M. Eng at UC Berkeley

Graduate School
1

<p>Hey guys, I need some help. I have a chance to maybe get into the M. Eng program at UC Berkeley. </p>

<p>Little background on myself, my undergrad degree is in Finance & Marketing and I have a GPA of 3.3. The furthest I have gone in math is Calc 1. No other math was needed for my major.</p>

<p>Any who, I have been in touch with the department head at UCB, and explained how I wanted to pursue the program. She encouraged me to apply as long as I had a strong background in math. </p>

<p>My question is, is this program even worth it for someone with my background for the cost? My concentration would be either Operations Research or Industrial Engineering. I know this program has somewhat of a business emphasis on it, and I rather do this than a MBA.
Any help would be appreciated!!!</p>

2

<p>I don’t know how to tell you this but… you don’t have a strong background in math.</p>

3

<p>Cheme, thanks for the reply. That’s what I figured. Math comes easy to me, should I take advanced courses in math at a CC then give it a shot?</p>

4

<p>I’m actually more interested if anyone has done the program on here, and if it is worthwhile to pursue?</p>

5

<p>People outside of engineering don’t realize just how difficult the math gets, especially for a graduate degree. I was a double major in applied math and chemical engineering as an undergrad and I thought I was good at math… until i came to graduate school. The math gets extremely involved and if all you have taken is calc 1 then you have a lot of catching up to do. You can certainly take more math classes before applying for the program at Berkeley. Good luck!</p>

6

<p>Gotta agree with the other poster. You need a lot more math. Heck, years ago, I had to take a YEAR of college calculus just for a biology degree. My brother took a year of calculus, then linear algebra and differential equations before going to grad school to study molecular biology/genetics. Engineering and the physical sciences require even more math.</p>

<p>It’s much easier to go from the sciences/engineering to other fields than vice versa.</p>

<p>So beef up on your math.</p>

7

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<p>Yeah, that’s how it goes. I thought I was good at computers because I’ve taught myself computer languages, worked as a developer for an aerospace firm, etc… </p>

<p>But when I decided to take some computer courses at a school with a top 10 computer science program I wasn’t as good as I thought:-)</p>

<p>I suspect the original poster will realize that when a math classroom is filled with science and engineering students…and not with many non-science students, it’s a whole different ballgame.</p>

8

<p>Thanks for all the input guys. What if I just pursue a MBA in Supply Chain Mgmt, or a Masters since its somewhat similar to IE? </p>

<p>Any thoughts?</p>

9

<p>Or maybe Operations Management. That seems a little closer to IE?</p>

10

<p>Thesis or non-thesis?</p>

11

<p>Probably non-thesis since I don’t plan to going further in education after a masters. Majority of the programs I looked at were non-thesis.</p>