<p>It seems that most well respected engineering programs are at large to very large schools. Is there a way to find out how large the engineering program itself is (and/or likely class size) short of contacting each school to ask? Are there ways to make a big school feel smaller (learning communities, etc.)? What less well known programs would you recommend that are on the smaller side (school of < 10,000 students)?</p>
<p>Well-respected engineering schools come in all sizes. Harvey-Mudd, Rose Hulman, Olin –> WPI, RPI, Carnegie Mellon, Case Western –> larger.
Try using a college search tool to get a comprehensive list of engineering schools in your size range. [College</a> Navigator - National Center for Education Statistics](<a href=“http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/]College”>College Navigator - National Center for Education Statistics)</p>
<p>Some other well respected engineering programs at smaller/mid-sized schools are: Lehigh, Lafayette, Bucknell, Union, Trinity, Villanova, Tufts, URochester</p>
<p>Many engineering schools at the larger schools are relatively self-contained and do have a smaller feel than the overall size would indicate. The engineering school at Wisconsin for example has about 3800 UG students and has its own library, campus area and even a student union. </p>
<p>[Home</a>, College of Engineering @ The University of Wisconsin-Madison, initiatives in energy, health, nanotechnology, security, and information technology](<a href=“http://www.engr.wisc.edu/]Home”>http://www.engr.wisc.edu/)</p>
<p>Smaller schools can actually have many advantages for undergrad work. Where I went to school, for example (a school of ~1700 students), undergraduate students were the faculty’s primary focus. Professors taught 90+% of the classes, labs and facilities were open exclusively for undergrads (no grad students tying up equipment), and the overall campus environment (less crowded, less distractions) made it a lot easier to focus on studies and really learn the material.</p>
<p>Grad school, however, is a different story. Bigger schools often have significant advantages over smaller schools since they will have much more variety in terms of research options, faculty specialization, funding, etc. </p>
<p>Another smaller, lesser-known school with a solid engineering department is Embry-Riddle (ranked 10th overall for undergraduate engineering and 1st for aerospace engineering). Their Prescott campus is beautiful too.</p>
<p>If you are looking for smaller class size, keep in mind that the size of the engineering program may not be an adequate screen for your lower-division courses. The 1st 2 years you will be sharing many classes (calculus, physics, chem, etc) with other science majors.</p>
<p>My son wanted a small LAC but then decided he wanted a specific Engineering program. In the end he chose a University of 30,000 with an Engineering college of 3,100 which has 7 types of engineering programs.</p>
<p>His Engineering courses will be small for his specialty, but as mikemac stated, his general ABET courses are larger (80-160).</p>
<p>DS chose the larger school for 4 main reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li>Better “toys” of equipment that UG can use.</li>
<li>Generous AP credits (which is allowing him to pursue his interests in humanities)</li>
<li> Research opportunities were better.</li>
<li> Having a “specialized” program appealed to him vs. the courses offered in many of the smaller Engineering programs (like Bucknell or Union)</li>
</ol>
<p>The number in the College of Engineering is easy to find on the websites.</p>
<p>some small schools not already mentioned:</p>
<p>Trinity U in San Antonio
University of Alabama Birmingham</p>