<p>So I recently went to a info meeting at my high school about UChicago and it reaffirmed my passion for the school. However, one of my main concerns was their lack of an engineering degree (I understand it's a more practical field of knowledge rather than pure as is the UofC way). The admissions counselor told me that they were offering a new undergraduate major called "Molecular Engineering" that would allow undergraduates to pursue any engineering major they liked. From current and prospective students, what is your take on this? Is it really a viable option for an undergraduate degree if one wants to go on to graduate studies in engineering? Also is it possible to not major in engineering as an undergrad (instead a related field i.e. physics/applied math) and still be able to pursue a specialized engineering degree?</p>
<p>It should be possible to major in molecular engineering in a few years (their info session said so). Personally I think the molecular engineering course is sketchy. If you are going to come to UChicago, you probably shouldn’t be considering engineering during undergrad.</p>
<p>I don’t know if this is what you meant to say, but UChicago’s Molecular Engineering program definitely does not allow people to “pursue any engineering major” they like. It is a major in a rather specific field, namely Molecular Engineering, which operates at the nano-scale and is in a sense more akin to chemistry and materials science than to regular engineering. If you do remain interested in coming to Chicago though, a major in physics, applied math, and even maybe computer science could set you up to go on to engineering graduate school. It may be an option worth considering since it’ll allow you to explore academic interests outside of the limits of a heavy engineering courseload. I just wanted to clear the molecular engineering confusion up, and also mention that the program is not sketchy at all (as the second comment in this thread would have you believe). The University has hired some of the most impressive leaders in the field to lead the program. Considering the University’s close ties with Argonne national Laboratories and Fermilab, I wouldn’t be surprised if the program ends up being pretty top notch. </p>