T.A.D

I was wondering how Mechanical Engineering would compare to other technical majors at Caltech. Is it considered a very hard major? What would be the hardness of the program, if you add an Aeronautical Engineering concentration to the ME program? Any discussion would be much appreciated!

Antiquark

People who are interested in aerospace or aeronautical engineering typically major in engineering and applied science or mechanical engineering with an aerospace minor. The minor in both of these cases isn't too hard since a lot of its requirements count as electives for either of those majors. Those two routes and the regular mechanical engineering option are about of average difficulty for most people compared to the other technical majors.

*Brahmin

could you classify the technical majors in terms of prestige in Caltech...or some more well known and demanding in Caltech

fizix2

people more knowledgeable than me should fill in the rest of this list and/or move stuff around.

10 - ChemE
9 - EE
8 -
7 -
6 -
5 -
4 - Math, Geology
3 -
2 -
1 - English

tealover

where does bio/chem fall in that scale?

and caltech offers a english major??? that's news

Antiquark

While the majors can range in difficulty, undergrads here aren't going to judge you based on your major. Some of the most brilliant people I know are in "easier" majors like CS and Biology. These people tend to take a lot more than the minimum requirements in their major. Basically, some of the majors have easier minimum requirements but they can all be made arbitrarily hard.

Outside of Tech, the prestige of the majors doesn't correlate with how difficult they are here. For example, Caltech very well offers the most prestigious Geophysics degree in the country even though that is one of the easiest technical majors here. On the other hand, Electrical Engineering is fairly difficult but Caltech's program is "merely" top-5 or so.

Ranking the majors based on difficulty is pretty hard since it varies so much on the person. Most Math majors would probably find Math to be the easiest major, while a lot of the rest of us might find it difficult despite the small number of requirements. It is safe to say, though, that picking a major based off of how difficult it purportedly is or how much respect it will garner you amongst other undergrads is a recipe for misery. If you really love Chemical Engineering, don't give it up just because it has a lot of requirements before you've even gotten to take many classes at Tech. On the other hand, don't feel shame because you want to be a Geobiology major and it's an "easy" major. If you're at Tech, no one is going to think you're dumb. Showing off with your major is pointless.

And, yes, Caltech offers BS degrees in English, History, Philosophy, etc. A large percentage of undergrads double major with one of these.

*Brahmin

But what in general, are more prestigiuos Caltech majors? doesn't have to be correlated with difficulty, just what is more valued by the employers in the outside world.

Antiquark

Our biology, chemistry, physics, geology, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, and chemical engineering programs are all top-5. Our lowest rated tech field? Computer science. And yet our computer science grads probably have easier times getting high paying jobs than any other major with the possible exception of chemical engineering. If you're into selling out, banking/finance employers seem to like Caltech math and physics degrees just as general "hey look, I can think!" proof. For the other fields, Caltech prestige is useful when getting into grad school, and that added benefit is about even for all of our science/engineering majors.

T.A.D

Back to the ME Major:
What would be a reasonable course schedule for the entering freshman who wants to major in ME (with aeronautical concentration)?

(a) Fall
(b) Winter:
(c) Spring:

Normally how many courses would you take every quarter, for an average freshmen? Any information is appreciated!

jdhutchin

You don't start taking engineering courses for ME at Caltech until you're a sophomore, so your frosh year is just core and all the other "frosh classes". The aero minor is two year-long courses, which you usually take as a senior. The courseload for ME is roughly average for Caltech majors.

If you want more detailed info, check the Caltech Catalog at Caltech 2007-2008 Course Catalog

lizzardfire

MechEasy. :P