I am starting to plan some initial visits for my S27. He is a strong math/science kid & might be interested in engineering, but doesn’t have enough exposure to know what type of engineering (his school doesn’t have a robotics club or engineering classes). I know that there are some summer engineering programs for high school students & maybe he will do that next summer, but in the meantime I’d like him to visit a few schools that have general first year engineering programs, & then have students select the actual major at the beginning of sophomore year. We are in MA & he will apply to UMass Amherst & Lowell, but it looks like most students start as specific engineering majors there.
It looks like Union College, BU, & Northeastern have all engineering students start with a general first year experience. Any other schools in New England or New York that offer this?
Looking on a google search, this might be a good place to start and research further. .
I see folks mentioned some LACs - they might be good - I don’t see Bucknell mentioned. Clarkson kids decide second year after a common core so it’s in your neck of the woods. Va Texh appears to as well.
Of course the others mentioned are much closer to home.
Universities with dedicated first-year engineering programs
Purdue University: Offers a First-Year Engineering (FYE) program to help students explore different fields before committing to a major like mechanical, aerospace, or computer engineering.
University of Michigan: Has a structured first-year program where students take classes and attend advising sessions to help them choose their final engineering major.
Georgia Institute of Technology: Provides students with an intense but well-rounded first year that includes research, internship opportunities, and the chance to explore different engineering disciplines.
Tennessee Technological University: Offers a “General and Basic Engineering” (GBE) program for undecided first-year engineering students who can change their major to any degree-granting department at any time during their first year.
Universities with exploratory engineering tracks
University of Wisconsin-Madison: Has an “exploratory engineering” first-year track, though its promotion on the university’s website may not be as prominent as other programs.
University of Pittsburgh: Offers a first-year engineering program that allows students to defer their major choice.
University of Virginia: Features a first-year engineering program that provides a common first-year curriculum before students choose a specific major.
At FYE schools, students choose (or are placed in) a major after the first year. Here’s an example of a FYE program that both my kids applied to. I’m giving it as an example because they do a good job of explaining the exploratory process of a FYE program. Many FYE programs have selective or competitive secondary admission to majors (based on grades or some other application process), and this is a good example of that, too: Engineering Undeclared students (ENGRUDs) | UW College of Engineering
I do not believe GA Tech is a FYE school. GA Tech allows students to change majors relatively freely, but students do start out in a major. Here’s info about major selection at GA tech for admitted students: Major Confirmation | Undergraduate Admission
I don’t personally know about all the schools that you listed, but if you are posting AI-generated content, I would recommend double checking each and every detail before posting.
Oh well missed that then Clarkson. What they write is below. RPI is another.
You’ll begin the engineering common curriculum, which exposes you to the disciplines and concepts of the school’s eight undergraduate majors.
As you start the program, you’ll be assigned an academic advisor to select courses and discuss your goals.
During your second year, you’ll select a major — be it from the Coulter School of Engineering and Applied Sciences or from any other Clarkson program — and continue along this academic track.
RPI
Considerable flexibility within this first two years of the curriculum allows students who are undeclared as to their choice of engineering field or discipline an opportunity to clarify their interests.
Almost all schools will have “common courses” for the first year of an engineering program.
The OP specifically requested schools that offer a first year engineering program before choosing a major. Not schools where students start in a major.
AI generated content is frequently misleading or incorrect. It’s really better not to post it without checking it thoroughly yourself, but if you must post it, could you at least put it in the quote format so it doesn’t appear as though you personally checked everything and wrote it?
This was something important to my son as well, as he was very unsure about engineering and was also considering data science majors. In your search, I’d also note colleges where you can easily switch majors, it may work even without a general First Year Engineering curriculum. The biggest issue is a school with impacted majors obviously. There is a ton of overlap in the first year with pretty much all the engineering majors requiring calculus, physics and chemistry. My son started in Mechanical, switched to Chemical before ultimately landing on Electrical and Computer Engineering. Had no problem graduating in 4 years.
Manhattan University, Vermont, WPI, and Olin College of Engineering are others which start with a general engineering curriculum before picking a major. At NYU, all students take a common core of engineering classes in freshman year. Students who apply undeclared an wait to declare a major until later and students who do declare in the admissions process are still given the flexibility to change majors later.
I looked at the web sites of a number of universities in New England and New York, looking for FYE programs. I did find one that I don’t think was mentioned above:
Here are the others that I looked at just now. None of these appear to have FYE programs. Of course, most have some “common courses” and flexibility to change majors, because many engineering students do change majors. Flexibility is not the same as a FYE program, but it can be workable.
Many schools that have 1st Yr Engineering still have students apply to an intended major, but don’t “officially” have them declare until later, sometimes as late as 2nd semester sophomore year (i.e. Cornell). And, most schools allow flexibility to change engineering majors as long as you’ve been admitted to their college of engineering.
And then there is the whole what is a first engineering class? At some schools it is just a 1 or 2 credit seminar that discusses all the engineering disciplines but there is nothing hands on.
OP - based on what you describe, you may want to look for a school that has a first year engineering design class. My daughter’s freshman design class was project based learning that introduced different disciplines, had guest lectures from various industries, and they took field trips to tour companies.
WPI would be a good school to check out.
Clarkson, as mentioned above, has a first year engineering studies program for undecided students who are interested in engineering but a student could easily pivot to pure math or physics and be on track to graduate.
Tufts is doing a pilot program to introduce different engineering disciplines to freshmen and they have a design challenge day.
I’ll also add that any university will have a career center that can also help students identify the right major for them.
I’m hesitant to make suggestions without knowing more about your student academically. There are many fine schools being suggested here. Can you tell us a little more about your son’s GPA, standardized test scores (if he has taken them), course rigor?
My DD was a STEM major in college. She had absolutely ZERO ECs related to anything STEM related on High School. In 2010, she graduated with bachelors in bioengineering and biology.
She also realized that while she loved the higher level math related to engineering, that she never wanted to be an engineer…at.all.
GPA: 4.0 (counselor says he’s one of the very top students in his grade).
Took AP Bio (5) & AP Seminar (4) in 10th grade. Currently taking AP Physics 1, AP Precalc, AP US History, AP Research/English. Will take AP Calc BC in 12th grade (along with other APs tbd). School does not offer math above Calc BC.
He doesn’t have an SAT score yet (taking in December) or any STEM-related ECs.
Thanks for the suggestions so far. I’m not entirely sure what questions to ask/what to look for (our older kid is at an LAC & his search was very different). S27 thinks he wants a few schools on his list where most engineering students go in as general/undecided engineering. But maybe schools that make it easy to switch majors would work just as well.
It sounds like Vermont, WPI, Olin, RPI, Clarkson, and Binghamton would be good for us to look at. Thanks, everyone.