Specifically Biomedical Engineering and Electrical Engineering
Here is the “CUMULATIVE GRADE POINT AVERAGE OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS By College, Classification and Gender Fall 2013”
https://sp.austin.utexas.edu/sites/ut/rpt/Documents/IMA_S_GpaUGColClassGen_2013_Fall.pdf
It’s not a pretty picture for Freshman…
In almost any engineering school, the average student graduates with a 2.8 or 2.9.
Biomedical engineering may be somewhat higher, especially if a significant population of those who elect that major are known to be pre-med. Then the department helps them out by being more generous with grades.
The average is likely a bit higher than 3.0 at most schools. At UT-Austin it’s 3.25 (based on the above 2013 data). At UW-Madison it’s 3.248.
Michigan is known to be fairly tough when it comes to undergraduate GPA. Seems they never got the memo in the 90’s about Grade Inflation…
It makes sense that UT Engineering has an average 2.7 GPA because the top % program accepts many students from poorly performing high schools that aren’t adequately prepared (calculus, physics, chemistry, etc.).
^ To be clear, it’s UT engineering Freshman that average a 2.7 GPA. Sophomores and up all average over a 3.2 GPA (likely some students are dropping out of engineering after their freshman year).
Some schools are known for grade inflation, some schools are known for towing the old line or even grade deflation. The average engineering GPA at Cal Poly is 2.75ish, but west coast employers at least tend to know that. There are classes where professors have curved final grades to a C average with a median of 82%. As of 2010, 7 students had graduated from Harvey Mudd College with a 4.0. That’s a little better than 1 per decade. So, your mileage may vary as far as a broad statement like in post #2.