<p>Anyone know of any LAC's with engineering other than Swarthmore, Union College, and Bucknell? I kinda want to go to a liberal arts school but I doubt I will have the finances to do a 3-2 program.</p>
<p>Harvey Mudd is without a doubt the finest engineering LAC.</p>
<p>^Other than HMC…</p>
<p>Just curious…why is Harvey Mudd considered a liberal arts college? It seems very technical…</p>
<p>Lafayette, Trinity (TX), and Smith also offering engineering.</p>
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<p>The term “liberal arts college” has nothing to do with the most popular majors. It just means that undergraduate teaching is emphasized rather than graduate courses and research. Most LACs have a large core curriculum, and though there are many exceptions, HMC is not one of them. You can also take classes at other Claremont colleges.</p>
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Colleges that primarily grant BA/BS degrees are normally divided into camps.</p>
<ul>
<li>LACs (50%+ in liberal arts)</li>
<li>Baccalaureate colleges (0-49% in liberal arts)</li>
</ul>
<p>Olin is a baccalaureate college; Davidson is a LAC.</p>
<p>Mudd is considered a LAC because the majority of its students major in the sciences, which fall under the liberal arts umbrella. If the percentage of engineers increased from 40% to 50-60%, Mudd could lose its LAC status.</p>
<p>^ I stand corrected, although that has to be the most ridiculously pretentious distinction I’ve read in a long time (not accusing you here, just the convention).</p>
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<p>An art institute or vocational school with no graduate programs would not be considered a liberal arts college. I wouldn’t consider Olin a liberal arts college, either. Olin College of Engineering, that is.</p>
<p>HM’s curriculum is unusual. It is not exclusively an engineering school. It offers majors in a subset of the liberal arts (natural sciences and math) plus engineering. It’s really a science and technology institute or college, not a comprehensive liberal arts college. However, since it is in such a small category, I think it’s just convenient to lump it in with LACs in reviews, rankings, etc.</p>
<p>Definitions evolve, though.</p>
<p>You might want to consider a small university like Rice or Tufts that offers engineering.</p>
<p>^I’m looking for schools a notch down in selectivity. Bucknell, Lafayette, and MAYBE Union College seem to be what I’m looking for, but they are expensive.</p>
<p>If you look at public LACs (UMN-Morris comes to mind), you just might be able to swing a 3-2 program, if that actually appeals to you.</p>
<p>^swing?..</p>
<p>^ Is that really such a rare expression? I mean that you might be able to pull it off [esp. regarding money].</p>
<p>OP-you need to give more info. GPA, SAT’s, etc. </p>
<p>LAC’s tend to be private, so to suggest that Bucknell, etc are expensive,means what? You want a less selective, inexpensive LAC?</p>
<p>Trinity College (CT) used to offer it, don’t know if this is still the case.</p>
<p>I think the USNWR considered LAC to basically be an institution without a graduate school. However if you look on collegeboard the University of Chicago is listed as an LAC, perhaps because of the same reasoning as above?</p>
<p>Another college to consider is Lafayette</p>
<p>hmm…any more? looking at other threads, i noticed that there are very few :(</p>
<p>I doubt you’re going to find many more.</p>
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<p>The first two words in “liberal arts college” mean something, much more than just an emphasis on undergraduate teaching (though that counts for a lot too). The meaning has everything to do with the curriculum as reflected in the offered majors. Once a LAC starts offering engineering, business, architecture, nursing, communications, etc., sooner or later it stops being a liberal arts college (whether it even grants Ph.D.s or not.)</p>
<p>The meaning has to do with the traditional distinction between career training and the discovery of knowledge for its own sake. The liberal artsy approach to engineering is via physics and other natural science disciplines. This approach can and does coexist with applied science and practical career training in most universities if that’s what you want.</p>