What's a 3-2 Engineering Program?
Tony Flores
If you’ve never heard of a 3-2 engineering program, you’re not alone. These dual-degree programs – which offer students the ability to attend two colleges, and get a degree in engineering along with a full liberal arts education – are sadly underlooked by many. The advantages, however, are huge and tailor-made for students who are interested in becoming an engineer, but also have a passion for something in the humanities. The advantages come from the programs’ unique setup, which is really quite different from the traditional four-year college model.
In a 3-2 engineering program, you split your time between two schools. The first school, where you’ll spend three years, is a smaller liberal arts college – and it may not even offer a B.S. in engineering, but you get all the perks of a liberal arts education, such as a small class size and super close, in-person interaction with your professors, and the ability to focus on something non-engineering related during this time. Your path is paved to graduate early (in three years, not the usual four) and move on to another college, where you pursue a second bachelor’s degree – in engineering. The second school is usually a larger university known for its engineering programs, such as Columbia University, Carnegie Mellon University, or Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. After your time at the liberal arts college, you will spend two years getting another degree in an engineering field.
The end result? In a mere five years – the length of time it takes many undergrads to come away with their first college degree – you end up with two degrees: both a B.A. or a B.S., and a bachelor’s in engineering. You walk away with a truly diverse college experience, having studied both at a small, liberal arts school and at a major engineering university. You come out with a broader and more diverse education overall, not zeroed in on only one topic. What’s a potential employer not to like about that?
But really, what’s the big deal?
There are other advantages of a 3-2 program over the traditional, four-year approach to engineering. One advantage is that your costs will often be lower than if you attended a four-year engineering school. Often the tuition for small, liberal-arts schools is much lower than for large schools with labs and engineering postdocs to run them. Since you’ll only be spending two years at one of these schools, you’re likely to save money – even though your total college journey is five years, not four.
Furthermore, students who get into these programs come into their engineering school not just with all of the requisite math and science under their belt (taken as prereqs in their liberal arts school), but with a more expansive skillset altogether, which the engineering schools love. According to U.S. News, the reactions of some of the engineering coordinators from top schools (Columbia and Dartmouth) were along the lines of this: “if I had to do it over, I'd get my engineering degree through a 3-2 program!”
All in all, students who come through a 3-2 program will often excel at engineering, because they took their prerequisite math and science classes at a school where class size is small and students can easily get individual attention from professors. They are also better candidates for engineering jobs after they graduate, because they’ve learned – through their liberal arts school – the “soft” skills necessary to succeed in the workplace, such as how to express themselves.
Great! Where can I find one?
Which schools offer these special programs? The answer is: more of them than you might think! Columbia University offers a well-renowned 3-2 program with several affiliate colleges (including Columbia College), as does the Washington University in Saint Louis. Caltech offers a 3-2 track with several schools, including Occidental and Pomona College. (For a full list, see the school’s website.)
While underlooked at the moment, the 3-2 approach to engineering offers numerous benefits and is being rapidly developed and expanded across the nation. More and more large universities are developing these dual programs and helping to keep the tradition of the small, liberal arts college alive. Maybe, otherwise, few students would choose to attend a college that few people have heard of, such as Hiram College in Ohio – without the guarantee that they could then go on and pursue engineering at the highly renowned Case Western Reserve University!
This is for me! How do I get in?
Applying into a 3-2 engineering program will often grant you admission to both of your target universities, as long as you fulfil the prerequisites and maintain whatever standards the engineering school requires. There is no prescribed set of courses or extracurriculars that leads to certain acceptance, and it varies from program to program. However, try the following:
Challenge yourself with tough courses in high school – such as calculus and other AP courses.
Demonstrate an interest in engineering through your classwork and extracurricular activities. This could include science fair projects, building applications, or coding competitions.
However, 3-2 programs are looking for students who are strong in two subjects, not one! Make sure that your application shows the non-techie side of you, too! The more specific you can be the better. Think “Biochemistry” over “Science,” or “Classics” instead of “History.”
It’s great if you’ve:
Been involved in an independent and self-directed project, such as designing your own app or website
Participated in summer engineering programs
Taught or tutored students in STEM areas
While none of these are sure-fire paths to gaining admission into a 3-2 program, they’re all going to help! If you have any questions on how to get started on this pathway, feel free to request a free consultation with us and we can talk about the long term strategies we should implement to get into the school of your dreams!