My son got into UC Santa Cruz for computer science but he wants to do mechanical engineering (as best as he can tell at 17). Santa Cruz does not offer mechanical engineering. It does offer robotics. It also has 3 interesting clubs for: rocketry, robotics, and formula racing car. But these clubs are not integrated, meaning the students in these clubs are much more on their own.
Question: should my son go to UC Santa Cruz for computer science with a Minor in Robotics (or a Robotics Major with a minor in CS) and hope the club connections fill in for this missing mechanical engineering courses? Or is their another path? Note: Santa Cruz does have a track team whereas Oregon State does not have a men’s track team but has mechanical engineering.
I welcome your feedback and perspective.
@eyemgh Your son did something similar if I remember.
For mech E, definitely Oregon State over UCSC. Oregon State has a broad range of accredited majors, excellent facilities, great support for all project teams, coop program, etc.
Are there other choices in the mix?
S24 was interested in Aero/Mech Eng. We were looking into UCSC’s robotics Eng. We thought the program was more related to EE and programming than Mech Eng. Plus robotics Eng there is not ABET certified. S24 end up did not apply there.
We did apply and visit Oregon State, we really like the campus, specially the lunch delivery robot Their Mech Eng is solid and ABET certified.
Mechanical engineering is much more than just robotics. Within ME, only a handful of areas – such as dynamic systems and control – are immediately relevant to robotics. The rest – including fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, material science, combustion, and aerodynamics – all have little to do with robotics. So your son won’t learn about these areas as a CS major with a robotics minor, or a robotics major with a CS minor, at UC Santa Cruz.
Due in part to the popularity of Lego and robotics competitions, a fair number of high schoolers pick ME thinking they will be learning about motors, gears, sensors, force, torque, velocity, and acceleration. They do, but they will also have to study fluid flow, heat transfer, HVAC, metallurgy, biomechanics, manufacturing, and a host of other subjects (not all, of course, but as electives). Some of them ended up liking the versatility, some felt like they were duped into the major by Lego and robots. I don’t know what led your son to preferring ME but hope he is aware of its very broad nature.
UCSC sounds like too big a compromise if he wants MechE, or at least wants to keep that option open. Oregon State is terrific for MechE, and has the same kinds of interesting clubs, plus some very cool industry partnerships like their Prototype Development Lab. Their running club looks like it could potentially be a good alternative to a DIII team.
He was a ME major at Cal Poly and did a concentration in mechatronics and a MS in aerodynamics.
I agree with other posters. Robotics, is a sliver of ME. If that’s the sliver he wants, UCSC would probably be fine. If he wants traditional ME, Oregon State is very good and has a pretty campus. It’s close to Portland, but also close to the ocean. The honors program is unparalleled for engineering.
Thx. Can’t keep everyone’s kids straight but knew you knew about this for the OP…
Very true, DD has been trudging through the “boring” classes like heat transfer. She’s glad she’s getting the knowledge, but as a hands-on type some of these classes are a struggle mentally (not academically). To add to her experience, she’s been doing robotics research with a couple different professors. It helps bridge the gap of ME and her love of robotics.
Seconding Oregon State for MechE. It was on my S23’s list and we did our research. Excellent facilities, research and design opportunities, engineering clubs, and they offer a concentration in robotics. Plus, Corvallis seems like a cool little town.
Sorry if I am a little late to the party with my comments.
Some of these other subjects may not be that directly relevant to robotics, but they actually can be. My son went to Cal Poly and studied mechatronics in the ME department. His first job was designing a robot that did welding on circuit cards. The biggest hurdle to overcome was having the robot know when the weld was actually completed. The head doing the welding had to identify the temperature of the part being welded. The temperature that identified the weld was complete was a function of the weld material, which was an input to the robot. So, in order to design that robot, he needed to know several subjects outside of just the robotics.
I was a structural engineer and in my working career needed to know many topics outside of just the structural and dynamic analysis. Things like materials, heat transfer, all the manufacturing processes involved (you’ve got to actually build the hardware), controls, etc. You don’t need to be an expert in these other fields but one does not do their job in a vacuum. You need to be knowledgeable to converse with experts in those other fields.