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Studying engineering at Lafayette provides an added dimension of excellence. Strong programs in the liberal arts allow engineering majors greater breadth and flexibility in their course of study
As a strictly undergraduate institution, Lafayette is able to provide the best in liberal arts programs and engineering. With a broad-based curriculum in 45 areas of study in engineering, the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences, Lafayette gives students great flexibility.
In addition to four discipline-specific engineering majors (bachelor of science in chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical and computer engineering, and mechanical engineering), students may pursue a bachelor of arts in engineering—a distinctive program at Lafayette—or consider the two-degree program in international studies and engineering. Engineering students may also add a minor to their curriculum. Popular minors for engineering majors include biotechnology-bioengineering, architectural studies, environmental science, and mathematics.
Engineering students participate in a full range of campus activities — including the 23-sport NCAA Division I athletics program, musical groups, theater, artistic endeavors, student clubs, service organizations, and social living groups — and take advantage of the unparalleled academic, cultural, and artistic resources of New York City.
The American Society for Engineering Education spotlights the advantages of studying engineering at Lafayette, where strong programs in the liberal arts provide an added dimension of excellence, in the December ’08 issue of the society’s Prism magazine.
In the article, Sharon Jones, professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the engineering division, discusses how engineering students at Lafayette, in contrast to large universities, are integrated with the liberal arts students, both academically and socially. She also talks about Lafayette’s faculty-led interim abroad and semester abroad programs, which allow engineering students to study in other countries and still stay on track with their required courses.
Britney McCoy ’05 graduated with a major in government and law to go along with her A.B. in engineering studies. Now a doctoral student in engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon, she discusses the reasons why she found Lafayette to be the perfect place for her undergraduate education:
As a math and science whiz and engineering camp alum, Britney McCoy was sure she wanted to study engineering in college. The question was: Where? She found most traditional engineering programs lacking in the freedom she craved to pursue her other passions, mainly social justice. So when she heard about Lafayette College, she looked no further. Like the handful of other liberal arts schools that offer engineering, Lafayette, in Easton, Pa., allows engineering majors greater breadth and flexibility to integrate outside interests into their course of study. “Having this type of background allows you to communicate with two different types of people,” says McCoy. “It’s the perfect balance.”
Ben Towne ’09 (Litchfield, N.H.) is complementing his B.S. major in electrical and computer engineering with a self-designed, interdisciplinary major in community development.
“I like that you could branch out a bit and take some courses in the other areas that have some tools and perspectives that are useful in thinking about problems,” he says. “At Lafayette, if you go into a history or psychology class, the other students may be majors in those areas, and they’ll be asking interesting questions. A network of friends outside of engineering allows you to solve problems which may be beyond you. If you need someone with a particular kind of expertise, you probably know someone who has it.”