Two liberal arts colleges which offer programs in engineering, Econ and finance are Washington & Lee (VA) and Trinity University (San Antonio), both with enrollments of about 2500. If you want a small “mini-varsity” with a liberal arts core but which also offers distinct undergraduate schools of engineering and business with a full range of majors in both schools, you might look at Bucknell University and Manhattan College. Both have majors in Econ & Finance as well as engineering and both have enrollments in the neighborhood of 3500. A little bigger and considered a research university but with the feel of a liberal arts college is Tufts (5000 enrollment). They also offer engineering and Econ/finance.
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So once again not a fan but I will admit this one looks very interesting on paper.
But once again if my kids doing 5 years for engineering why not do a year or semester in Coop and make some money and gain great experience?
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Barnard is another small LAC which has added a 4+1 BS/MS with a master’s in Engineering. This has evolved out of its existing partnership with Columbia University. It’s so easy in this case to begin taking engineering courses during the undergrad years at Barnard because the Columbia campus is literally across the street. This is another one that makes a lot of sense.
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At the same time, I would point out that - with the possible exception of CalTech - none of them are actually small colleges. The rule on CC seems to be to ignore graduate students when talking about research university student populations. I’ve never understood that. Graduate students aren’t invisible, they have their own footprint and entitlements; and, in some cases, the student population is doubled once you add them together:
Cal Tech (900)
Rice (4000)(7282)
Worcester Tech (WPI) (4200)(6894)
Dartmouth (4500)(6608)
MIT (4500)(11520)
Case Western Reserve (5200)(11284)
Colorado School of Mines (5200)(6607)
Princeton (5400)(8419)
Tufts (5800) (11787)
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Good point.
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St. Mary’s College has a similar option with Notre Dame, though its a 4+1 BS/BS in Engineering. You said she doesn’t want an all girls school so that’s a concession she would have to make with SMC but with the tri-campus of HC/SMC/ND opportunities to get away from the all girls aspect should be plentiful. And with the dual degree program, all engineering courses are taken at ND from the onset beginning sophomore year (and after graduating SMC after the 4th year, the 5th year is entirely at ND).
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Cooper Union?
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Yes, and aren’t all ND courses open to student’s from St Mary’s? So, interchange between the 2 colleges must be plentiful, not just engineering students.
BTW, an interesting quirk is that both colleges are named for Mary.
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Absolutely.
Colorado College also added a 4-2 program, and they speak of its advantages over the 3-2 program on their website.
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I agree that 3+2 traditional programs don’t make sense for many of the reasons already stated…extra year of tuition, FA not guaranteed at +2 school (Columbia is the worst offender of this and specifically does not promise to meet full need for these students), and students often not wanting to leave their friends/campus once senior year rolls around.
No one has mentioned another significant drawback…that the 3+2 double bachelor’s degree students do not get better job outcomes than those with a single bachelor’s degree in engineering…so given the extra cost and other downsides, there are few reasons for making this choice.
Programs that combine a BS with MS have a different calculus, and are relatively more attractive to many.
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Other than the fact that you spend senior year with your college friends, the 4+2 program seems to be even worse than the 3+2 programs. It extends your undergrad career to 6 years! It takes an extra year if your life and 2 years of extra expense to still end up with only undergrad degrees. And you still don’t get to graduate with your friends after 4 years at CC. You’ve potentially spent half a million dollars for 2 bachelor’s degrees. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to do this.
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Or get a BS/MS.
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Yep… I agree… Or both… Lol… I know you didn’t say it but I like the idea of Cooper Union. Always forget about that one 
WLU’s engineering is not ABET-accredited and is a single general major, rather than the usual mechanical, civil, chemical, electrical, etc. majors: Engineering | Washington and Lee
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I think the important thing for the OP to remember is that nearly all schools have compromises. Small schools will not have the facilities and breadth/depth of curriculum that Michigan for example has. And the more Arts, Social Sciences and History a student takes, the fewer technical courses they can take. All ABET programs have some, but something has to give to have more LA courses. There are only so many hours in the day. In the final analysis, most hire based on technical coursework and experience. I’m not discounting the importance of a well rounded education, but it comes at a cost.
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Yes, I am aware of that, which is why I put it in a different category than Bucknell and Manhattan which both have separate Schools of Engineering and Business which offer a full range of engineering and business majors but still at colleges which each have a School if Arts & Science and are smaller colleges with enrollments of about 3500.
CMCMLM seems to have doubts about their son’s commitment to engineering and seems to want a liberal arts college with a range of options including engineering and a business school - actually the rare LAC which has a business school. If they really want an LAC, W&L is top notch and allows him to still have a range options. Their son will probably have to follow up with a master’s if he chooses Engineering at W&L, but that’s probably the wise thing to do in that field these days anyway.
You’re right about the W&L program not being ABET accredited. Although that doesn’t at all mean that it’s an inferior program, it’s an important consideration that they should think about. So,I’m glad you brought it up. Thanks.
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It matters if civil engineering is being considered.
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Yes, it does. If he’s ready to make that specific commitment, then he’d be better off choosing Bucknell, Manhattan, or Tufts and leaving the smaller LACs (W&L and Trinity U) alone.
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Way more students start with 3-2 plans than finish them for the reasons cited above. Also, some have GPA requirements that they can’t meet.
Anecdotally, I know more students who have succeeded with this at places like Tufts, where the 2 degrees are part of a single experience, than people who have had to split their time between two different campuses. Most 5th year students will have some friends in the class behind theirs.
I suspect too that many students who felt two different pulls in high school discover that one is not quite what they thought it would be at a higher level.
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