So, you want to become an engineer. You’re comfortable with math, like to design things, love to work with your hands, and you think you have the self-discipline to do it. Now what? What are the alternatives?
Engineering School
Transfer and “Dual-Degree” Programs
Dual-Degree Program at University of Lynchburg
Why Choose University of Lynchburg for Physics and Engineering Study?
Engineering School
If you’re highly motivated to be an engineer, self-confident and competitive by nature, then engineering school is the way to go. You will enter a fast track which trains you to become the type of engineer you want to be.
Most likely, you’ll study calculus, physics, and chemistry during the first year and then move into courses designed to prepare you to become a mechanical, electrical, civil or other kind of engineer.
Engineering schools have many advantages. You’ll be recognized as a graduate of the school you attend, and if it’s a good engineering school, such recognition leads to good high-paying jobs. You’ll be well trained to do engineering work from the moment you graduate, a fact which is also important in the job market. Spending the full 4 or 5 years at one school provides you with a life-long pool of classmates and friends.
But engineering school may not be the answer for all students. Engineering school is really competitive. Many engineering schools admit more qualified students than they can handle in their upper-level courses. So at least one first-year course may be designated as the “shark” course, a difficult class that “weeds out” students. This practice guarantees a flow of good engineers. It also deters many who have what it takes to be good engineers, but who are either not so competitive, not so driven, or perhaps not sufficiently prepared in mathematical skills. Also, the very depth of training in a specific engineering discipline, that so well prepares students to enter the job market, may imply some lack of breadth in preparation, particularly in the area of communication skills.
Transfer and “Dual-Degree” Programs
Most engineering schools welcome transfer students and many have formal arrangements with liberal arts colleges through “dual-degree” or “3/2” programs. Although requirements for transfer vary with each engineering school (and you should check in advance with any school to which you might transfer), most require relatively little course work in order to transfer.
Typically, engineering transfers must complete a year of calculus-based physics, a year of chemistry, mathematics through differential equations, a course in dynamics (mechanics), and some computer programming, with sufficiently good grades to prove their ability to do college-level work. Some Virginia community colleges offer a formal program with courses geared toward transfer to Virginia Tech.
Dual-degree programs differ in the details. They typically require 3 years in a liberal arts program, during which students complete the requirements for transfer, along with a large portion of a major program, which is usually physics, and the general education (or “breadth”) component required by the college. A streamlined transfer process allows transfer to the engineering program for the fourth year, provided grades are sufficient. Engineering courses taken during the fourth year are transferred back to the college to complete a baccalaureate degree at the end of the fourth year and the student typically earns a B.S. in Engineering after the fifth year. Thus a student who completes a dual-degree program holds two degrees, a bachelor’s degree from a liberal arts institution and a bachelor’s degree from an engineering school.
Advantages of the dual-degree approach include the opportunity to enjoy the supportive environment of a smaller liberal arts college, benefit from exposure to the liberal arts, including the development of writing and communication skills – companies who hire engineers value engineers with superior communication skills. If you are not qualified for admission to the engineering school as a freshman, the dual-degree option gives you time to prepare.
Disadvantages to the dual-degree approach include the possibility that transfer is difficult Surely. Experience may convince some students that they are not able or do not want to pursue the program. However, such students will have completed some courses that meet general education requirements and thus the time taken to explore will not have been wasted. Some students find the transition from a small and supportive environment to the more competitive engineering program difficult, at least at first. It may be difficult to leave one’s friends for what would have been a senior year to make the transfer, and it may be difficult to find one’s niche among a new group of students who have been together for at least two years. Funding may be a challenge.
If you decide against a dual-degree program and still want to be an engineer (and if your grades are sufficient), you can attend graduate school in engineering. Many engineering programs, especially interdisciplinary programs such as engineering physics, materials science, biomedical engineering, or textile engineering, enthusiastically accept persons who have completed undergraduate majors in physics, mathematics, or chemistry.
Dual-Degree Program at University of Lynchburg
University of Lynchburg offers a dual-degree engineering program. The program is offered in conjunction with the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) at the University of Virginia.
This “3-1-1” program allows students who earn a B+ (3.4) average during 3 years of study at University of Lynchburg to enter the School of Engineering and Applied Science as special non-degree undergraduate students. The courses for each student will be selected to provide a useful introduction to a particular branch of engineering or applied science while fulfilling the BS degree requirements of University of Lynchburg, and will be based on the advice of the faculty advisor at UVA. Then, provided the grades in the appropriate courses at the University of Virginia are “C” or above, transfer credit will be awarded to complete the requirement for the Bachelor’s Degree at University of Lynchburg. The student is then eligible to apply to a graduate program in SEAS. As with all graduate study, admission will be based on academic performance and promise. Students who complete this program will earn the BS in physics from University of Lynchburg and a Master’s of Engineering from the University of Virginia.
Why Choose University of Lynchburg for Physics and Engineering Study?
Our students find that the faculty makes the University of Lynchburg difference. Our faculty is talented, committed to good teaching, and fully committed to the long-term success of our students.
University of Lynchburg enjoys a long tradition of preparing well-qualified science graduates. Many physics graduates have enjoyed careers as engineers, some with formal training in engineering and others by the strength of their abilities and broad undergraduate preparation.
University of Lynchburg stresses good teaching, individual attention, and strong academic support. Highly qualified tutors staff the Mathematics and Writing Laboratories. Science facilities are modern and pleasant. The College provides sophisticated equipment for the use of undergraduate students, and not solely for the research interests of faculty.
The College has worked aggressively to reach and remain at the forefront of instructional technologies and, consequently, students find laboratories full of computers.
And, our small size can lead to great flexibility in scheduling. That’s particularly important for science majors who want to participate in time-consuming extracurricular activities such as intercollegiate athletics or theater.
