So what is the average Engineer GPA anyways?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Los Angeles
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<p>So I'm an English major and I have a friend whose always bashing on how easy the English major is and that if she were studying humanities, she'd have above a 3.5. According to her, I don't know how difficult UCLA truly is because I'm not in the engineering school, where the average GPA, according to her, is 2.7. By average GPA, I mean the typical engineering student hovers around a 2.7. Her words, not mine. Also, her GPA is around 2.6-2.7, which would justify her claim I guess.</p>

<p>Any validity to this? Seems ridiculously low...</p>

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<p>At Penn the average gpa for engineering is around 2.7-2.8ish</p>

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<p>Berkeley lower division EECS classes are curved to about a 2.7 on average (meaning if you got the average score on test, that’s about a B-), so I’d imagine UCLA is probably similar.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Policies/ugrad.grading.shtml[/url]”>Grading Guidelines for Undergraduate Courses | EECS at UC Berkeley;

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<p>Looks like the average for graduating engineering students is around 3.1-3.2 for most engineering majors. For reference, English is in the mid-3.3s.</p>

<p>Source: [UCLA</a> Office of Analysis and Information Management | AIM](<a href=“http://www.aim.ucla.edu/aprs/apbaprs.asp]UCLA”>http://www.aim.ucla.edu/aprs/apbaprs.asp)</p>

<p>Comparing average GPAs by major doesn’t give the full picture, however. Engineering is generally more competitive to get into, and thus may have students who performed better in high school. If high school performance correlates with college performance (I won’t argue whether it does or doesn’t), then the fact that engineering has stronger performers, but still a lower average GPA would suggest that engineering is harder than what the gap shows.</p>

<p>Also, upper division courses give more A’s. So the graduating GPAs of students doesn’t take into account people who did poorly in lower division courses, then switched into other majors.</p>

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<p>That grading is normal in science/engineering. A B- is about average. We don’t have engineering, but the harder science courses curve to about a B-, and some curve between a C+/B- to about a 2.5-2.6ish. Whether at a public or private school, engineering and science GPA is lower. The engineering/science GPA at Georgia Tech is about 2.7 also. They probably only have a grad. GPA just over 3.0 b/c of the management school and those in the liberal arts, that skew it up a bit. The same phenomenon occurs at most schools, including selective ones.</p>

<p>That site is insightful. Seems as if natural and hard sciences are grading tougher than engineering (actually, I thought that this was always the trend).</p>

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<p>Classes are usually curved to a B- (2.7). However, the average engineering student does much better than the average non-engineering student, making the classes relatively difficult. Non-engineers usually fear taking the engineering versions of classes in my experience!</p>

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<p>Let’s start with this:
[Why</a> would-be engineers end up as English majors - CNN.com](<a href=“http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/05/17/education.stem.graduation/index.html]Why”>Why would-be engineers end up as English majors - CNN.com)</p>

<p>In a way, I think the science/math/engineering majors lack heavily in love. Some teachers may be happy to teach concepts, and people might be willing to work together and help but there’s always a bit of a condescending air around the subject should you not get it naturally. </p>

<p>In other words, I’ve found that half the time I ask for help in a science or math class, even the teachers start off with “Oh that’s easy!”</p>

<p>It couldn’t be further from the truth! </p>

<p>I’ll let you know how the engineering-specific classes go as I take them ^^ I’ve only had one so far, and I found it quite enjoyable compared to my physics & chemistry classes. Math has been stressful at times, but I am content with it these days.</p>

<p>Nyah, very intimidating subjects with less love than their non-engineering counterparts. At the end of the day, we’re still under the same pressure to perform just as well as non-engineers do. Perhaps more - in my science classes there are a lot of international students that took the classes before, ace everything, and make the curve steeper. </p>

<p>What can you do? Not much. You clench your jaw and work through it, doing the best you can. If at the end of the day that only means passing, you just have to live with that. I decided many years ago I was going to keep going until I’ve earned my degree, and right now I’d like to get a pro engineer license too!</p>

<p>Anyway, I wouldn’t make fun of you Ron, many of my friends wouldn’t make fun of you either - I was recommended to be an English tutor at my college and turned down the offer because I’m transferring out after this semester. English can be a tough game and to be truly successful in the subject requires a lot of drive and passion. </p>

<p>If you’ve rocked high grades in English, you likely have won the hearts of your teachers over at least a few times.</p>

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<p>It all depends on professors. Some nice professors curve the average to B+/B. Some mean professors curve the average to B-. </p>

<p>I’d suggest checking out the professors review on bruinwalk before enrolling in classes.</p>

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<p><quote> if she were studying humanities, she’d have above a 3.5</quote></p>

<p>Your friend is making excuses… Humanities are damn time-consuming and the curves are not helpful at all (I got B+'s on my history GE’s even though I got 85-ish on the exams and low 90-ish on the papers). The grading is also very subjective, you don’t even know why you lose points! If I studied the humanities I would’ve got <3.0…</p>

<p>I’m engineering major and I have 3.86. Engineering upper divs are more curved. Do better than your peers you get A. Having difficult materials doesn’t mean that it’s difficult to get a good grade.</p>

<p>As for the average GPA, I have no idea, but I think 2.7 sounds too low. Perhaps around 3.0 to 3.2?</p>

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<p>There are nuances to that question specific to majors where a significant percentage of students do not make it through the weed-out courses. Majors that come to mind are Engineering, Chemistry, Biology.</p>

<p>It may look something like this:</p>

<p>1) Students taking Introductory Engineering and Math classes: 2.5 (this includes the 25% who get D or F)
2) Students who survived the weed-out and continue in the Major: 2.9
3) 2nd Semester Seniors who received mostly B or A grades in upper division classes: 3.2</p>

<p>So the question must specify the specific time the measure is taken, as well as the cohort. Ave GPA of Sophomore Engineeers will be lower than Junior Engineers, which will be lower than Sr. Year Engineers.</p>

<p>Now that I’m thinking about it, it makes a lot of sense to take all the weed-out courses in JC and then transfer into a UC.</p>

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<p>DunninLA: As a transfer student, I disagree with the transferring suggestion. I feel like I’d be in a much better position had I been here as a freshman because of:
a) more opportunities to meet professors
b) more opportunities to get involved in research
c) more opportunities for internships
d) a more rigorous education in the courses that really matter (the weeders)</p>

<p>Now, I transferred from another UC so my educational experience is different (and probably a bit more rigorous and better) than the average JC transfer, but I feel like the benefits of being at UCLA from freshman year outweigh the con of a potentially lower GPA.</p>

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<p>I believe the range i somewhere around a 3.0 to 3.1, but this depends on your major. I’ve heard of lower grades being handed out for ChE - someone can confirm that. I’ve heard of students with as low as 3.2 or 3.3 make it to grad school at UCLA.</p>

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<p>Tell me about it. During the educational planner survey, I told my dad I was filling expected GPA as 2.8. He flipped out on me and told me that he’s allowing me to write 3.5, whereas I should be writing and getting a 4.0.</p>

<p>I’m an engineering major by the way. xD F to the M to the L.</p>

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<p>Well, here are nationwide statistics that reveal the general differences between GPAs of graduating Liberal Arts, STEM, and Social Science students.</p>

<p>Here is Ave GPA over time at Public vs. Private: [recenttrendsindschools2.gif</a> (image)](<a href=“recenttrendsindschools2.gif]recenttrendsindschools2.gif (image)”>recenttrendsindschools2.gif (image))</p>

<p>Here is Ave GPA per area of study: Figure 3, page 4 <a href=“http://www.gradeinflation.com/tcr2010grading.pdf[/url]”>http://www.gradeinflation.com/tcr2010grading.pdf&lt;/a&gt; This chart indicates that a 3.0 student in Engineering would, on average, be a:</p>

<ul>
<li>3.15 in Natural Sciences</li>
<li>3.2 in Social Sciences</li>
<li>3.3 in Liberal Arts</li>
</ul>

<p>As I mentioned above, I don’t know if these data account for the presence of “weed-out” classes in both Natural Sciences and Engineering, as opposed to the lack thereof in Social Sciences and Liberal Arts, which would widen the deltas.</p>

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About to graduate as a Computer Engineer, finally after 5 long and difficult years. I’m sorry, but the truth is that YEAH we have way lower GPA’s because the classes we take are death.

2.5 Final GPA here - 3.0 on my Engineering Courses

The students who study engineering aren’t there to get 4.0’s, they are there to learn. It IS the weed out courses, it IS the weed out mentality that is passed down by faculty that is like a family. You don’t notice it, but some of the professors who lecture are world renowned researchers who just like you, had to slave to be able to grasp.

Even degrees that seem similar to full fledged engineering majors( ex: Computer Science vs Computer Engineering), don’t even come close in terms of work load and complexity. Sure, there are pre-med bio majors who have to do endless labs, take Organic Chemistry and more, but we on the other hand have to master pretty much the entire way of thinking that is engineering and that is literally done through countless problem solving scenarios.

Additionally, the latter end of the long journey till graduation is composed of IEEE standardization of project documents. Most ABET accredited schools are mandated to expose the engineers to a bunch of stuff that people cringe at even thinking about taking.

Examples include Thermodynamics, Differential Equations, Discrete Mathematics, Signals and Systems, Circuit Analysis, Physics II, Embedded Microcomputing.

Add a little bit of FRIENDS, maybe a JOB to pay for SCHOOL, and RENT, and FOOD and you get no time for SLEEP.

So I do agree with your friend, Engineering Majors are the most challenging in terms of work load, grading criteria, exam complexity, and overall brain mass involvement. Other majors do have a lot of WORK that you must do to get by, but you’re writing out a complex answer on a neat paragraph on your exam instead of seeing life flash before your eyes while you’re trying to make your Chinese math make sense with 2 problems left out of 5 and 10 minutes remaining.

Just my opinion… I literally danced when getting C’s in certain impossible to pass classes… Don’t give up.

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No not true. I am an engineering kid at UCLA now, I’m a junior. All my friends and me have an GPA above 3.5. I have 3.6 btw.

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no excuse for a low GPA man.