<p>Is it a good idea to study abroad for a semester if you're majoring in engineering? I mean, I really want to study abroad! It's an opportunity of a lifetime and I don't really want to miss it. But where do you think engineering majors should look? I was thinking Germany or maybe even Japan or something? I'm going to be taking a language class (undecided yet) starting next year.</p>
<p>I think it is a great idea! Check with your university, it should have some kind abroad program for engineers. Usually, the German universities are the popular choice, but it will require to take German language from your freshman year so that you can be ready for the program during the summer between junior and senior years.</p>
<p>My college does have study abroad options in Germany, Istanbul, Rome and others, but I was wondering if it really is a good idea. I mean, you'll have to cope with learning german engineering terms for example, which could be difficult and may not be very helpful for later. I dunno. There might be other cons that I don't know of. I don't know anyone who has studied abroad for engineering unfortunately.</p>
<p>Check out the National University of Ireland in Galway. My son is a little further on in his engineering education so it's not an option for him. But, there's all the traditional engineering courses there. And, Galway is a hopping little college town.</p>
<p>check out australia or new zealand. they speak english and have technical programs.</p>
<p>Some schools are putting emphsis on this. MIT has said this will become a point of emphsis there. It's interesting because one would think the USA has the best engineering education in the world.</p>
<p>Ga Tech has stated a goal of having 50% of all undergraduates study abroad. They established a GT campus in France.</p>
<p>UIUC does not charge tuition to engineering students while studying abroad; GT only charges in-state tuition (even if you are OOS). </p>
<p>Both UIUC & GT have numerous options available, many are English-speaking (UK, Australia, NZ, Japan, China, etc.), and choice of semester or full year programs. They probably prefer that students do a foreign language program to be better prepared for the job market.</p>
<p>"check out australia or new zealand. they speak english and have technical programs."</p>
<p>agreed 100%. i know several students in australia and new zealand who say they are having a blast and learning a lot.</p>
<p>Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge in the UK have world-class engineering programs. In case you can also speak German, TU München (Munich) and RWTH Aachen in Germany, and ETH Zürich in Switzerland are good options too. I'd stay away from French engineering schools though.</p>
<p>BTW, MIT has a well-known one-year student exchange program with Cambridge (UK) that is available to most engineering majors.</p>
<p>You migh want to check also the latest (2006) London Times (THES) ranking of world universities in the area of technology (i.e. engineering and computer science), see
<a href="http://www.me.nus.edu.sg/bulletin/General/THES_worldrankings2006_technology.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.me.nus.edu.sg/bulletin/General/THES_worldrankings2006_technology.pdf</a></p>
<p>Studying abroad is a great experience though its usually difficult due to the typical course work and time constraints for an engineer.</p>
<p>Your school should have some sponsored programs or offer support for other programs.</p>
<p>I know that Germany, Mexico City, Singapore, France and London offer programs.</p>
<p>YES!</p>
<p>I am biased because my hobby is travel and I could not do it until I graduated and worked a few years. If you can do it at even a younger age....DO IT!!</p>
<p>Friend's son who was engineering at Georgia Tech did a semester in Australia and loved it. I know he had a great time, but I really didn't talk with him about the relevance to his engineering degree ;).</p>
<p>From what I hear, studying abroad is a great experience.</p>
<p>Usually you are required to take a language and culture class as well as actual engineering classes. Also, its nice to see how the rest of the world teaches and treats engineering.</p>
<p>why stay away from French engineering schools? Just wondering.</p>
<p>Georgia Tech has an actual campus in France (Lorraine), you might want to look into that.</p>
<p>[eiffel13] Why stay away from French schools ? Because the models of engineering education in France and the US are so different that is actually pretty hard to establish clear equivalences between the two. Most Frenchmen will claim that their traditional path for engineering education, i .e Bac (secondary-school leaving exam) + 2 years of "classes pr</p>
<p>Bruno123 - Thanks for your reply. I am quite familiar with your description
of the French system and your points are well taken. The most gifted
engineer I know was trained at Imperial College London. The most
quantitatively adept is French. The most commercially minded (as in
"I can design this but how economic will it be?") is American.</p>
<p>I would not suggest it. All of your hard work would go to waste if your airplane crashes if if you don't make it back to America safely.</p>