Re: Why Science Majors Change Their Minds (It’s Just So Darn Hard)
 

Those pesky English, humanities, and social science classes that engineering freshmen and sophomores (and, depending on your school, the odd junior or senior) have to take or risk being held back until you take them.

At my school, that's a combined 21 credits, plus 2 PE credits, plus 4 credits taken after sophomore year.

Re: Why Science Majors Change Their Minds (It’s Just So Darn Hard)
 

Well, what's required first, but also what you can do. For instance, Penn State requires an general writing (probably still the best course of my college career--amazing professor), public speaking, technical writing (another great course), physical education, roughly at least two courses each in humanities and social sciences (all amazing for me), a US cultures course, an international cultures course, a course that applies writing across the curriculum, and a few others I'm missing. Basically, it exposes you to the other disciplines--very well if you're interested. Of course, some people who aren't interested use it to take film watching and ballroom dance (though these are also both very good), but if you're willing to explore even the intro courses can be absolutely fantastic. We're required to have 45 total, though some are worked into your major. I know different universities count credits differently, so for perspective, I need 131 total to graduate in M E.

I've seen some people switch majors--both in an out of technical fields--because they just honestly loved what they did in these courses. They didn't give up on anything; they just realized they liked something else more. (I'm not implying this is why everyone switches, but I have seen a good number just in my limited exposure thus far.) Do places RPI or other small schools offer similar opportunities? Do people take them, given what we were discussing before about the types of people each school tends to attract?

Re: Why Science Majors Change Their Minds (It’s Just So Darn Hard)
 

Yes, but not to that extent. We are required to take 22 Humanities and Social Sciences credits, 2 of which are Professional Development II (classes designed to prepare you for working an engineering job), and depending on your major you will have a certain number of free electives where you can take whatever class you want. AeroE has 12 credits of free elective, I believe it varies by major, and is eliminated if you double/dual major. In addition, nothing stops you from going above and beyond, I'll graduate with ~140 credits while only 128 are required.

We are required to take at least 2 Humanities and at least 2 Social Sciences (and to hit 22 you've got to take a third in one of the two). In my case I took an intro level class called Science, Technology and Society taught by RPI's Science and Technology Studies department, which is apparently a relatively unique major. I thought it was a total waste of my time, but know people that enjoyed the class.

I've taken multiple economics classes, and LOVED them. Mostly with the same professor who is a triple threat. He really knows his stuff, he does great research, and has multiple teaching awards. As part of a class called Structure of Industry I had to write a 25 pager about the business strategy of IBM when they rolled out their System/360, and I really had no interest in the subject. Turns out it was a fascinating subject, I now know more than anyone should know about mainframe computing in the 1960s, and the same business practices have lots of applications to other businesses. I'm taking RPI's public speaking class next semester (which is not required), but I've only heard very good things about it.

There are also some fairly esoteric classes, last spring their was a class called "Inflatable Public Sculpture" that one of my friends took. It was exactly what it sounded like, and some really neat inflatable sculptures popped up around campus. I don't know anyone who has switched majors because they really enjoyed an elective though, only people who switched because they couldn't handle the workload of a technical major.

Re: Why Science Majors Change Their Minds (It’s Just So Darn Hard)
 

It is probably worth noting that RPI's Humanities and Social Sciences do not quite require you to get out of Engineering. My H&SS electives included Intro to Logic, Intermediate Logic, Computability and Logic, and Cognitive Robotics which required a stronger background in programming than almost any of my CS courses.

Re: Why Science Majors Change Their Minds (It’s Just So Darn Hard)
 

At WPI, it's a bit different, primarily due to how the courses work. The school is a quarter system, with 3 courses per quarter here, or an average, recommended load of 6 courses per semester, which makes things go by really fast as courses last two months. I.E. Most undergrad classes here are worth 3 credits; for juniors and seniors that have the background, they could take the graduate courses for no extra cost at around 4-5 credits per class.

The degree requirements for any major are essentially the same, a person has to graduate with 139 (15*3*3?) credits minimum. Of those,
9 are free electives for any major (which again, usually disappear into another major if you double for the sake of graduating earlier than 5-6 years)

18 have to be in the humanities department (art, history, music, philosophy, int. studies, etc.) The final course taken must be a 3000-level seminar or practicum, and 3 of those taken must be in the same field.
Per se, there aren't any required courses, except for the depth requirement, which means you end up taking a few in the same field to get a firm grasp on the content and communication skills.


6 are required for the social sciences (economics, psychology, gov., etc)

There is a PE requirement of 3 credits, but the classes aren't even a credit and so they're just taken in addition to the normal load over a few years.

The last general requirement here is the Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP), which is a 9 credit project during the Junior year that requires students to study some interaction between society and technology.

The last 90 credits are left up to each major; for engineering specifically, it's generally a situation where 30 credits are "math and basic sciences", most of the basic calculus/physics/chemistry/comp sci classes are taken in this area as a stepping stone to the 60 credits which are required in the major field. Of those 60, 9 are reserved for the MQP, which is the senior capstone project.

One thing to note is that these are just graduation credits; the only time-based requirement for taking them is that you have to have them all by the time you want your degree (exceptions are the IQP's/MQP's/Humanities seminar, those are organized by the professors with their own requirements, so you can't just go in and do them as a freshman).

As to what was said about the cool classes, those definitely are here, although they tend to exist as the 3000-level, smaller courses that are taken sophomore/junior level. I know an engineering student that, despite failing a few classes here, took seven because he liked them so much, and can still manage to graduate in 4 years.

Re: Why Science Majors Change Their Minds (It’s Just So Darn Hard)
 

I do not like this model of education. Society tells kids from an early age to pursue “success” that is measured by materialistic worth. That is compounded by the fact that most students’ motivation derives from trying to get that number one rank in school, that perfect GPA or to get into that college. Even from an early age, that mentality is drilled into the minds of children; elementary teachers reward kids with stickers or points to gauge their performance. While that positive reinforcement does encourage students to excel, it also promotes materialism in the long run. Students don’t experience the pleasure of finding things out because it is not their focus. I believe that society has lost sight of what education truly is. It is not a means to get a better paying job, or to get a degree. Education is liberation from ignorance. Most students students stop short of truly understanding a concept and just regurgitate it on the test. Those concepts were never fully digested and engraved into their minds. That is why believe tests are counterproductive. All a typical student cares for is that “A” on the test, and to get that “A:, all he need to do is memorize. One can know all the equations, but without imagination, it is impossible to grasp the subject. Long term projects, on the other hand, induce a deeper learning experience than tests and lectures. It is human nature to learn from failures; that is how the institution of science was founded. Some philosophers had false preconceived notions and another philosopher comes along refuting the formers’ ideas. Then the new ideas are verified through experimentation. Tests do not give the students the opportunity to confirm or modify their ideas. Most students just take the information as is and never challenge or confirm them. The teacher moves onto a different topic after the test. We should teach students to embrace knowledge in its purest form and to always question.

Re: Why Science Majors Change Their Minds (It’s Just So Darn Hard)
 

You're not wrong that education is more than just the pursuit of good marks and material things. But you are wrong about your concept of a typical student.

Unfortunately, many—perhaps a plurality in some places—don't care enough to get that A, by process of regurgitation or otherwise. And few can realistically see themselves being ranked first in their classes. It's not always their fault, either. Sometimes they haven't been given a reason to care, and their circumstances are such that they can be forgiven for not finding it within themselves to be passionate about education.

You're definitely right that education is liberation from ignorance—it's just that that liberation comes in many varieties, and doesn't proceed at the same pace for everyone.