Big Engineering Programs – The Pros & Cons

If you’re considering an engineering degree, then you’ve probably wondered how to pick the right school for you.  An engineering degree costs a lot of money and will be very time intensive, so you want to make sure you pick the school that fits your needs. Nothing would be worse than starting classes somewhere only to realize it’s not a great fit for your personality and long-term goals.  There are all sorts of degree programs out there and they all have their pros and cons.

Let’s talk about the pros and cons of big engineering programs.  This is one of the main things to consider because program size can have a big impact on student-instructor interaction and internship opportunities among other things.

Pros of big engineering programs

Multiple engineering departments

This is good because there are many options when it comes to picking the best engineering field for you. Plus, if you start a program and then decide to switch to a different branch of engineering you could stay at your current school and not have to worry about transferring someplace else.

Undergraduate and graduate degree options

Many of the large programs want to encourage their undergrads to stay on for a graduate degree. To do this they’ll offer options like ‘grad track’ or ‘fast track’.  This allows high-performing undergrads to take graduate-level courses for their undergraduate electives.  Then after completing the BS degree the student enters directly into the graduate program.  This saves time and money because you get to use several courses towards both degrees.  If you’re already considering grad school for engineering this is definitely something you want to consider.

Many faculty members with research opportunities

Bigger programs typically have more research grants and projects. This is ideal for undergrads wanting some experience in a research setting.  Most of the time research opportunities are saved for graduate students, but in the larger programs, there is a greater chance of undergrads getting hired to work in one of the labs.  This can also be helpful if you’re thinking about going to grad school at a different university.  Some research experience as an undergrad lets the new school know you’re capable and excited about performing research.

Name Recognition Networking Opportunities

• A big reason students initially look into a school is because they’ve heard of it before. Either a friend or family member went there or they’ve just heard good things about it on social media, tv, etc. Big school name recognition can help you get your foot in the door for internships and for full time employment.  The larger the school’s network is the more helpful it will be.

Think about it, if you were a hiring manager would you be interested in someone that went through the same program as you? Of course! That’s because you know more about their background, how hard the school they went to is, and you know you have something in common with them before you even meet them.

• Being part of big program or engineering department also means you’ll meet a wide variety of students. These students will go on to get jobs at companies you may be interested in later in the future.  It’s much easier to get an interview somewhere if someone can personally vouch for you and suggest you for a position. I know lots of students who have gotten internships and full-time jobs because their friends from school passed along their resume to a hiring manager.

Career Center & Job Placement

While we’re on the topic of jobs, a large engineering program will have a career center there to help you land your first internship or job. They’ll have counselors there to critique your resume, give mock interviews, and help you find the perfect job.

ABET Accreditation

Large engineering programs will almost always have all their engineering degree programs be ABET accredited. This accreditation lets you (and future employers and grad schools) know that your program will prepare you for a future in engineering.

ABET accreditation is very important for engineers especially if you plan on taking the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam and getting your Professional Engineer (PE) license. This is because one of the requirements to get a PE license is that you graduated from an ABET-accredited program.

Cons of big engineering programs

Large classes

Big programs have lots and lots of students. This means that the majority of the time you will have large classes. It’s not uncommon for classes to have 60+ students in them, especially the lower-level courses. I personally always liked the bigger classes because I could blend into the back and didn’t have to worry about being called on in class. Some students, however, want smaller class sizes so that they get more individual attention from faculty members.

Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTA)

The large classes found at these big schools will require the help of GTA. These are graduate students who are paid to help out with the large classes.  They will almost always grade homework, lab assignments and tests and they may even teach occasionally. This is normally ok but many students don’t like the idea of paying tons of money in tuition just to have a grad student determine their grade. One benefit of having GTA is that they typically offer office hours.  This is good if the professor is busy all the time or not receptive to offering help outside of class.

No need to curve grades

Many of the big engineering programs have more students than they’d really like. Because of this, they have no issue with failing students who aren’t performing like they should.  Students that can’t cut it in the classes during the freshman and sophomore years will have to change majors. Smaller programs need every student they have so they are more likely to try and help you succeed and stay in the program.

Impersonal

Let’s face it. When there are 150 students in a class there is no way the professor is going to know you personally.  Unless you sit on the first few rows in class, they may not even recognize you if they see you on the street outside of class. You can change this by going to office hours and asking questions in class but it will require effort on your part.

In the next post…

Everyone has different needs so not every program will work for you.  Hopefully, this article gives you some things to consider if you are thinking about attending a university with a large engineering program.  In the next post, we’ll look at the pros and cons of attending a small engineering program. I look forward to talking to you soon!