<p>Don't know if they've been mentioned yet, but Trinity College, Trinity U (texas), and Union all have engineering programs.</p>
<p>not all LAC's make yuo wait three years to get into your major.. like i said, ME was a really good program at my school..</p>
<p>Dartmouth has all the benefits of a LAC, like intimacy, collegiality, faculty and administrative attentiveness, etc., and also an engineering program.</p>
<p>A word of caution to all you LACers pursuing engineering.</p>
<p>Check very carefully to determine how adequate your engineering education is likely to be at each of these schools. My guess is that it varies quite a bit.</p>
<p>Are you limited there in what branch of engineering you will be able to pursue through higher-level coursework? Are a number of crucial upper-level courses in particular areas only given every other year? How many engineering profs do they have, actually? How many engineering courses do they actually offer in any given semester? (As opposed to how many appear in the catalog but are not frequently given in actuality). How many engineering companies come to campus to recruit? Are students there basically forced to go to grad school because of inadequate undergraduate specialization opportunities, and because it is relatively difficult to find jobs in their field because very few engineering companies recruit there? Do they offer the conventional engineering specializations (electrical, mechanical, chemical, civil, etc), or are you limited to a generic "general engineering" degree?</p>
<p>These are areas I suggest you look into.</p>
<p>tabbyzmom;
Well, I don't know at all that he might be interested in a LAC for engineering. It's mostly that I feel like the big universities are more obvious - if you know what I mean. He's a kid that might do just fine in a large university setting (more so than my other son, who prefers smaller, more personal environments). I personally have some reservations about huge classes, TAs teaching classes, no-one-knows-your-name, etc. But, that is my bias, not his (at least, I haven't heard that). So, we'll see. Alas, it feels too soon to be thinking about it again (elder son is just starting a LAC this fall and this one will be a junior), but I know it isn't!</p>
<p>monydad- your information made my husband and I sit back and think. Our son is interested in the 3+2 program at Hobart &William Smith College. We decided to go to the Dartmouth site (which is one of the affiliated colleges)and looked at the degree and you end up with a BE degree (bachelors in engineering) which we were unaware of till you brought it up. HWS also has a dual program with Columbia but son would not want to go to NYC (too big). There the program is typical of any other eng. college where you graduate with a specific eng. degree. Oh, this throws such a wrench in the bucket.
I always thought of (and still do) Dartmouth to be a great school and I do not understand this BE degree. Do you have any insight? It would seem that this type of degree may not be looked upon as highly as one with a specific focus such as EE. Dartmouth did say the BE degree is ABET certified but I wonder if a student could get a job as easily as one with a degree from another Eng school.
We initially were thinking how nice it would be to have a student with a well-rounded liberal arts background get an engineering degree and we really like Dartmouth but now it makes us rethink the whole program.
Of course our son has been in contact w/ the head of the 3+2 program at HWS who has nothing but good things to say about it.
This makes things so confusing.</p>
<p>Ohio Northern University has engineering</p>
<p><a href="http://www.onu.edu%5B/url%5D">www.onu.edu</a></p>
<p>Not great I suppose but I thought I'd list it just in case</p>
<p>Rice is fairly small and has engineering. Also about 10k/yr cheaper than similar private schools because of its large endowment.</p>
<p>rubyred:</p>
<p>I can only tell you that the engineeering company I worked for, a relatively big one, did not recruit generic "engineers", and they did not recruit at Dartmouth.</p>
<p>In general I suspect that a high proportion of grads of these types of programs do not become engineers at all, or if they do they are basically compelled to go to grad school to obtain an adequate amount of specialization. And I suspect they are constrained in what areas of engineering they are able to study.</p>
<p>But that's just my speculation. I have no knowledge of Dartmouth's program. I could be completely wrong. I actually worked with one grad of this program, but he had an MBA and was working in an executive capacity. I don't know if he ever actually worked as an engineer. </p>
<p>As I said, I suspect programs of this nature vary quite a bit in their level of adequacy.</p>
<p>That does not mean I think these programs are necessarily bad, by the way. I would imagine that students in these types of programs get superior exposure to the liberal arts, which itself has value. A lot of value. It's just that there is a trade-off, and you can't have it all in my opinion.</p>
<p>I am also somewhat dubious of 3-2 programs. I doubt that a lot of people who start them finish them. It seems to me like it would be very disruptive to be switching campuses around at midstream. You might ask for some stats on completion rates. Another point to consider is: Is the enrollment at the related engineering program automatic? Or does the student basically have to apply to it once they are at the first school? Or is there a minimum GPA the student has to maintain at the first school in order to be admitted to the engineering school? I have seen some of these programs, specifically one I saw with supposed 3-2 at Cal Tech, but upon further investigation the transfer to Cal Tech was quite conditional. Almost to the point where this seemed to me more like a marketing talking point than a real "program".</p>
<p>Another thing to consider is that many engineering departments at large universities are quite small. My Civil Eng class at OSU totalled only about 33 students and there was quite an intimate atmosphere among both students and many faculty.</p>
<p>Re the quality of engineering instruction at an LAC, I would first confirm that the programs are ABET certified to establish a baseline of competancy. Also check the course offering of LAC's which you are considering. Most engineering programs also have specialty areas, such a civil engineering specialties like structural, enviriomental, transportation, hydraulics, soils, etc.. If your student is interested in a particular specialty, make sure that the catalogue offering will permit him this specialty in some depth.</p>
<p>LAC engineering graduates should not expect the same degree of post graduate recruiting activity. In most instances they will have to initiate most job interviews on their own. I suspect that grads of colleges like HMC, Lafayette and Rose Hulman do not have this problem.</p>
<p>Regarding 3-2 programs, me no like. Asking students to leave their college and classmates a year before graduation and start anew for a short 2 years at a larger university is asking a lot. I suspect that many students simply choose to eschew the engineering degree and finish out their LAC degree program.</p>
<p>monydad and originaloog - thank you very much for your input. We have found out many of the answers to the questions you asked. Yes, it does seem like a trade off, we will have to speak w/ our son about it further and see if he intends to go on w/ school or just get a job after the 3+2. What is your take on LAC's that offer engineering majors? (one school 4 yrs).
Rubyred</p>
<p>answered in post #24.</p>
<p>I agree with everything Monydad wrote. I would take it a step further and suggest that, if you view college as vocational training, then a liberal arts curriculum (whether at a university or LAC) is not the right choice, period.</p>
<p>There is also another angle to consider.</p>
<p>I believe that the most common change-of-heart among college students occurs with 18 year old kids thinking they will major in science or engineering and, then, finding that they really don't enjoy those fields at the college level. If you find that out after you have already enrolled in a tech school, you've got a big problem.</p>
<p>I think that the Engineering majors at places like Swarthmore or Dartmouth can be an appropriate choice for someone who thinks they may be interested in Engineering, but who is not ready to make a lifetime career decision while still in high school. If you get into Engineering in a top college and find that it really is your "thing", there is certainly a path into a Masters Engineering program.</p>
<p>Thank you monydad. I appreciate your help. I was not sure if in that post you were speaking of 3+2 or LAC engineering.
Rubyred</p>
<p>Good luck, Weenie!</p>
<p>i would also check to see if they have any type of co-op or whatnot for the program. i know all students in our engineering major were required to do 2 or 3 semesters of co-op in order to graduate. one of my friends was co-oping with harley davidson this last semester.</p>
<p>
[quote]
University of Hartford has a great engineering program...and it's a small university.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Wow, I had no clue about that, and I'm a local who's had several friends go there. I wouldn't call them an LAC, though.</p>
<p>Trinity's program is considered one of the best LAC programs in the country. Fiske suggests these LACs/small universities for engineering:</p>
<p> Brown University
Bucknell University
Calvin College
Clarkson University
Dartmouth College
Lafayette College
Lehigh University
University of the Pacific
University of Redlands <-- someone once said they don't offer it (?)
Rice University
Swarthmore College
Trinity College (Connecticut)
Tuskegee University
Union College</p>