I am interested in pursuing engineering in college. Brown has a better overall reputation but is not known for its engineering. In your opinion, what school has a better engineering program and which would create the most opportunities after graduation?
If you were to consider Brown engineering in comparison to programs at engineering-focused schools, you would find that Brown, by USNWR ranking, would be positioned higher than WPI and in a tie with the Colorado School of Mines (but lower than RPI). Overall, this may indicate that although Brown may not be specifically known for engineering, the school nonetheless supports programs that would be competitive with more engineering-focused schools.
My gut says Brown. I certainly don’t think rankings are the be all and end all, but they can help to give a sense of where a school stands relative to other institutions – in this case Brown is ranked above WPI for engineering by a good bit (44 v 87). Brown’s rank for engineering is right on par with some fine engineering programs such as Vandy, Lehigh, and ND (to name a few) plus Brown has an overall reputation for attracting exceptionally smart students. I would imagine that a solid engineering student would have great opportunities coming out of Brown. But you should do some legwork. Have you tried to get information from the two schools career placement office or engineering dept. about what firms come to interview, where graduates get jobs or go on to grad school?
With respect to the above, the current USNWR ranks WPI 63rd in its category.
Mentioned Programs in Context
- RPI
- Notre Dame
- Vanderbilt
- Brown
- Colorado School of Mines
- Lehigh
- WPI
Apologies for my error…And please do keep in mind that I do think WPI is an excellent engineering school. IMO the OP should also consider which school has the environment he/she prefers, which school is more affordable etc.
WPI’s academic calendar is organized with 7-week terms instead of the more usual 15-week semesters like at Brown. This is part of what they call the “WPI Plan” with “project based learning”. You may want to see if the WPI curricular organization is something you like or dislike, since that can be more important than the rankings most people focus on.
Brown is known for its open curriculum with no general education requirements, but that does not apply to ABET-accredited engineering majors, since ABET accreditation requires some humanities and social studies course work. However, Brown requires fewer such courses than many other schools do.
Re #5:
The rankings in this case simply offer context for what the OP appears to be asking. Including them here would not obviate helpful comments regarding program structure and general fit. As stated by @happy1 (#4), WPI would be an excellent school for engineering.
WPI (an engineering school) is ranked higher (#60) in US News’ 2017 National Universities Ranking than in its Undergraduate Engineering Ranking (#63).
This indicates that anybody who aspires to be an engineer should not be using the US News rankings.
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/wpi-2233/overall-rankings
These are two very different schools when it comes to engineering.
Do you know what branch of engineering you want to go into and what sort of career you are looking for?
The student bodies are going to be quite different between Brown and WPI, due to the latter being mostly engineering focused and the former being focused on other bodies. So it depends on what you’re looking for.
I’d pick Brown, not because of it’s ranking but because of the exposure during college to other classes, students, etc. more of what you’d like at an LAC, except you still come out with an engineering degree.
I’m interested in civil and environmental engineering. Brown does not have a civil engineering degree, instead they have a structures focus within their mechanical engineering degree. I have not been able to find how this compares with a civil engineering degree. I am also concerned that Brown’s environmental engineering program is not accredited but am also not sure what the ramifications of that are.
I would try to talk (in person in possible or else over the phone) to the dept. head or a professor in the engineering dept. at Brown to get your questions answered.
You may want to compare the courses included in this major with that of traditional civil engineering majors at other schools (perhaps including some non-WPI schools, since WPI’s unusual curricular organization can mean that courses are less likely to map one-to-one).
Civil engineering is the field where ABET accreditation is most important, since it is useful for Professional Engineer licensing, which is most commonly done by civil engineers (versus other engineers).
WPI is a technical institute with a focus on engineering. They do a great job preparing their students for jobs as practicing engineers.
Brown is a university with a broad arts and sciences curriculum. The sciences are very strong and you will find lots of sharp students there. The school of engineering is fairly research-oriented, although they do offer ABET accredited degrees in biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, materials engineering, and mechanical engineering. No civil engineering though…
Make sure that you know what civil engineers do. They work infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, and buildings. As @usbalumnus says, an ABET accredited bachelors degree is important because it is the first step toward becoming a Professional Engineer. A PE license is very helpful to anybody who wants to work in civil engineering. WPI might be more appropriate than Brown if you are sure you want to be a civil engineer.
Environmental engineering may not be what you think it is. Many environmental engineers design landfills or write environmental impact statements for companies that plan development projects. Look over the courses that a civil and environmental engineer takes.
If you are interested in sustainable energy, you might find your place in an electrical engineering program or a mechanical engineering program. For example many wind energy engineering groups find their home in mechanical engineering departments.
Just out of curiosity, how did you come up with these two very different schools? And have you been accepted yet? If you haven’t been accepted I wouldn’t worry about choosing yet (especially since Brown’s acceptance rate is under 10%)… And if you got into Brown then isn’t the school ED so you would need to attend unless it is not financially viable? If you are not into Brown ED, it seems to me that other choices like Penn, URochester to name a couple might be worthwhile looking into.
@happy1 - Neither Penn nor URochester offer Civil Engineering.
I stand corrected about those particular schools…but still I have the same questions and I wonder if the OP looked at other school choices.
@happy1 I have been accepted to Brown and WPI. Unfortunately the financial package Brown offered may not work for my family. My parents are trying to figure out a way to pay for it, but it will be a huge stain on my family. I am considering backing out of ED because WPI offered a lot more money in merit and financial aid.
I see. Well, good luck and I’m sure you will do well wherever you end up.
Well, if there’s a substantial difference in terms of cost, and you plan to go work as an engineer after undergrad (as opposed to grad school or more research-oriented career), and in particular a civil engineer, then go to WPI.
Brown has a small (just under 100 graduates/year) engineering program that is one of only three engineering programs in Rhode Island. Brown started out as Rhode Island’s land grant college (chartered to create a department of agriculture and mechanic arts) in the mid 1800’s but had that status revoked due to its’ inability to provide adequate instruction. It is one of only three colleges (all members of the Ivy League) that I am aware of that have had their land grant status revoked. Historically, Brown is best known (within academia) for research in the area of Mechanical Engineering/Material Science. Up until a few years ago, Brown had an ABET accredited civil engineering program, but it’s faculty lost interest because of their perception that there were more research opportunities in the area of material science. The Civil Engineering program was phased out and the ABET accreditation expired.
http://www.browndailyherald.com/2012/10/12/civil-engineering-track-to-be-discontinued/
WPI is the largest of 16 engineering programs in Massachusetts (about 650 graduates/year). Massachusetts’ land grant charter was split between UMass Amherst (agricultural) and MIT (mechanic arts). Compared to Brown, WPI is more teaching oriented and more undergraduate focused. In engineering education circles, WPI is credited with creating the notion of a hands-on “project based” engineering curriculum (back in the 1960’s). It has ABET accredited programs in both Civil and Environmental Engineering. Over the past 10 years, WPI undergraduates have received more NSF graduate research scholarships in Civil/Environmental Engineering than Brown undergraduates.
WPI is the largest of 16 engineering programs in Massachusetts (about 650 graduates/year). Massachusetts land grant charter was split between MIT (mechanic arts) and UMass Amherst (agricultural). WPI is more teaching oriented, more undergraduate focused, and is credited with creating the hands on “project based curriculum” back in the 1960’s.
The ABET accredited, Civil/Environmental Engineering programs in New England are: MIT, Tufts and WPI. Publics with offerings in this area are UVM, UConn and UNH. In NY/NJ there are several more.
It seems unusual to apply ED to a school that recently phased out your preferred majors due to lack of faculty interest.
Even though my bias is toward a more liberal arts focused environment for undergraduate engineering, I would find it hard to recommend Brown for someone for Civil/Environmental Engineering…