Which colleges offer the most flexibility in changing Engineering majors?

monydad
Wed, 28 Aug 2019 14:33:22 +0000

I don’t know about other schools, but FWIW at Cornell one does not commit to a specific engineering major at the time of matriculation. Major selection is not made until some time sophomore year, after one has the basics and a few relevant courses to help guide that decision. So there is less likelihood of needing to change majors than at some other engineering schools, because you have not been forced into a premature choice at the outset.
Matriculation to a major has some gpa requirements that are mostly really low, see here:
http://cornellengineeringhandbook.freeflowdp.com/cornellengineeringhandbook/5215877281438417/MobilePagedReplica.action?pm=2&folio=30#pg32.

As for changing engineering majors after that :
“To apply to change engineering majors fill out a change of majors form.
Students must be accepted into the new major. Majors are under no obligation to accept students who have already affiliated with a different major”.

I would imagine most students who were academically qualified and wanted to switch would have no problems, but it is at least theoretically possible some majors might be “full up” by that point, I guess. Though not likely chem e or materials, IMO.

I think the biggest problem at that point is there may have been some major prerequisite courses you were supposed to take sophomore year that you didn’t take because you were pursuing a different major.

I cant recall anyone changing engineering majors when I attended, but there were certainly students who switched out of engineering to arts & sciences.