Need some information about the flexibility of major.

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
1

Hey,
I’m applying to RPI in RD. My intended major is Chemistry, but I’m interested in more than one field of STEM. I’m not sure if I will love Chem Eng or Material Eng. But, if I’m in RPI and decided that those engineering majors are better choice for me, is it super hard to change major?

Thank you

2

Overall, there usually aren’t any hurdles to changing your major. You basically just fill out a form and that’s it. It wouldn’t be hard to change your major and if your intended major is Chemistry you can take a few courses in MagEng or ChemE and see how you like them and then decide.

3

Also, there are a lot of free electives for Chemistry majors so you can take a lot of courses outside your major if you want. It’s really up to you to shape your curriculum in that regard.

4

I would say get the current major forms for both, and contact both departments. The trick with RPI that we found is that there are certain courses for engineers that are “freshman only”, so if you start as chemistry, I think it might be harder for you to go to ChemE than to start in ChemE and go to Chemistry.

5

@joedoe thank you! Thats very useful!

6

@rhandco thanks! Have a great holiday!

7

Hey, so the people who responded on this thread don’t know what they are talking about. If you applied to RPI into the Chemistry program, you get accepted into the school of science which means you can switch between science majors (e.g. chemistry, biology, biochemistry) but can not just switch into engineering programs. The engineering school at RPI is more competitive to get accepted into and, if you weren’t originally accepted into the engineering school, you have to go through some kind of application process within the school.

Assuming your RPI gpa is decent it shouldn’t be too difficult but just know it isn’t as easy as saying, “oh I want to switch into engineering from science” and fill out a form. I’d recommend contacting admissions now and trying to start in engineering, as it is much easier to switch out of any engineering program then it is to switch in.

8

Also, the engineering course load is pretty vigorous so I’d recommend taking the freshmen engineering course schedule, which include Chemistry, and deciding your major from there. It is difficult to catch up if you aren’t taking those classes freshman year.

9

@randomdude532 Thanks! Merry Christmas and happy new year to you!