LACs with solid engineering programs

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Can people comment on LACs with solid engineering programs? One's I'm aware of are:</p>

<p>Smith (offers only general engineering degree)
Swathmore (seems sub-scale with only a handful of graduates)
Tufts (not a LAC exactly but close)
Lafayette (how good is school reputation?)
Bucknell (seems pretty solid)
Union College (not sure)
Trinity (not sure)
Harvey Mudd (great - but CA focused for job placement, only general engineering degree)
Dartmouth (not a LAC exacly - don't like need to stay five years for a BS)</p>

<p>Not interested in 3/2 programs unless you get a MS which I don't think any of them offer. Like LAC option (versus RPI, etc) because more well-rounded and can switch to another major, without transferring, if engineering doesn't work out.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>I think you can get a great education at any of the schools you listed above (for full disclosure my D will be attending Lafayette next year, but we looked at a number of the LACs you listed). For somewhat larger schools you can also think about Lehigh, Villanova, GW.</p>

3

<p>A lot of this depends on what you want to o after you graduate . . . do you want to go on and get a master’s or PhD, or do you want to go right out and get a job? If the latter, then you need a school that will give you that B.E. or B.S. in engineering. If you’re planning on going on to grad school, then it’s not so important. Get a degree in science or math from a well-respected school and then get your engineering degree in grad school. If that’s a route that interests you, then you have lots of options! Reed, Carleton, Williams, Wesleyan all come to mind . . . but, frankly, any good LAC would serve the same purpose.</p>

<p>And I agree with you about Dartmouth - if you know you want to do engineering, find a school that can get there in four years, not five!</p>

4

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<p>If that’s why you’re attracted to LACs (not primarily for their small size), then consider some of the Ivies and other selective, private universities. They offer some of the same advantages as LACs but often have more robust engineering programs.</p>

5

<p>

The OP is asking about LACs with engineering. I know Lafayette and Bucknell have significant engineering programs and offer ABET engineering (BS) in Chemical, Civil, Electrical, Mechanical Engineering.</p>

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I know Cornell, Princeton, Columbia offer engineering majors in specific disciplines, similar to Bucknell and Lafayette. Not so sure about Harvard, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, Penn.</p>

6

<p>^
Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Penn, Princeton, and Yale all offer ABET-accredited undergraduate degrees with concentrations in specific engineering disciplines. Brown in particular is often described as “LAC-like”.</p>

<p>Harvard and Dartmouth offer general engineering degrees.</p>

<p>Duke, JHU, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, and WUSTL also offer ABET-accredited undergraduate degrees with concentrations in specific engineering disciplines.</p>

7

<p>Rice is described as “LAC-like” and has pretty good engineering programs. They just did a bunch of work on their engineering school, and have been expanding it.</p>

8

<p>Yale offers:
•Biomedical Engineering
•Chemical & Environmental Engineering
•Electrical Engineering
•Electrical Engineering/Computer Science
•Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science
•Engineering & Applied Science
Of the major disciplines, Civil Engineering seems to be MIA. According to their website, Yale graduates only about 60 engineers per year.</p>

<p>Penn also does not seem to offer Civil Engineering.</p>

9

<p>University of Rochester is a small research university that has the intimacy of an LAC in some respects and offers a fairly high quality engineering education, particularly in BME and ChemE.</p>

<p>Also, even though Harvey Mudd is technically considered an LAC most people major in compsci/math/physics/engineering and it might not be the best place if you are looking to explore different disciplines and maybe not major in the hard sciences.</p>

10

<p>Also look into Caltech, which despite being a research university has a very small undergrad population (1k) and a 3:1 student faculty ratio that is smaller than student faculty ratios at several actual LACs (!!!).</p>

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<p>How do you miss Cooper Union?</p>

12

<p>If it is the nurturing feel you want rather than breadth of non-engineering classes, Rose Hulman is an obvious choice as well.</p>

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<p>A lot of the schools listed are very selective. How selective of a school are you looking for? (What are the SAT scores?)</p>

14

<p>If the ability to change major is important, check specifically at each school, rather than relying on whether the school is considered a LAC or not. For example, Harvey Mudd is usually considered a LAC, but it does not even offer humanities or social studies majors (in contrast, it is possible to major in humanities and social studies at non-LAC schools like MIT and Caltech).</p>

15

<p>Tufts is most certainly a LAC.
Mudd does have a broad humanities requirement, but a short list of majors, all in math/science/engineering. Mudd is quite well-known outside of CA as well - it’s just that a lot of the top firms are there as well.</p>

16

<p>Tufts is classified as a research university (R1). It is not a LAC. It does, however, have a School of Arts and Sciences which functions very much like a large LAC within the wider university. Tufts School of Engineering is seperate from the Arts & Sciences School and offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees.</p>

17

<p>

True. But you can change majors to all the broad science fields. You can also change majors to an “off campus major” in one of the other schools. I heard once that a couple people a year do that.</p>

<p>And, yes, I’d definitely consider Rose Hulman - very like Mudd in that it’s a small science college. And also Case Western - a small university, but they love their undergrads.</p>

18

<p>If you’re committed to a career in Engineering, and you’re good enough to get into any of the schools you’ve named, then you might as well apply solely to research universities.</p>

19

<p>Thanks for all the great responses.</p>

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<p>First, Ivies will be a reach. SATs are over 2300 but GPA is ~3.7 - on lower side for Ivies. Seems most Ivies load up on valedictorians or hooked students.</p>

<p>Thoughts on Ivy engineering programs:</p>

<p>Cornell - very large program with over 800 undergrad engineering students. Very separate from rest of school as you apply to the College of Engineering. Campus is large and real cold in winter. Would one just be a number?
Princeton - seems to be pretty strong in engineering but don’t have a seperate process for engineering applicants so hard to get in
Columbia - engineering building looks worn out. How strong is program and placement?
Brown - seems promising, but engineering is not a seperate review so admission odds are low
Dartmouth - don’t like the 5 years for a BS
Harvard - only offers General Engineering not discipline specific. Hard to get in
Yale - seems small and hard to get into
U.Penn - seems more focused on grads and campus is too much in the city with busy streets dividing the campus</p>

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<p>Interesting - need to learn more about these</p>

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<p>Sounds good. What’s it like being in Houston? Is the culture very conservative? </p>

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<p>Does CU have a real campus? Seems like more of a commuter school culture.</p>

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<p>Seems too techie and also need 2400 SATs to be considered.</p>

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<p>I think they only offer General Enginnering degree and most student job placement is in CA area versus East Coast</p>

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<p>Lafayette seems to be a good balance of engineering and liberal arts. Bucknell is too remote.</p>

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<p>Interesting option. How strong is their engineering program and how strong is their student job placement?</p>

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<p>Don’t want to be in the snow belt for four years.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the ideas.</p>

20

<p>I can give you some overview for Northwestern’s engineering:

  1. rankings: pretty good to fantastic, depending on whether you look at USN or NRC. The first material science department in the world was established there and it’s the strongest there (top-3 in the nation). Another top one is industrial engineeirng & management science department. Others are pretty solid.</p>

<ol>
<li>it has huge emphasis on design and creativity. Freshmen curriculum is pretty different from most other schools and <em>every</em> freshman (in groups of 3 or 4) is required to design a product for a real industry client; together with engineering analysis sequence, every first-year student is immersed in engineering before he/she even declares a major. So the clients get free labor while students gain valuable hands-on experience. Many clients have been very impressed with the students’ work. It’s a win-win situation for both. If you want to continue to get involved in design project, there’s Segal Design Institute there.
<a href=“DESIGN INNOVATION - Segal Design Institute, Northwestern University”>DESIGN INNOVATION - Segal Design Institute, Northwestern University;
<a href=“http://www.cei.northwestern.edu/[/url]”>http://www.cei.northwestern.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
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<p>It’s very different from most other schools in which most first-year students won’t see much engineering until after they declare major (mostly basic sciences and math courses). In many other schools, many students graduate without making anything but at Northwestern, it won’t be the case. [McCormick</a> School of Engineering | Northwestern University | Top-Ranked Undergraduate and Graduate Education and Research](<a href=“http://www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/]McCormick”>http://www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/)</p>

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<li>they have one of the most established co-op programs out there. 30% of students partiicipate and they’ve been placed all over the country.
[At</a> a Glance: McCormick Office of Career Development: McCormick School of Engineering, Northwestern University](<a href=“Programs Overview | Engineering Career Development | Northwestern Engineering”>Programs Overview | Engineering Career Development | Northwestern Engineering)</li>
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