Any ABET accredited engineering program will include theory (engineering science) and hands-on / project (engineering design) work. There may be differences in the nature and emphasis of each area, however.
This is probably the Wall Street and management consulting effect.
Using semester credit hour equivalents (with each Brown course = 4 semester credit hours, since the 30 required to graduate = 120 semester credit hours):
| Course type | UT Dallas | Brown | Difference (B - UTD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math + statistics[a] | 24 | 20 | -4 |
| Natural science | 8 | 12[b] | +4 |
| Engineering + CS | 62 | 52 | -10 |
| Total technical | 94 | 84 | -10 |
| General education | 28[c] | 16 | -12 |
| Total required | 122 | 100 | -22 |
| Free electives | 4 | 20 | +16 |
| Total credits | 126 | 120 | -6 |
[a]Includes statistics, discrete math, linear algebra listed under engineering or CS headings.
[b]Includes ENGN 0040 and 0510 whose descriptions looks like typical physics courses.
[c]Includes ECS 3390 technical communication and CE 3161 social and ethical issues in engineering.
Note that both schools exceed the relevant ABET minimums for math + natural science (30 semester credit hours) and engineering (45 semester credit hours). Brown has to require some general education for ABET accredited engineering majors even though it does not for other majors.
While there is still a difference in volume of requirements, the difference when looked at by credits is less than when looked at by courses, since UT Dallas has mostly 3 credit courses (with a few 1, 2, and 4 credit courses), while Brown courses can reasonably be assumed to be âlargerâ 4 credit courses.
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This makes a lot of sense. Thanks!
Also, if I am reading the Brown requirements right, it doesnât list Calculus Part 1 as a requirement, but starts with Calculus Part 2. If credits for Calculus 1 are added in there is an even smaller difference in credit hours between the 2.
Perhaps Brown is expecting its engineering majors to enter already knowing the content of Math 0090 (calculus 1) through AP or some such. Probably they just do not want to deal with somewhat unusual situations (i.e. ready for calculus 2 but does not have AP or transfer credit for calculus 1), and the math + natural science volume (32 credits equivalent) is enough for ABET requirements without including Math 0090, so they just leave it out of the requirements list. But a Brown student who needs to start in calculus 1 would need to use up one of the free elective slots for it, reducing the free electives from 5 courses (20 credits) to 4 courses (16 credits).
For AP calculus scores, Brown says that 4 on AB or 3 on BC counts for Math 0090 (calculus 1), and a 4 on BC counts for Math 0090 and 0100 (calculus 2): Advanced Placement Exams | The College | Brown University
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Even if it is all one class, the labs still have separate meeting times. A 4 hour chem class will have the usual T/Th or M/W/F meeting times for lecture plus a separate lab that could meet at any of 2-3 times any afternoon of the week. The registrations are sometimes set up such that you register for the 4 hr chem class but it isnât added to your schedule until you select one of the 0 credit hour lab times. Itâs no different in terms of how many classes you have to remember to go to.
The biggest difference is that students canât choose to drop without dropping the whole course. When the classes are separate credits, occasionally a student will drop the 1 credit lab while continuing in the 3 credit lecture (or, rarely, vice versa). This can cause the numbers to get out of sync, since the student will then need to take the other part of the course in a different semester. When itâs all one 4 hour course, the lab grade is usually 10-25% of the lecture grade.
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