an engineering school, a journalism school, etc. It takes 20 seconds to figure this out from the uchicago website.)</p>

<p>The last thing I want to do is seem misleading: to clarify, the UofC doesn’t, has not have, and per policy will not have an engineering program. As some have mentioned, it’s a stereotypical indicator that someone hasn’t researched the school if they come in wanting to major in say “Engineering,” “Journalism,” etc. It’s just unfortunate that not having such majors is grossly misconstrued to mean that UofC prevents people from entering related fields (and that’s why, for example, Chicago Careers in Journalism exists).</p>

<p>So, for students who are certain they want to go to an engineering school, Cue7 and JHS are absolutely correct- generally, engineering-track students shouldn’t apply.</p>

<p>alright so basically u of c is…NOT FOR ME. thx so much guys.</p>

<p>At a time when engineering schools and top educators are coming to believe that engineering should be at least a six year degree with some sort of core involved, Uof C plus a 2 years masters elsewhere would put a student quite possibly ahead of the pack. Today’s engineering has greater needs than before, and if a student wants to rise to the top quickly nothing will get you there faster than knowing how to write, think sharply and all those other things(courses) that will make you stand out and away from kids who might still be taking ‘Drugs and Culture’ as their one and only elective. (Remember that many engineering types linger forever once they hit a certain career point, to avoid this one should take as many language, humanities, sosc as possible…possible at Chicago and MIT, not so much at other engineering schools. Management needs a certain amount of polish, and you need to be able to go head to head with grads from schools like Penn, Dartmouth and yes…Chicago…horrible in concept, but in horrible truth, one needs to be well rounded)</p>

<p>In our extended engineering family, with degrees from MIT, RPI and CM, a physics degree from Chicago was considered a very smart move.</p>

<p>No matter where you end up in engineering the best thing you can do is read, read, read…then learn to dress better than short sleeves and pocket protectors, learn the ability to chit chat, and learn how to stand up and talk in front of hundreds.</p>

<p>Do all this and no matter how much you have your geek on, you’ll go far.</p>

<p>(And for all the talk about Chicago being ultra nerdy…my sons both wear the skinny jeans and other faux cool hipster stuff the school seems to be excelling at. Forget what you hear, Chicago has a certain cachet that only Chicago could have…it’s like the dark side of higher education…embrace it…use it…intimidate others)</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Love it!!!</p>

<p>LMAO @ Hekau. I wish my parents were that cool. Just saying.</p>

<p>And I’m pretty sure I’ve seen about a dozen of these engineering threads at some point or another. It baffles me a little, honestly…</p>

<p>^I know. Back when I was researching colleges, I first read every page on the CollegeBoard profiles. I like to be at least a little informed when I ask questions.</p>

<p>And ditto about Hekau. I had to explain to my parents what economics is and why I want to major in it. I’m glad to know that there are parents who not only know the internal workings of colleges, but they can also make witty jokes about it.</p>

<p>Anyone heard an update on the proposed molecular engineering program at UofC?</p>

<p>As I have pointed out many times before, Chicago had a list of programs it did [url=<a href=“http://web.archive.org/web/20060213093430/collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/level2.asp?id=346]not[/url”>Chicago: Non-Majors]not[/url</a>] offer. It readily admitted that students should look elsewhere.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>idad- As of last spring, they had formed a committee overseen by the provost to attempt to create such a program. Since they needed to hire a couple dozen people, I would imagine that they’re in the initial hiring stages…though with the current economic conditions, I wouldn’t be surprised if the project has been canned for the time being. There are no jobs posted on the Chronicle of Higher Education or Inside Higher Ed, at least.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Yea I did hear that UChicago suspended development on the project because of the economy. Over last year their endowment has dropped by a good $1.5 billion, and they said they needed at least $250 million just to start the program (even more to get it up to Chicago standards over time).</p>

<p>But really, I laugh whenever I see someone asking about Chicago’s engineering. If you’re applying to Chicago and you’re wondering about how the engineering program is like there, you should really learn more about the school. Prestige isn’t everything.</p>

<p>^Agreed. my exact feelings when I read the title of the thread.</p>

<p>I was anticipating that they might put the brakes on the molecular engineering program for awhile.</p>