<p>At one end of the spectrum Cal Poly SLO has a motto of "learn by doing". UC Berkely's engineering program is sometimes said to have a theoretical approach. Where does UCS's undergraduate engineering progrom, especially ME fit in this spectrum?</p>
<p>Although I can’t answer your question with respect to USC engineering, this is one of the most important considerations in choosing an engineering school. We learned this the hard way. My older S is graduating this year with a BE in electrical engineering from a “theoretical” top tier school (not USC). He has a decent gpa, but can’t get a job. In the rare interviews he does get, he is always asked to forward copies of his work on “significant” projects (routine lab assignments do not count). Since his curriculum was highly theoretical, he doesn’t have much to forward and is at a disadvantage when compared to those who went to the schools with a more hands-on approach. After a significant investment in his undergraduate education, he now must go back to school to get a Master’s degree and he is looking for the most “hands-on” program he can find. Unless you are planning to go straight through to a Master’s level, make sure the undergraduate curriculum incorporates “significant” projects in your major field of study. Also ask the Career Center for placement statistics in the major you are considering, including the names of Companies who have RECENTLY hired their grads and the percentage from your major who get jobs right out of school. Also ask for statistics on Internships and Co-ops</p>
<p>Even in schools with heavy theoretical emphasis, you can still get hands on experience by participating in outside of classroom projects. The USC engineering school has quite a few of these projects, some of the more well known ones are the Aerodesign team, the Rocket Lab, and the Formula SAE team.</p>
<p>Anyways, to answer your question, without having taken courses at different schools I really couldn’t tell you. However, there is this dreaded junior year class called mechoptronics which is basically a yearlong “hands on” lab course with horrible long lab reports and very tough grading.</p>
<p>Thank you brdymom. This is what we were thinking. It is good to know that our instincts were correct.</p>
<p>Hawkings, in terms of USC’s classroom curriculum though, it sounds like hands-on projects are not regularly incorporated into the classroom but if an undergraduate student is motivated, they can find hands-on extracurricular hands-on projects or research?</p>