Is Harvey Mudd's General Engineering program enough for a career in Aerospace?

[Johnx014]

I am compiling a list of schools to apply to once I finish my lower-division coursework at Community College. Harvey Mudd is among the schools I am considering. I know Harvey Mudd is highly-regarded and their engineering program is ranked number 1 among schools where a master's degree is the highest offered. My only concern is that they do not offer specializations. My goal is to work in Aerospace; I'm concerned that a program in General Engineering would not properly prepare me for a job in that field. Does anyone have experience with engineering at Harvey Mudd? General Engineering degrees in general?

The engineering courses offered at Harvey Mudd
https://www.hmc.edu/engineering/curriculum/courses/

 

[CupOfNoodles]

Hi Johnx014!

I'm not familiar with Harvey Mudd, but I have been in 2 universities for Electrical Engineering (as a transfer), and have quite a few friends that decided to go into engineering. I would suggest you look at Universities that offer Mechanical or Electrical engineering if you are interested in Aerospace. I have NOT noticed a big difference between the quality of education from top tier schools and the local public university, given they have an ABET accredited engineering program. I have noticed, however, that larger research universities tend to attract more companies and make internships easier to land. They also provide great research opportunities that aren't always available at lesser known, or smaller schools. This is not to say that any school will provide the same education, but that the education is really dependent on the professors available at that school.

Do you have a specific geographical location in interest?

 

[Jaeusm]

Specialization is not that important at the undergraduate level. I have always thought Harvey Mudd's approach was preferable to the standard selection of engineering programs that most other universities offer. You'll specialize once you land your first job.

 

[Johnx014]

Hi Johnx014!

I'm not familiar with Harvey Mudd, but I have been in 2 universities for Electrical Engineering (as a transfer), and have quite a few friends that decided to go into engineering. I would suggest you look at Universities that offer Mechanical or Electrical engineering if you are interested in Aerospace. I have NOT noticed a big difference between the quality of education from top tier schools and the local public university, given they have an ABET accredited engineering program. I have noticed, however, that larger research universities tend to attract more companies and make internships easier to land. They also provide great research opportunities that aren't always available at lesser known, or smaller schools. This is not to say that any school will provide the same education, but that the education is really dependent on the professors available at that school.

Do you have a specific geographical location in interest?

I'm in California, so I'm looking at UCs mostly. I'll definitely be applying to UCB, UCLA, UCSB, and UCSD. All of those schools have either Aerospace or Mechanical. The other schools I'm currently investigating and considering are Harvey Mudd, Cal Poly SLO, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, UT Austin, Texas A&M, and a few others.