Engineering Overview - Engineering Disciplines - Preparation - Day In The Life - Earnings - Employment - Career Path Forecast - Professional Organizations - Profiles of Engineering Students - Overview PDF - PowerPoint - Podcast

A bachelor's degree in engineering is required for almost all entry-level engineering jobs. College graduates with a degree in a physical science or mathematics occasionally may qualify for some engineering jobs, especially in specialties in high demand. Most engineering degrees are granted in electrical, electronics, mechanical, or civil engineering. However, engineers trained in one branch may work in related branches. For example, many aerospace engineers have training in mechanical engineering. This flexibility allows employers to meet staffing needs in new technologies and specialties in which engineers may be in short supply. It also allows engineers to shift to fields with better employment prospects or to those that more closely match their interests.  Click here to view profiles of several engineering undergraduate students.

Most engineering programs involve a concentration of study in an engineering specialty, along with courses in both mathematics and science. Most programs include a design course, sometimes accompanied by a computer or laboratory class or both.

In addition to the standard engineering degree, many colleges offer 2- or 4-year degree programs in engineering technology. These programs, which usually include various hands-on laboratory classes that focus on current issues, prepare students for practical design and production work, rather than for jobs that require more theoretical and scientific knowledge. Graduates of 4-year technology programs may get jobs similar to those obtained by graduates with a bachelor's degree in engineering. Engineering technology graduates, however, are not qualified to register as professional engineers under the same terms as graduates with degrees in engineering. Some employers regard technology program graduates as having skills between those of a technician and an engineer.

Graduate training is essential for engineering faculty positions and many research and development programs, but is not required for the majority of entry-level engineering jobs. Many engineers obtain graduate degrees in engineering or business administration to learn new technology and broaden their education. Many high-level executives in government and industry began their careers as engineers.

University Selection
About 1,830 programs at colleges and universities offer bachelor's degrees in engineering that are accredited by ABET, Inc. and there are another 710 accredited programs in engineering technology.  The Sloan Career Cornerstone Center provides lists of accredited programs within specific engineering disciplines.  The lists are also embedded in PDF files describing each degree field.

Accreditation
ABET accreditation is based on an examination of an engineering program's student achievement, program improvement, faculty, curricular content, facilities, and institutional commitment. Although most institutions offer programs in the major branches of engineering, only a few offer programs in the smaller specialties. Also, programs of the same title may vary in content. For example, some programs emphasize industrial practices, preparing students for a job in industry, whereas others are more theoretical and are designed to prepare students for graduate work. Therefore, students should investigate curricula and check accreditations carefully before selecting a college.

According to ASEE, the following chart shows the number of Bachelor's Degrees awarded by school in the U.S.:

Additional data about engineering schools is provided by the American Society for Engineering Education.

Admissions Requirements
Admissions requirements for undergraduate engineering schools include a solid background in mathematics (algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus) and science (biology, chemistry, and physics), and courses in English, social studies, humanities, and computer and information technology. Bachelor's degree programs in engineering typically are designed to last 4 years, but many students find that it takes between 4 and 5 years to complete their studies. In a typical 4-year college curriculum, the first 2 years are spent studying mathematics, basic sciences, introductory engineering, humanities, and social sciences. In the last 2 years, most courses are in engineering, usually with a concentration in one branch. For example, the last 2 years of an aerospace program might include courses in fluid mechanics, heat transfer, applied aerodynamics, analytical mechanics, flight vehicle design, trajectory dynamics, and aerospace propulsion systems. Some programs offer a general engineering curriculum; students then specialize in graduate school or on the job.

Some engineering schools and 2-year colleges have agreements whereby the 2-year college provides the initial engineering education, and the engineering school automatically admits students for their last 2 years. In addition, a few engineering schools have arrangements whereby a student spends 3 years in a liberal arts college studying pre-engineering subjects and 2 years in an engineering school studying core subjects, and then receives a bachelor's degree from each school. Some colleges and universities offer 5-year master's degree programs. Some 5-year or even 6-year cooperative plans combine classroom study and practical work, permitting students to gain valuable experience and to finance part of their education.

Licensure
In the United States, all 50 States and the District of Columbia require licensure for engineers who offer their services directly to the public. Engineers who are licensed are called Professional Engineers (PE). This licensure generally requires a degree from an ABET-accredited engineering program, 4 years of relevant work experience, and successful completion of a State examination. In Canada, the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers established the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board in 1965 to accredit undergraduate engineering programs which provide aspiring engineers with the academic requirements necessary for registration as a Canadian professional engineer.

The latest Engineering & Technology Enrollments survey undertaken by the Engineering Workforce Commission, showed that Mechanical Engineering is now the largest undergrad engineering discipline with 75,319 students enrolled. The survey found Electrical Engineering numbers remained relatively steady, declining less than 1%, while Computer Engineering was down 18% from its zenith in 2001. Civil, General and Chemical engineering comprised the next largest groups, ranging from over 21,000 to 43,000 total undergrads each in 2004. Chemical engineering showed its first upswing in over 10 years due to a 7% increase in freshman enrollments. Within these largest disciplines, women account for the largest percentages in Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, and Industrial Engineering (39, 35, and 32% respectively), while accounting for only 11% of mechanical engineering enrollments. 

Note: Some resources in this section are provided by the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.