<p>hey can anyone tell me whether the engineering degree is of the same worth if we do it from a good liberal arts college? i mean to say that will u get roughly the same pay if u do it from a liberal arts college than from a national university...?</p>
<p>I assume you are referring to colleges that some designate as liberal arts colleges but also have an engineering school (which strictly speaking means they are not true liberal arts colleges), examples being Harvey Mudd, Lafayette, and Smith . Harvey Mudd is considered one of the better engineering schools in the nation. Smith's program (for women) is fairly new but it has received favorable reviews. I do not know much about Lafayette and others in that realm. I do not believe it is a real disadvantage to future employment but you can probably expect that if you go to MIT, Caltech, or other very high rated engineering program your employment choices might be somewhat better coming out.</p>
<p>Relatively few LACs offer engineering degrees (Swarthmore and Trinity are others, in addition to those mentioned above). As long as the BS degree is ABET-accredited -- and the engineering degrees from these LACs are -- it will be accepted as a "real" engineering degree by employers, licensing boards, grad schools, etc.</p>
<p>However, that doesn't necessarily mean that LAC engineering grads can find jobs as readily as university grads. The university grads will typically have some distinct advantages, including more specialized degrees (LACs usually offer only "general" engineering degrees), a bigger alumni network, and more on-campus recruiters. I don't think LAC engineers go unemployed, but they may have to look harder for their first job.</p>
<p>A LAC engineering degree is probably stronger as preparation for advanced study, rather than as a terminal degree. LACs are typically very successful at placing their grads in top engineering schools. LAC engineering grads are particularly valued by law and business schools.</p>
<p>williams college also seems to offer an engineering degree..if i do it from here, does taht mean i'll have an advantage williams being the top liberal arts college..
also, 'liberals arts' is the short form for 'liberal arts and sciences' meaning harvey mudd etc are true liberal arts colleges.. correct me if i am wrong.</p>
<p>I've found that recruiting likes location a lot more than the school. You're best off for jobs if you go to a big school near a place with a lot of jobs. Recruiters don't have time to visit every little rock; they go to the islands, where it's simple enough for them to sort by GPA before interviewing.</p>
<p>
[quote]
williams college also seems to offer an engineering degree..
[/quote]
No, Williams does not offer an engineering degree. See their "pre-engineering" page [url=<a href="http://www.williams.edu/Physics/programs/eng.html%5Dhere%5B/url">http://www.williams.edu/Physics/programs/eng.html]here[/url</a>].</p>
<p>However, Williams -- and virtually every other LAC -- will let you participate in a "3-2" dual-degree program. You spend three years studying liberal arts at Williams (with lots of science and math), then two years studying engineering at Columbia. After five years, you graduate with two undergraduate degrees: a Williams BA and a Columbia BS. The engineering degree comes from Columbia, not Williams. </p>
<p>If you go this route, your Columbia engineering degree will be just as good as any other Columbia engineering degree, and you will have the same employment opportunities that any other Columbia engineering graduate has. In fact, you may do better, because you would also have the Williams BA. But in practice, very few people at LACs (including Williams) ever go the 3-2 route. This Williams [url=<a href="http://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php/3-2%5Dpage%5B/url">http://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php/3-2]page[/url</a>] lists a grand total of two participants.</p>
<p>A more popular approach is the "4-2" route -- major in science or math at a LAC, get your BA from the LAC, and then get an MS degree in engineering from a university.</p>
<p>as an engineering consulting employer, I'll take some difference with Corbett regarding hirability....broad generalizations for my consulting field at least: LAC engineers make great consultants because they can talk and write well; they also have an edge in management....university types make good design engineers. While all engineers are "dear" in the current market, there are fewer LAC engineers & I have a bias for hiring them when I can find them. As Corbett noted, LAC engineers can end up in law or B-school....we like them for the same leadership reasons. We need both. Just my 2 cents.</p>
<p>
[quote]
...broad generalizations for my consulting field at least: LAC engineers make great consultants because they can talk and write well; they also have an edge in management...there are fewer LAC engineers & I have a bias for hiring them when I can find them
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Actually, I agree. But my suspicion is that most engineering employers aren't as "enlightened" as you are.</p>
<p>Smith is the only college in the nation that, with a 3.5 GPA as an engineering major, GUARANTEES admissions into the graduate engineering programs at Princeton, Johns Hopkins, Tufts, Dartmouth, Notre Dame, and UMichigan. It is not a 3/2 program.</p>
<p>Their goal is to train female future engineering managers.</p>
<p>Look at LAC-sized universities like Tufts, Brown, Dartmouth</p>
<p>
[quote]
Smith is the only college in the nation that, with a 3.5 GPA as an engineering major, GUARANTEES admissions into the graduate engineering programs at Princeton, Johns Hopkins, Tufts, Dartmouth, Notre Dame, and UMichigan. It is not a 3/2 program.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Princeton does not guarantee admissions into their graduate program like those other five schools do but they do have a program set up with Smith.</p>
<p>From school website:</p>
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[quote]
Top Smith engineering students are also eligible for a unique exchange program that allows them to spend the spring semester of their junior year at Princeton University's School of Engineering and Applied Science.
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</p>
<p>"Princeton does not guarantee admissions into their graduate program like those other five schools do but they do have a program set up with Smith."</p>
<p>Actually, it was announced this year, following the set up of the joint program.</p>
<p>As a current student in the Picker Engineering Program at Smith, I can attest to mini's statement. I was informed of this by one of the professors just last week. I'll look for the public announcement.</p>
<p>How would a liberal arts degree in Physics translate to engineering? Recently, Economics degree holders have been getting very good jobs in business, even though they do not have an official "business" degree. Is it the same with Physics?</p>
<p>
[quote]
How would a liberal arts degree in Physics translate to engineering? Recently, Economics degree holders have been getting very good jobs in business, even though they do not have an official "business" degree. Is it the same with Physics?
[/quote]
The usual qualification for an entry-level job in engineering is an engineering BS degree. A physics BA or BS degree would not be considered an equivalent qualification; it would be a distinct handicap in the engineering job market. It's not impossible for physics majors to fill engineering jobs, but it's not particularly common either.</p>
<p>LAC students who want to transition into engineering usually go to grad school for an engineering MS degree. Most engineering grad schools are willing to consider well-qualified science majors, although such students are often required to make up some undergraduate engineering coursework. A physics BS with an engineering MS would be considered well qualified for most engineering jobs.</p>
<p>Note that many top universities don't offer "business" degrees at the undergraduate level. Of course business recruiters don't hesitate to hire "economics" majors from Harvard or Stanford -- there aren't any undergraduate "business" majors at these schools. </p>
<p>On the other hand, engineering recruiters know that they can go straight to the engineering school. They probably won't bother with the physics department.</p>
<p>lolabelle - my son visited both Tufts and Brown re: engineering. Both are very interesting to him for having more appealing m/f ratios, broader academic options, more diverse students, and, seemingly, more social activites, etc., compared with the non -LAC type schools in the NE area. Brown and Tufts appear to be much harder to get into than many engineering programs that have higher rankings, though, which is discouraging and makes the comparisons harder, the decisions about where to apply iffier. Son is trying to sort this all out so we have made a lot of visits. Still, I don't have a good grasp of whether or not graduate schools or employers would be as interested in small LAC engineering or focused on the tech school grads so it's nice to hear from Corbett that there are some employers who find value in this combination. I suspect my son's choice will come down to his perceived fit/comfort at the school(s), what potential futures he sees from the visits, and, of course, where he is accepted. Each visit seems to help clarify his own goals and preferences but it's definitely been harder to go through this process with an engineering major compared with a A&S major (son #1). Would love to hear opinions about what grad schools prefer as my son hopes to do research and get a Ph.D. someday.</p>
<p>From what I can gather, you cannot get an ABET accredited engineering degree in 4 years through Dartmouth. You are required to take a 5th year to get the B.S.E. degree.</p>
<p>You can get an ABET-accredited BE from Dartmouth in four or five years. It depends on what track you take. I confirmed this through e-mails.</p>
<p>Olin college
cooper union
harvey mudd</p>