Topic: Admission
When (and how) should I apply
to the College of Engineering?
The College of Engineering admits students at whatever time
they meet the academic requirements in the university catalog
("Academic Programs"), without waiting to complete 56 credits.
At the end of every semester, the records of all freshmen and
sophomore engineering students will be reviewed to determine
if they:
- have completed 12 MSU credits, including
at least six technical credits
- have declared a specific engineering major (other than
Engineering No-Preference),
- have completed core courses or equivalents (MTH
132 and 133, PHY 183, CEM 141, and a computing course
specific to the major; CEM not required for computer
science), and
- have the required combined cumulative/technical
GPA for admission to the declared major.
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Transfer students with junior standing who
entered majors other than engineering must complete a minimum
of 12 total credits, including a minimum of 10 technical credits,
with the sum of total and technical credits no less than 24
(e.g. 14 credits with 10 technical, or 12 credits all technical).
The Application is available on our
College Admissions page.
All students seeking admission should apply in the first
two months of the semester (please refer to the application
for specific deadlines and other important information on
admission). Any questions should be directed to your academic
advisor.
What are the qualifications for
getting into the College of Engineering?
Completion of the core classes: MTH 132,
MTH 133, PHY 183, CSE 131 or 231 and CEM 141/151 (Computer
Science majors do not need CEM) and the required cumulative/
technical grade point average. For more details see our College Admission page.
Why can't everyone
who wants to major in engineering do so?
As engineering requires
very specialized lab resources, and engineering accreditation
requires very intensive and closely supervised group projects,
all engineering schools somehow or another balance admissions
against the number of students they can fit in classes and
labs.
-- Some do so directly at the freshman year, and limit freshman
admissions to the number that can be accommodated. Michigan
and Illinois are examples. To further balance admits and
seats, some of these even require incoming students to decide
on a major before admission, and it can be difficult to change
later.
-- Some do so after completing a "common freshman year" of
math, science and writing. Purdue is an example.
-- At Michigan State, freshmen are admitted to the *University*,
not to a major. They can declare an intended major, and freely
change it for two years. This means that all 7,000 freshmen
could declare engineering (or education, or business) without
regard to capacity. It also means that we have declared
engineering freshmen entering in math classes ranging from
remedial math to Calculus III. Freshmen can also declare "Engineering- No Pref" or even "University
- NoPref."MSU encourages exploration early
in the college career; but hopes you are pointed toward a major in your second.
-- When a student reaches junior standing (56 credits), he or she must be admitted
to a degree-granting college. Engineering, Business, Education and Nursing all
have competitive programs that "turn away" students, at least in a
manner of speaking. In engineering, we use a weighted grade point average, with
technical course grades weighted heavily. We make minor adjustments in the criteria
each year, to keep admissions and course seats in balance.
The
process works like this. We typically have
- about 1100 freshmen (about 900 "true" freshmen,
200 second-year freshmen below 28 credits)
- about 950 sophomores
- about 750 to 800 juniors
- about 1000 seniors (it goes up because you are a senior from
100 to 128+ credits in most majors)
So you might conclude that about 150 of those 900 sophomores
were "not admitted." But that is not exactly the
case. For the first two years at MSU, students are entering
and leaving majors like a mixmaster.
- Some of the freshmen and sophomores, particularly those with
poor math skills, leave for other majors after their first
calculus course and even before. They are not later "turned
away."
- Our professional advising staff
works with students throughout their first two years to be
sure they are on track for admission. Students who have been
meeting with an advisor and are well below the criteria (say
2.5) know well ahead of time they will not be admissible and
consider other majors (and sometimes other schools). But having
a 2.5 average across the first two years of math and science
is often a pretty good indicator that you will not do well
in later, harder engineering courses anyway. So, many of these
students change their major before admission decisions are
made, and will not show up as having applied and been denied.
But wait, how did we end up with 750-800 juniors when all those
freshmen and sophomores changed majors out of engineering?
... Along come students from pre-med, pre-vet, Lyman Briggs
College, physics, university no-pref and other majors, who have
found their way to engineering, have strong grades, and apply.
We also admit a small number of community college transfer
students at the junior level.
So you can't get an "acceptance rate" by
starting with either the number of applications OR the number
of freshmen or sophomores. The number of freshman and sophomore
students in engineering changes every day, and many more people
make conscious decisions to switch majors than wait to be denied.
Of the latter, even a number of these are admitted in a later
semester after improving their GPA.
The bottom line is..
* If you get more grades of 3.0
and above than below 3.0, especially in technical classes,
you will most
likely be
admitted to the major of your choice.
* If you are "close" and denied,
you might raise your GPA and reapply.
* If you are not "close" you might be trying to pursue
a profession that is not the best fit for your skills and interests.
* Routinely visiting your advisor and using support resources at MSU can help
ensure you are on the right track.
What are the GPA requirements
for each engineering major?
The GPA requirements for each engineering
major are reevaluated every year in February and are used
for the Spring, Summer, and Fall semesters of that year. The
current requirements can be found on our College
Admission page.
I submitted my application
today, when will I find out whether or not I've been admitted
to my major?
We will notify you by email about
a week after final exams end for the current semester. Students
who meet specific criteria may be granted or denied early
admission to the College.
What happens if I'm not admitted
to my major?
All students must be admitted to
a major upon reaching junior standing (56 credits). So if
you are not admitted to engineering but intend to continue
your enrollment at MSU, you will need to be admitted to
another major ASAP. You have until the 10th day of classes
in the following semester to complete your major change.
Meet with your advisor to discuss why you were not admitted
though you should have some idea already. You may need to
explore other majors or other colleges/universities with
engineering schools. Ideally these conversations would occur
before you are denied admission.
Engineering Undergraduate Studies
1410 Engineering Building
Michigan State University
East Lansing MI 48824-1226
Phone: (517) 355-6616 ext. 1
Fax: (517) 432-1356
For information on our undergraduate
programs contact egradv@msu.edu.
For problems or suggestions about the
Undergrad web pages contact
the ugswebmaster.
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