I know all of the disciplines are ABET accredited but is Pitt strong in areas other than Bio-engineering and Energy related areas of the engineering disciplines? That is where the research is focused it seems.
Thanks
http://www.engineering.pitt.edu/statistics/ I’m sure you’ve looked here already but the report on here goes into all the details you might want including the major centers of research. As a parent of 3 Pitt engineers ('15 chemE grad, jr bioE and frosh bioE), I like that Pitt’s engineering school size is fairly small for such a large univ. Incoming class is about 600. There is an integrated freshman curriculum which basically means, except for passing put w AP credits, all frosh engineers take the same foundational courses. There is also a seminar which introduces the different disciplines so that by spring, when kids declare a major, they have some experience to draw from. During the year, students pick an area of research, learn how to write a scientific paper, including poster, presentation and paper, and present at the freshman engineering conference at the end of the year. The conference is a great culmination and is chaired by coop employers, alumni and other industry. Actually that event is this coming weekend. I like that Pitt does not limit your choice of major by having some sort of fight for a space. Penn St had that, and JHU only allows you to declare BioE in your app. I don’t think kids have a chance to really understand at 17 which major is right for them without some exposure to it. Lots of kids say they want to major in engineering and don’t even know what that means - it sounds good as a soundbite.
Anyway - aside from that, my 3 kids are very different socially, and each one loves Pitt. Ds did marching band all 4 yrs, one got deeply involved in regenerative medicine lab and has been published and presented at a scientific conference.
The other part the Mom likes - Benedum is the main engineering building - it is new and gorgeous. Very modern, cool study spaces, bagel hangout place.
All got into more “prestigious” schools like Case, CMU, JHU, Rochester, Michigan…but really it comes down to fit, opportunity and where you’d be happy outside class, and Pitt’s been perfect. The vibe is cooperative among the students not cutthroat.
@amandakayak - Thank you for your post. My DD just choose Pitt for EE over Georgia Tech and a full scholarship at Temple. You have helped put my mind at ease that she will be happy.
I am not suggesting Pitt isn’t a good engineering program but given the preeminance of the medical center and Pittsburgh as a center for energy production historically it does seem as if a large share of research is geared towards these areas.
BTW Pitt is on my daughter’s very short list of schools for this fall.
My S is considering Pitt as well, for engineering.
The factors surrounding the direction of Pitt’s research dollars and the history of the region has never played a factor for us. We just know that Pitt has a decently ranked engineering school and the guaranteed co-ops/internships is a big selling point for us.
@amandakayak,great to hear your Ds were in the marching band. That’s a big consideration for my S as he wants to continue to march in his collegiate years.
@smokinact just trying to answer your questions but when I brought up NIH funding that speaks to medical/bio funding which I’m most familiar given my kid’s interests. The other areas of research and the funding sources like NSF, I’m just not as familiar. You have to search for the detail on other research - @AwesomeOpossum was an engineering grad student involved in answering lots of questions on Pitt - maybe reach out to her for broader info.
@amandakayak I was in contact with her for some time before she left the board (HailtothePitt took over for her). I believe she went into industry after she completed her masters in Nuclear Engineering.
Yep, @AwesomeOpossum was not affiliated with admissions afaik. It’s good to have firsthand student views, as opposed to my limited mom view.
Chiming in late, but happy to see the feedback on Pitt’s Engineering program, specifically the First Year Program. DD is completing her freshman year and has declared Chem E as her major. We are excited to see the presentations at the First Year Conference this weekend. I would like to add that Pitt’s engineering advising is EXCELLENT as is the opportunity for Freshman Engineers to explore the different career paths and majors during their first year. The program is rigorous, and if the next 3 years are half as thorough as the first year has been, we believe these engineers will be ready for whatever choice they make down the line, work or research, professional schools. The environment does seem very collaborative, and DD is extremely happy on campus.
first year engineering conference today - my dd (class of '19) won best paper in her session! woot woot!
Congratulations to your daughter! What an impressive array of topics these freshman presented on! We continue to be so impressed with the program.