Hi all,
I’m ending my junior year and will begin applying to college soon. While looking up information, I found that a majority of my top choices do not offer dual majors for aerospace engineering and business management. I am curious - what colleges do offer this option?
Thanks - Lisa
This might be a possibility at Purdue University here in Indiana. I looked online and noticed you could do Aero Engineering and get a minor in Management. Both of these schools are top notch and w/o actually being in them I can guarantee it will be pretty challenging.
The best thing to do would be to email advisors or admissions people and just ask.
when I was in college (in the last millenia) I wanted to get a BS in electrical engineering and computer science - I took all the required classes for both degrees for the first two years, but when I was a junior I had to be accepted into one of the degree programs, and found out I could not get both unless I stayed for an extra year.
So I only have a BSEE, but I still took as many computer science electives as I could. This was a huge + for my career, understanding both digital hardware and SW, and being able to design both.
I am sure that it would be possible at Penn State as a dual major or a major and a minor. The problem that occurs at PSU is meeting the Entrance to Major deadline, however you would have to find out what happens if you plan on picking up a second major (it may be extended).
… I would assume that it would be possible at any Big Ten school? or large University for that fact that carries your majors of choice?
Well, I know UVA allows this … I happen to be interested in doing a dual major, too (well, actually a triple major), so I’ve looked up information about this and asked a bunch of questions to the different colleges I’ve visited. I’ve found that whether a particular university “allows” it all depends on who you ask – a lot of people just don’t know and for whatever reason they still feel compelled to answer … however wrong they may be. I’ve found, too, that so long as you can take all the requirements you need for both majors, dual majoring shouldn’t be a problem at all (though different colleges make different distinctions between dual and double majoring, which are mostly important if the majors are in different schools, e.g., Engineering and Arts and Sciences).
Like KenWittlief said, you may have to spend an extra year there. It depends. Personally, I’ll be going in with more than a few AP/dual enrollment credits, which make selecting my schedule much easier. If you don’t have any AP credit, it is likely you may have to either “load up” your schedule (take 18+ credit hours/semester), go to a summer session … or stay an extra year. What you’ll have to do, of coure, depends on the school and their particular requirements for their majors and what credit they accept.
I don’t know if you would want to move all the way up to Grand Forks North Dakota but I know several people up there that are double and even triple majoring up there.
Wow. Thanks so much, everyone. I will certainly take all of what you have said into consideration.
According to the Magazine “Private Colleges and Universities - Science and Engineering Division” Gonzaga University has a 5 year program that gives students a BS degree in engineering and an M.B.A. I’m sure there’s more out there too.
Kettering University (formerly GMI - General Motors Engineering and Management Institute) Flint, Michigan
Offers Engineering/Management dual majors. There is no explicit “Aerospace Engineering”, but instead a Mechanical Engineering with Aerospace concentration.
It’s a co-op school, with 3 month terms. Most dual majors take 5 years to graduate, but if you transfer in a LOT of APs, and take courses online during work term, it is possible to get out in 4.
They give out big FIRST scholarships every year (I was a recipient in 1999), and when you graduate, you definitely come out prepared for just about anything.
-Shawn…
I would like to do something like this. I would assume that most technology-based schools have programs in both of these categories, but would it have to take an extra year to finish both the majors? I will probably be transferring 3 AP sciences, 1 AP math, and one in pretty much all other subjects. I know I am only a freshman at a moment but I figure its never too early to start looking at things such as this… not to mention i only have 24ish days left in my freshman year.
Many colleges offer buisness minors (RIT for instance: http://www.cob.rit.edu/current/undergraduate/minors.html).
If you want two full degrees, you’re going to need to do the work associated with both. It usually takes a year or two extra. Some degree programs make exceptions by double counting some required courses. For instance operations research is both a requirement for my major and a requirment for the MBA program at my school. If I wished to earn both a BS and MBA, I could double count this course effectivly saving 4 credit hours (silly quarter system).
I think most schools allow you to double major, but it is more work and will take more time.
Greg
In my opinion, a double or ever triple major is tough. Just trying to do one major takes up most of your time. If you do a double major, you can kiss your social life, CD, First and just about everything else goodby. But this is just my opinion.
I would definitely look at this list: Sigma Gamma Tau (National Honor Society in Aerospace Engineering) Chapters
Then I would look at which ones offer business programs. Most do.
Then where you would like to go choose a couple and get hold of them.
If you know the right people in the college you can get very indivualized majors.
EDIT: I finally took some time to look at some business honor societies.
Beta Gamma Sigma
Sigma Beta Delta
Personally I would just do what I’m doing. BS in chemE and minor in economics.
Lisa-
Something that I would first ask myself… why do you want to major in those two fields? What career are you looking to find?
I’ll take a stab that you have an interest in working with people and leading groups, but also feel like you would like to aquire a strong technical background to support your management so you’re not managing a bunch of paper-pushers in an office somewhere.
The truth of the mater, as best I can tell, is that management skills (in general) are something that you can aquire over time. You’re not going to be hired into any sort of aerospace industry and put into a management position on the spot. It’s something that you’ll only get with time, talent, and a bit of luck.
Furthermore, it should be noted that the reason you’re having trouble finding schools with this comibination is because they’re not closely related. They’re two very different worlds. I’d be impressed to find a school with reputable programs in each that would get you out in less than 11 semesters. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)
What I’d suggest is that you get a management minor. This shows that you have the education to get those management positions when they open up, and makes you more qualified than those without this minor. I think this is the edge you’re really looking for. If you’re smart, and depending on which school you attend, you should be able to get out in 4 years without any trouble.
Good luck!
Matt
To piggyback on Matt, an MBA would be even better then a minor. Like Matt said, even if you find a place with both good aerospace and good business, you’re looking at quite a bit more time in college. For that extra time, you’re better off getting one bachelors and one advanced degree, such as an MBA.
Also, what specifically attracts you to Aerospace? Is there something you want to do that can’t be done with a straight ME degree (or ME with an option for aerospace, like we have here at RIT).
I believe my school (Syracuse University, http://www.syr.edu) offers such an option. Pretty much they’ll let you major in anything you want as long as you pay for all of the credits… and unfortunately, the engineering core usually has way different requirements than any business core.
I am currently a dual major between Computer Science (Eng. and Comp. Sci. college) and History (Arts & Sci.) - but I believe that you can cross between as many as you want if you talk to people in the appropriate dean’s offices.
Not entirely true: If you manage your time well (e.g. do homework between classes, don’t procrastinate papers) and you make friends in your classes you can spend tons of time with friends and have a lot of fun with two majors. I’m currently taking an extended major and a minor (1.5+.5=2ish?), and I’m loving college so far.
Don’t tripple major though. That’s insane. One of my friends is tripple majoring in Comm, Journalism, and Electronic Media. She took 24 hours this semester and will be doing the same each semester until she graduates. Doesn’t sound fun, does it?
Anyway, I can tell you that Northern Arizona University doesn’t have much of a connection between the engineering school and business school. ASU however has everything, so if you like the heat, you’re welcome to come out to our oven.
Yes, I suppose it would be in my best interest if I did not overload my schedule with two majors - especially because I want to continue FIRST through mentorship :rolleyes: .
I appreciate all of the first-hand college accounts - it’s great to have a heads-up on how crammed college can get. Also, knowing which programs do offer dual majors helps as well.
I guess I wanted to dual major in these two fields just because I have such an affinity to both manage and work as an aerospace design engineer. I do not think I could live without one or the other - so I’m glad to hear that I can accomplish both my goals by getting a major in engineering and an MBA.
Like I said, the “toughness” of double or triple majoring depends on what you did during high school. Me, my high school schedule was “insane,” so my college one won’t have to be (oddly enough, compared with my senior year, a triple major should be a breeze!). Haven taken 9 AP tests plus dual enrollment, I’ll be starting out in Diff EQ, advanced comp. sci. classes, adv. spanish classes, etc. I can get by with only the typical 15-18 credit hours of an engineering schedule. Maybe one summer session just to take care of time conflicts. Overall, it’s just a matter of time management and going in with the right amount of credits, and pretty much anything is possible. Of course, it helps that comp. sci. and math go hand in hand and that spanish is a light major compared to some others.
As a heads up, which I think every college student on these boards will echo… but no matter how fantastic your high school was… it’s nothing compared to college. Period.
Hard work and good time management skills are great assets, but they’re not going to make it so you won’t have to work hard, or even work significantly less. I myself came into college with nearly 32 credits… thinking things wouldn’t be so bad.
The AP classes in high school just replace the easy, introductory classes in college where a lot of help is provided for freshman. What makes college what it is, is the projects that require 80 hours of group work, not the 4 hours of calc homework you do each week. I too took Diff Eq as a freshman, and it was a big reality check for me. Instead of getting the whole college environment gradually set in, you’re set up in classes with a lot of non-freshman who know a lot of the tricks of the trade, and you’re behind the eight ball sometimes… be ready, and good luck!
Matt