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03-28-2008, 02:43 PM
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#1 | | New Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Threads: 12
Posts: 18
| Most rigorious majors at MIT
Which majors at MIT are most rigorious ?
Aeronautics Engineering?, Economics ? Computer Science ?
Nuclear Engineering ? | 
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03-29-2008, 10:57 AM
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#2 | | Junior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Threads: 0
Posts: 171
| It depends on what you're good at! for me mechanical engineering would be very rigorous and mathematics would be a perfect fit and very feasible. however for some people a mathematics major would be the most rigorous of all majors because some people are simply not good at it. if everyone were equally good at everything, then maybe the most difficult major (going by what the major was designed to entail for courses and requirements) would be...chemical engineering? I hear that a lot. | |
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03-29-2008, 04:17 PM
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#3 | | Member
Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Austin, TX... soon-to-be MIT =) Gender: Female
Threads: 10
Posts: 440
| The sheer fact that they're all MIT majors sounds rigorous enough for me, haha.
I'm not a student there yet, so I'll hold off on an actual answer for fear of bias. | |
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03-29-2008, 05:07 PM
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#4 | | Member
Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Here and There
Threads: 3
Posts: 692
| Rigorous has a very specific meaning, and I think the answer here is course 6, used to be anyway | |
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03-29-2008, 05:20 PM
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#5 | | Moderator
Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Cambridge, MA
Threads: 50
Posts: 5,258
| I vote for 16 (aero/astro). | |
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03-29-2008, 06:51 PM
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#6 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Threads: 23
Posts: 1,013
| I vote for 10 (chemical engineering). Chemical engineering gives you the least freedom (with the most required classes), and from what I've seen, they're genuinely difficult. 16 (aero/astro) is a close second, because it has two heavily design-oriented years (sophomore and senior), both of which consume an inordinate amount of time. | |
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03-30-2008, 05:29 PM
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#7 | | Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Threads: 52
Posts: 276
| How togh is eecs? | |
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03-30-2008, 06:15 PM
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#8 | | Member
Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: New Jersey -> MIT '12! Gender: Female
Threads: 48
Posts: 869
| Also for EECS, how much computer science would one need to know going in in order to keep up (at the very least) with the curriculum? I'm potentially interested in computer science (I've heard some cool stuff) but, to be honest, know next to nothing about it; the Java classes at my school suck, and I haven't had the time to teach myself. | |
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03-30-2008, 06:44 PM
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#9 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Threads: 7
Posts: 1,470
| Well, 6.001 is the only true programming course that you have to take for sure. Other than that, if you concentrate on the EE side (meaning your electives would be EE,) the other CS courses you take could be highly theoretical and less programming. AI, for instance, has some programming, but a big part is just theoretical. 6.042 (theory of computer science) is all proofs. 6.004 is CS, but is more about building a compiler...that sort of thing.
So if you can get through 6.001, you could get through course 6 if you are good with physics/EE.
Also, they have some IAP courses now designed as primers to programming for those that don't have much experience in it. | |
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03-30-2008, 06:48 PM
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#10 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Threads: 34
Posts: 2,052
| But if one doesn't want to focus on the EE side of Course 6, how few EE courses can one take? | |
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03-30-2008, 07:05 PM
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#11 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Threads: 7
Posts: 1,470
| ^^Well, you could just major in CS, but I'll assume that you want the dual degree.
The requirements for the EECS major:
6.001-6.004 (6.002 is circuits; 6.003 is signals)
4 header courses (forget what they call it) I believe 2 of these have to be on the EE side, but one of your EE header classes can be 8.07, which is advanced electromagnetism.
6.042 (proof-based class on theory of comp. science) or probability
Then you need some electives, and you can choose all CS ones if you want.
So basically, you need to take 6.002, 6.003, and one true EE class. You can substitute advanced electromagnetism for your other EE class.
---------------------------------------------
If you major in CS, the only EE classes you need to take are 6.002 and 6.003. | |
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03-30-2008, 07:42 PM
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#12 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area, CA
Threads: 79
Posts: 2,519
| You could also look at 18C, "math with computer science", for a more theoretical approach to CS. | 
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03-30-2008, 08:37 PM
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#13 | | Moderator
Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Cambridge, MA
Threads: 50
Posts: 5,258
| There's actually a whole new set of course 6 requirements going into effect for the class of 2011 -- described here. I don't know much about it, but I do know 6.001 is out, and has been replaced by 6.01 ("Introduction to EECS I").
la montagne, there's a new course, 6.00, designed specifically for students with little to no previous EECS experience. | |
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03-30-2008, 08:55 PM
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#14 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Threads: 7
Posts: 1,470
| hm...I've become obsolete. | |
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03-30-2008, 09:48 PM
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#15 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Threads: 34
Posts: 2,052
| mollieb,
THANKS for that link. I don't know if S has seen it yet (he's been looking at the catalog for classes to observe when he visits), but I will be sure to point this out. I know he's aware of 18C, but he'll probably be glad to know there's a less EE-ish option in 6 as well. | |
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