QUICK Q&A
How long has Harvard done engineering?
The Lawrence Scientific School, which housed the University’s first programs related to engineering and applied sciences, was founded in 1847.But, don’t all the “real” engineers go to technical institutes?
That’s like saying all the “real” biology or history students only go to Harvard. Moreover, engineering is increasingly like a liberal art in the way the field interacts with other fields (and that assessment came from an engineer).What distinguishes Harvard’s academic programs in engineering?
In a word: Harvard. Unlike some programs in engineering and applied sciences, Harvard undergraduates who pursue the field are not enrolled in a separate school or college. Studying engineering is only one aspect of a student's experience.What are the engineering students like?
Like other Harvard students: smart, determined, dedicated, diverse (approximately 35% of concentrators are female and 40% are minorities (including Asian) or foreign nationals) and enjoying broad interests. Hear it from them: “I am glad that I have friends with a wide variety of interests …”; “I knew I would concentrate in engineering … [but] I wanted to attend a college with an active music program.”What sort of research have students done?
Past students have created bio-inspired machines, built a cycle-plane simulator, implemented wireless sensor networks, co-authored papers on quantum science and technology, and investigated the role of materials and processes at the nanoscale that regulate the earth's environment. In short, whatever your research passion, given the resources at Harvard, you can find a faculty member who does it and the funding to go along with it. For more, explore the amazing breadth of research opportunities available.Does an engineering degree at Harvard fully prepare students for graduate school and careers?
Past students have attended graduate school programs at leading universities (including those with “technical” in their name) in areas ranging from engineering to law to business to medicine. Others have taken jobs right after graduation with leading consulting, engineering, and business firms.What is the size of the program?
Data from 2006-2007: Undergraduate: ~ 300 concentrators (over 40% of students are minorities, including Asian, or foreign nationals; 35% of students are women). Graduate students: 346. Faculty: 73 full-time members, with around 86 total participants.How can I get involved if I do not concentrate in engineering?
Opportunities include extracurricular activities like the Harvard College Computer Society (HCS) and the Harvard College Engineering Society (HCES); competitions, such as those available through the Harvard Computing Club (HC3); and campus-wide groups like Women in Science at Harvard-Radcliffe (WISHR).What does the future hold for engineering at Harvard?
In the past decade, the Engineering and Applied Sciences program has undergone a spectacular renewal and emergence, hiring 40 new faculty members and building a host of new facilities. “Continued rapid growth in key areas of engineering and life sciences, in particular, is not only vital for the competitive position of the University … but also in maximizing the return on our investment in buildings and infrastructure—which will bolster the health of the Faculty as a whole …” (Faculty of the Arts and Sciences Dean’s Annual Letter, 2006).Does a degree in engineering and applied science really prepare students for careers in business or finance?
Engineering was only second to business administration as the most received undergraduate degree of S&P 500 company chief executive officers over the past year, according to executive search firm Spencer Stuart.What do Harvard alumni in engineering and applied sciences go on to do?
| Primary Occupation Post Harvard | % |
| Computer Software, Hardware, Systems | 23 |
| Banking, Finance, Communications | 11 |
| Engineering & Science | 11 |
| Education | 8 |
| Full-time student | 7 |
| Law | 6 |
| Consulting | 6 |
| Medicine, Healthcare, Public Health | 5 |
| Arts, Government, Politics | 5 |
| Other | 18 |
What are the average starting salaries for those in engineering science and related fields? What about longer term career prospects for engineering science and related fields?
In short, the outlook is good. Here's an excerpt from a recent article from Fortune Magazine ("10 toughest career dilemmas – solved," by Anne Fisher – 12/5/06):
"To graduate with the most marketable sheepskin, you'd do well to apply your math skills, and maybe your chemistry acumen as well, and get a degree in engineering.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects that the economy will generate 200,000 more engineering jobs by 2014, and many employers are already noticing a shortage of skilled workers in a variety of engineering fields - civil, mechanical, industrial, you name it. Annual pay for engineers in the U.S. now averages $72,965, well over twice the U.S. average of just under $30,000 for workers in all occupations.
Among the most promising fields now: chemical engineering. Says Mike Reed, an engineer in Pennsylvania: 'In my field, there is a 0.2% unemployment rate, and the petroleum industry will be needing 40,000 more engineers (mostly chemical engineers) over the next 10 years. You can write your own ticket in this field. Most of my colleagues are earning six figures.'
Software engineers are in demand, too. The number of software engineering majors has plummeted by about 40% over the past decade. 'Companies will compete for a scarce resource by offering more money,' notes Dale Welch, a partner at Boston-area staffing firm Winter, Wyman & Co. 'This year we're seeing starting offers as high as $90,000 for top MIT grads. The norm seems to be between $60,000 and $70,000.' That's a big jump from average starting pay of $45,000 just two years ago, and the trend seems likely to continue for several more years."
But I've heard there are no jobs in CS and IT?!
Not so! Here's an Nov 6, 2006 article from the Chronicle of Higher Education:"If the declining enrollments in college computer-science programs are any indication, students are not especially confident in the IT job market. But they need not fret, according to Moshe Y. Vardi, a professor of computational engineering in Rice University's Computer and Information Technology Institute.
Speaking last week at Stanford University, Mr. Vardi said there were more high-tech jobs in the country today than there were six years ago, during the halcyon days of the dot-com boom.
Mr. Vardi's statistics came from a study commissioned by the Association for Computing Machinery that he completed this year. The report acknowledges that 'offshoring' has had an impact on the IT industry, but it argues that the migration of high-tech jobs has done little to hurt the quantity or quality of openings in the United States."