Liberal arts with engineering?

quirkyandready · June 2018

Hello! I really love colleges/universities with a liberal arts campus feel but also offer engineering programs. Currently my favorite school is Tufts university but because of its extremely competitive admissions, I would like to find colleges similar to consider. I really enjoyed casewesterns people ( similar to tufts “quirky” nature) however the innercity environment was not for me. Im looking to major in environmental engineering/suistainable design or something in that nature. Any suggestions would be great:)

ucbalumnus · June 2018

Would a small engineering focused college be suitable?

Cost constraints?

eyemgh · June 2018

To tag onto what @ucbalumnus asked, did the size and happiness vibe at Tufts and Case resonate (something we can certainly relate to having visited both) or was it mix of majors?

If it's the former, certainly look at WPI. They do have non-tech majors, but not in the same balance as Case and Tufts. The engineering program is innovative though, it's in a good location, and everyone seemed happy.

We also liked Lehigh. The engineering program is strong and Bethlehem was far better than we expected it to be. It's reasonably close to NYC and Philly if you need some city time.

Just a side note about Tufts...they do not offer any merit aid. Unless you have significant financial need, it's going to cost you over a quarter of a million dollars to be a Jumbo.

twoinanddone · June 2018

University of Vermont or University of Colorado for environmental design. Both have plenty of humanities courses offered.

RightCoaster · June 2018

Lehigh is a good suggestion.

You might want to look at someplace like U of Vermont. They have a new engineering building, so probably nice new labs. The school loves environmental studies. Burlington is a great town. If you have good grades/scores you might get some decent merit.

nmcorm · June 2018

The University of Rochester should be on your list since it has many similarities to Case. My daughter applied to both but she chose Rochester for a variety of reasons, including it's more traditional campus (less urban) feel. They also offer merit aid.

Corbett · June 2018

We also liked Lehigh. The engineering program is strong and Bethlehem was far better than we expected it to be. It's reasonably close to NYC and Philly if you need some city time.

Lehigh is a good suggestion.

Lehigh, like Tufts, is a small university with good liberal arts programs, in addition to engineering. I also found that Bethlehem exceeded expectations, although it obviously does not match the Boston area in terms of urban amenities. On the other hand, Lehigh struck me as more undergraduate-focused than Tufts, and with a greater sense of community, so more LAC-like in those respects.

Lehigh has sports rivalries with two other two Patriot League schools in Pennsylvania, Lafayette and Bucknell. These are both LACs with civil/environmental engineering. Both are noticeably smaller than Lehigh, though still on the large side by LAC standards. Lafayette is in Easton, which is next to Bethlehem. Bucknell is in a relatively rural and isolated small-town setting, like many classic New England LACs.

All three of these schools would be a notch less selective than Tufts. Would agree with Rochester too, but have not been there and have no impressions.

aquapt · June 2018

A lot of the LAC's that have engineering tend to have a smaller selection of engineering majors, so something more specialized like Environmental will be harder to find in that setting. Even harder to find a school that has both *engineering* stuff and *design* stuff, AND the ability to combine them. (The bigger the school gets, the more separate the "silos" tend to get.)

I agree with those above who suggest UVM - it's small enough to have a relatively LAC-like feel, and to make cross-disciplinary stuff possible, and it has a very strong environmental bent. The Enviro Engineering program there might be a great choice.

A more specialized small school possibility would be SUNY ESF, which is adjacent to Syracuse University and allows cross-registration in SU courses (for an affordable SUNY price - even OOS is relatively inexpensive). It has several environmentally-oriented engineering majors as well as some design options i.e. the minor in landscape arch. studies.

Union College has an Enviro Engineering minor, but not much design stuff per se. Clarkson has an environmental engineering major. So do Lehigh and Bucknell. Also Stevens (esp. if you have any interest in a coastal/ocean focus)

CU Boulder does have a really nice environmental design school - small and personalized even though the university is big. They also have enviro engineering... but I don't get the sense that there's much cross-talk between EVND and engineering, and it would be hard to find a liberal arts feel.

The enviro engineering program at CO School of Mines might come close to what you're looking for, though. (Definitely not liberal artsy, but small and close-knit, with lots of nature!) https://cee.mines.edu/bs-environmental-engineering/

Harvey Mudd (STEM-oriented LAC in the Claremont Consortium) has an Environmental Analysis concentration that is available to engineering majors, and their engineering curriculum is very design-oriented. (Not necessarily an easier admit than Tufts, though.)

Lastly (in the not-easy-to-get-into category), Olin has a very design-oriented engineering program, as well as this certificate program http://bow3colleges.org/sustainability-certificate

happy1 · June 2018

Some LACs I know of that offer engineering include:. Lafayette, Bucknell, Trinity (CT), and Union.

MAandMEmom · June 2018

At least the east coast ABET schools we have looked at that you would consider an LAC would include Bucknell, Lehigh, Lafayette, and Quinnipiac.

momofsenior1 · June 2018

Also echo Lehigh and Bucknell

mamom · June 2018

I second Harvey Mudd. Incredible consortium with academically motivated students and what is not to like about SoCal weather.

labegg · June 2018

Marquette University, Loyola Chicago, Pitt, Purdue, Drexel, Renneselaer, Ohio University, University of Colorado, Bucknell, Virginia Tech, Stevens Institute of Tech and WPI ( techie but a nice selection of liberal arts too), Rose Hulman (no liberal arts, but quirky) Depending on the type of engineering... Ohio Northern offers an environmental concentration with their Civil Eng program.

eyemgh · June 2018

You can compromise your engineering experience pretty seriously if you aren't careful vetting your schools. Compare curricula, toys and undergraduate access. They aren't all created equally.

If you'd consider a larger school, one my son choose, after looking at nearly every school mentioned here, most in person, Cal Poly is worth a look.

momofsenior1 · June 2018

I would say RPI and Purdue's programs are more STEM focused. If you are looking for another reach school, Cornell.

stencils · June 2018

Rochester is probably a good comparison to Tufts. It's a truly excellent school, but it has a completely different feel than the LAC schools listed above. It's about the same size as Tufts and it's an urban campus, but not center-city urban like Case in Cleveland or Drexel in Philly, which I'd also put in the same league.

Lafayette and Bucknell really have that rolling green hills LAC kind of feel. If Disney was going to add a "college-land" to the Magic Kingdom, it would probably look a lot like Lafayette.

maroon79 · July 2018

Wash U., Emory (dual degree with Ga. Tech), Tulane, Rice (has a small liberal arts feel)

Not Liberal arts per se, but SMU might be something you're interested in.

Liberal arts with engineering?

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