<p>Harvard and Yale seem to be good at almost everything, but their engineering rankings don't seem to be very high, as compared to MIT, Stanford, etc. Does this mean that an engineering graduate from H/Y will not get a job offer as attractive as for graduates from hardcore engineering schools?</p>
<p>Can't answer your question, but I would guess that many potential employers probably do not know that Harvard, Yale and the other Ivy's have Engineering programs. </p>
<p>If you can choose only one candidate, the hotshot from MIT, the # 1 Engineering school, or the hotshot from Harvard, the 38th best Engineering school, what would you do?</p>
<p>I think they're known for their pure sciences, not so much for engineering.</p>
<p>If you graduate from Harvard with an engineering degree u will get a good job, as u will anywhere else. The starting salary for engineers do not vary much from school to school. The reason that Harvard and Yale do not excel in engineering is because they never focused on it. They place an enormous emphasis on the liberal arts, and basic sciences, engineering major kind of limits your options if u are desiring to explore the world in college. Their departments in engineering are very very puny. Not much research going on independently in engineering at yale and harvard. Universities gain reputation from research, this is why they are bad at engineering. </p>
<p>Harvard has a lot of collaborations with MIT.</p>
<p>Engineering was, and to a lesser degree still is, seen as a blue collar career in the US. In Europe and in Asia, it is seen as the top of the food chain, but in the US, Engineers are generally not as respected as other professionals. Of course, that's a sweeping statement, but it is generally true. I think that explains why many of the top 10-15 Engineering programs are schools with connection to the state, like UIUC, Cal, Michigan, Georgia Tech, Purdue, Texas-Austin, Wisconsin-Madison, Texas A&M and even Cornell, whereas schools that were generally more exclusive (socially speaking), like Yale, Harvard, Brown, Georgetown, Chicago etc are weak in Engineering. There are exceptions of course. For example, Stanford, Princeton, Northwestern and Johns Hopkins. CalTech, MIT and CMU do not count since they were founded as schools of Engineering in the first place. Am I on to something or am I way off?</p>
<p>Nah nah Alexandre, engineering in the US is no longer regarded as blue collar career, esp. when engineers' (not technicians or mechanics) average salary is higher than the rest (excluding doctors and lawyers). However, it is true that perhaps about 100 years ago or so, engineering was regarded as a lower class major, esp. in the east coast where the Ivy league was established. Harvard will not bother to improve its engineering dept. where MIT is nearby. Yale on the other hand is trying to improve its engineering dept, I believe they now have better research in bioengineering. Since technology and communication (thx to your alma mater's perhaps greatest ever engineer C. Shannon) has now become prominent, much more so than humanities and social science, I believe some 'old' private universities try to upgrade their engineering dept. But it is not something that can be easily done in one, two or even ten years time.</p>
<p>rtkysg - Harvard IS actively trying to improve and expand its engineering department (DEAS), even with MIT close by. In fact, the President of Harvard (you know, that guy that made the remarks about women in science) has made improving the engineering program a top priority. I agree on the notion of engineering as being not quite as sexy as law or medicine - but that may change more within the next couple of generations as the situation for practicing doctors ever worsens and the glut of law school graduates makes it nearly impossible for all but a few people to get high paying corporate law jobs.</p>
<p>how is engineering not sexy? Maybe as a career it turns people off, but research in engineering is why i have the laptop that I am typing with now, the contact lenses that I'm wearing, basically everything around you is the product of engineering research. State schools are good at engineering, because they have funding and the the size of the school, this attracts top researchers to do research and teach there. Engineering is not like other disciplines, it requires A lot and a lot of money. You can be the greatest research engineer, but without a lot of money from grants, you are useless.</p>
<p>wasn't MIT part of Harvard's campus way back when?</p>
<p>Harvard engineering = Harvard kids walking down the street to take classes at MIT. Sometimes Ivys and other LACs randomly have an "engineering" department. It's a little token department there and isn't really serious.</p>
<p>I talked with a Harvard prof about "cross registration" with MIT. It is possible, but is more the exception, than the rule.</p>
<p>Maybe a current student at Harvard could chime in?</p>
<p>I believe MIT students can cross register at Harvard for Liberal Arts and Humanities, but few do.</p>
<p>thomaschau, were you saying Harvard kids can walk to MIT?</p>
<p>Last time I was touring those campuses, they were a couple of train stops apart.</p>
<p>Um...aren't they on the same street?</p>
<p>Well, they are on the same side of the Charles, maybe that's all that matters.</p>
<p>Joemama, one can easily walk from Harvard to MIT. It's like a 20 minute walk. Of course, some areas in the middle are not that pleasant, but it is certainly walkable.</p>
<p>Not too many MIT students take classes at Harvard and vice-versa. I was thinking about it, but it's not worth the time to just say you went to Harvard for a sec.</p>
<p>Really? Why don't many students cross classes? Is it too troublesome?</p>
<p>Well, the schedules are different, so you'll have finals at different times. Harvard holds their finals after break, during MIT's IAP. Also, most MIT students are not looking to take very obscure or abvanced humanities classes, so they can just take humanities at MIT. I think you can only cross register if the class isn't really offered at MIT. I do know one girl who took a class at Harvard, so it can be done.</p>
<p>Never walked it while visiting last summer, always took the trains.
I was led to believe that few students cross register.</p>