UVA Engineering

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Virginia
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<p>Although I am extremely excited about my acceptance to UVA I am concerned as it is not the top engineering school on my list. (I was accepted to University of Michigan, but I cannot afford it currently) Does anyone have any insight into the engineering programs at UVA? In particular, I am interested in chemical engineering. Things I am curious about include access to undergraduate research, quality of labs, quality of education, and what seems most important nowadays job placement and industry reputation. </p>

<p>If anyone is familiar with UVA engineering and could provide some insight it would be much appreciated. Also, if anyone has any information regarding the ability to minor/double major in business that would also be appreciated.</p>

<p>Thank you.</p>

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<p>You canā€™t double major in business. Well, you could, but you would kill your social life and sanity. It is reasonable to minor in engineering business.</p>

<p>I just had a friend get accepted into a Chem Eng PhD program at a nice southern school. I know she struggled her first year but ended up doing really well in her Chem classes and so it all worked out for her. Someone else might be able to link to some kind of PDF that talks about eschool job statistics.</p>

<p>UVA Eng has a liberal arts flair - a lot more writing than you would see at other universities.</p>

<p>I donā€™t know much about the labs.</p>

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<p>You mentioned liberal arts. That was actually one of my concerns; UVA has a great reputation on the whole, but does this reputation carry to its engineering departments? Basically, will an engineering education from UVA give me an edge in finding a summer internship or job after graduation? Over the other schools I was accepted into such as Notre Dame, Bucknell, or U. Del? </p>

<p>Sent from my HTC One X using CC</p>

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<p>Hereā€™s a link to the Engineering Business minor hazel referred to. Itā€™s one of the most popular minors in SEAS and involves work in SEAS and McIntire. Weather you can handle this with a ChemE schedule will depend largely on how many credits you are coming in with, how successful you are in coordinating your electives to fill minor requirements, etc.</p>

<p>[University</a> of Virginia Engineering Business Minor](<a href=ā€œhttp://www.seas.virginia.edu/acad/programs/engrbusiness.php]Universityā€>http://www.seas.virginia.edu/acad/programs/engrbusiness.php)</p>

<p>The writing hazel refers to are the STS courses, or Science, Technology & Society. They take place of what would be your writing requirements if you were in CLAS. You can not place out with AP credits as they do not really equate to composition and literature. They are taken throughout your four years and are based on the premise that engineers do not spend their lives in little cubicles (or they shouldnā€™t) and what they do does not happen in a vacuum. They need to be able to communicate and understand the full context of their work in the global community. Topics range from Ethics, Policy, & Responsibility, to New Product Development, to Technology in Social and Global Context. So yes, you will be writing papers, but you are also going to be learning that your work reaches much further then the assembly line or your desk. UVa SEAS is also unique from many other eā€™schools in that students are required to complete a senior thesis project.</p>

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<p>Blue, Hazel, et al- I asked this on another UVA thread but we hear BME only accepts about 70 a year. Any clue what that percentage of applicants might be?</p>

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<p>89wahoo,
I donā€™t know the number that are accepted but the percentage is 67%. The SEAS Undergraduate Handbook has a list of each major and itā€™s acceptance rate. Iā€™ll link the pdf here, but youā€™ll find the chart on page 29.</p>

<p><a href=ā€œhttp://www.seas.virginia.edu/advising/UG_handbook.pdf[/url]ā€>http://www.seas.virginia.edu/advising/UG_handbook.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Hazel brought up the fact that UVa has a ā€˜LAā€™s flairā€™ and there is more writing then other programs. I followed, attempting to explain the STS series (although probably not doing a great job). The following does a much better job for anyone who is interested in what it means to be a ā€˜Jeffersonian Engineerā€™.</p>

<p><a href=ā€œhttp://www.seas.virginia.edu/admissions/pdf/jeff_engr.pdf[/url]ā€>http://www.seas.virginia.edu/admissions/pdf/jeff_engr.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The original can be found on the SEAS website (bottom right):
[U.Va&lt;/a&gt;. Engineering Undergraduate Student Handbook](<a href=ā€œhttp://www.seas.virginia.edu/advising/undergradhandbook.php]U.Vaā€>http://www.seas.virginia.edu/advising/undergradhandbook.php)</p>

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<p>blue, great posts
-hazel</p>

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<p>Thanks for the information really helpful. I was unaware of the senior thesis and the PDF regarding declaring major was a solid read. Do you happen to have any information on job placement? I found some data from their post graduation survey, but it was a bit broad. </p>

<p>Sent from my HTC One X using CC</p>

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<p>Wow, Blue. You need a thread called Ask BlueIguana. You are truly a gem.</p>

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<p>ScienceGuy12 ā€œBasically, will an engineering education from UVA give me an edge in finding a summer internship or job after graduation? Over the other schools I was accepted into such as Notre Dame, Bucknell, or U. Del?ā€</p>

<p>None of the other schools are ā€œTechā€ schools so Iā€™m assuming that you are looking for an engineering program with a liberal arts flair? I donā€™t know whether UVA will give you an edge but their engineering grads donā€™t seem to have difficulty finding jobs. If you are in-state Iā€™d say the choice is a no-brainer.</p>

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<p>UVas engineering school may not rank as high as some of the others but it depends on what you are using to evaluate rank and whether it is really meaningful (ie UN News is limited). It still carries the cache of being UVa and one is perfectly hireable from UVa. Iā€™m afraid you will have to do a little more digging if you are looking to know more about research labs as I donā€™t know exactly what is or is not available, but all the UVa Engr grads I know were successfully employer in engineering positions after graduation.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>At least in CS, employment doesnā€™t seem to be an issue. My sibling, a BACS major, had three internship offers for this summer and had to turn down several other interviews.</p>

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<p>89wahoo - Iā€™ve had the benefit of learning from some great cc members who came before me who stuck around to help, esp the students like hazel. Obviously then thereā€™s the ultimate source on admissions, Dean J. If you read long enough youā€™ll learn from some amazing and generous people. All I do is copy links to the UVa website and Dean Js blog, lol. Thanks for your kind words. You must be so excited to have another 'Hoo in the family. Congratulations to your daughter. Exciting year coming up!! :)</p>

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<p>For the jobs: <a href=ā€œhttp://www.seas.virginia.edu/admin/careerdev/files/seasannualreport.pdf[/url]ā€>http://www.seas.virginia.edu/admin/careerdev/files/seasannualreport.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I would take some of this with a grain of salt though, especially the percentages of people reporting and how they report, they hold this survey shortly after the career fair and plenty of people get jobs after/outside of the career fair (I myself settled on my final offer at the end of March, despite receiving offers well before then). But the report will give you an idea of where people go: the types of companies people work for, names of companies that will hire us lousy SEAS grads, grad school level you can expect, etc. </p>

<p>Everything BlueI has said is right on, especially the STS stuff. </p>

<p>I never realized how much those classes taught me until I reached the working world. Not only do you learn about technically writing methods, approaches, and tips (which is EXTREMELY useful and not many other engineers around me have that), but it teaches you to think about more than the number crunching and facts behind our field. It forces you to open your eyes and analyze how the work that we do impacts the world. It also reminded me that as an engineer I can better the world, but it was up to me to decide how. Lastly, by forcing you to think in these manners it hones your critical thinking skills immensely. Being able to solve multiple types of problems in multiple contexts is an important skill to pick up, and the STS classes definitely try to do that. Plus, one of my STS classes was on natural disasters, and another on the history and methods of wine-making. Those classes were AWESOME.</p>

<p>For what itā€™s worth, I graduated in 2010 and have had nothing but success when I walk into a room and say Iā€™m from UVa. The quality of the school on a whole is known and it wouldnā€™t be in the top 25 without strong schools across the entire university. I work with others that have graduated in the past from UVa and they all say that they like hiring from there. Iā€™ve had opportunities to shift to other large, well-known corporations as well</p>

<p>Lastly, engineering is what you make of it. Iā€™ve worked with graduates from MIT, Princeton, Georgia Tech, Maryland, UCLA, and much smaller schools. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. That said, if you like UVa, donā€™t worry about its ā€œprestigeā€, itā€™s there. Instead, focus on what type of school environment youā€™d like to be in (note that the e-school is smaller than the others on your list, which I happened to love) and where you see yourself in a few years.</p>

<p>Oh, and double-majoring in engineering and commerce is extremely difficult. I knew one guy that did it and he was taking 18 credits every semester, had multiple math/sciences courses already tested out of when he came in, took summer classes, and still struggled. Thereā€™s an engineering-business-minor that will teach you the basics and beyond. Also, consider systems-engineering if you really think you want to go into business.</p>

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<p>My D is graduating from UVA in chemical engineering and Iā€™ve been following her past 4 years with interest and comparing it to my own experience at UDel as a Chem E many years ago. If you truly want to be a Chem E, then UDel wins hands down. The program then and now is highly rated and has connections to many companies all over the country. If youā€™re interested in a Chem E degree as a means to another end, then UVA is a great school and a better choice than UDel. Also depends on if either is a state school for you.</p>

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<p>I understand that the Chem Eng major is by far the hardest major for admission at U. Del. It has always had strong connections to DuPont and other nearby chemical companies.</p>

<p>My niece graduated with a chemical engineering degree from Penn State. She said that the job opportunities were best in the southeastern US because that is where so many chemical facilities are located.</p>

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<p>Veterans of the forum know that I have a sincere interest in engineering education. I donā€™t think thereā€™s a right or wrong way to teach engineering, but I think there are different styles for different kinds of students. I think UVaā€™s E school helps prepare engineers who arenā€™t only top notch with the application of theory, but excellent when it comes to understanding the bigger picture (the market, users, sustainability, etc.). </p>

<p>Someone once said that UVa engineers go on to be technological leaders, not just cogs in the wheel. I really like that idea. :)</p>

<p>

Yes!</p>

1 Like
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<p>Thank you for all the feedback. I will be visiting the grounds this Tuesday and look foward to seeing how I like the feel. Iā€™ll let everyone know my decision at the conclusion of next week if anyone is curious. </p>

<p>Sent from my HTC One X using CC</p>

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<p>Have a wonderful time! After your information session and tours if you have any remaining questions regarding SEAS donā€™t hesitate to visit Thornton Hall. The administrative offices are the first door on your right. They are extremely knowledgeable and very willing to answer questions.</p>