By Amanda Anguiano, Electical Engineering Senior
It’s normal for some students to begin college as an ‘Engineering – No Preference’ major and not know exactly what field would be a good fit for them. It also happens that a student may want to change their major. Here’s a few tips on how to make the best decision!
MSU College of Engineering offers 10 different majors: Applied Engineering Sciences, Biosystems Engineering, Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Materials Science.
This may seem like a lot of choices, but thanks to the resources MSU offers, the selection process may be easier than you expected!
· What are you passionate about outside of school? What were your favorite classes in high school? Little things like these could help determine your desired major.
o If you spend a lot of time playing video games and would enjoy designing your own, maybe check out Computer Science Engineering.
o Do you enjoy coding? Have you ever worked with Arduino? Check out Electrical Engineering!
o If chemistry was your favorite class, you’ll definitely enjoy Chemical Engineering!
o If physics was your forte, it's very likely are that Mechanical or Electrical Engineering will be a good fit for you.
· MSU Office of Engineering Recruitment, Scholarships & K-12 Outreach provides high school students with summer programs that expose them to the engineering majors offered at MSU.
o The High School Engineering Institute is a co-ed program intended for rising high school sophomores, juniors and seniors.
o Each day students will learn about an engineering major and spend time engaged in a short lecture, demonstrations, and hands-on experiments.
o This summer program helps students determine which engineering major may, or may not, be a good choice for them.
· All students in the college of engineering are required to take EGR 100 – Introduction to Engineering Design.
o This course teaches the engineering design process as modeled by team-based, interdisciplinary design projects.
o This means that students will be working on projects that will combine different engineering majors to give them a better idea of what field they would like to work in.
· The College of Engineering does not require for students to officially declare a major until the student reaches junior status.
o These two years let students fulfill their university and basic engineering requirements while allowing them to continue exploring the majors.
o In the meanwhile, students are encouraged to review the degree programs for each major to help them make a decision.
· Go see your advisor! CoRe offers academic advising for students; advisors are available to help you with major selection, schedule planning, utilizing MSU resources, career planning and much more!
· Visit the Careers page on the College of Engineering website. You will have access to the answers to the basic questions for each major:
o What does this degree help me do?
o What are the skills I need to learn?
o What can I do with this major?
o What is the curriculum like?
Don’t forget that the College of Engineering is here to help you along the way!
To visit the resources mentioned above, use the links below:
Engineering Summer Programs:
Engineering Degree Programs:
CoRe Advising:
College of Engineering Careers Page: