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How does it work?
In the dual-degree program in engineering,
students complete a three-year liberal arts program
at Furman before transferring to Auburn, Clemson,
Georgia Tech, the University of South Carolina, or the
University of Georgia, where they focus on
engineering. (We are in the process of updating our
agreement with North Carolina State University.) At
the completion of the program, students receive a BS
degree from Furman and a BS degree from the other school.
Furman’s emphasis on the liberal arts gives students
in the dual-degree program a solid educational foundation
that supports and strengthens their more specialized
engineering studies.
Why dual degree?
Although engineers need a great deal of
technical knowledge, today’s engineers are much more
than just technicians. Indeed, many assume positions
of leadership in which their decisions have significant
social, political and economic consequences. For this
reason, they need more than just a strong engineering
education; they need a broad educational background
so they can better understand and evaluate the impact
of their decisions. The liberal arts curriculum studied
by students during the Furman portion of the dual degree
program provides this broad background, one that is
rich in theory and that stresses the interconnections
between different academic disciplines.
Other practical reasons for entering the
dual-degree program include:
Job market prospects – With both a liberal
arts and an engineering degree, you are more attractive
to potential employers because they feel that having
a liberal arts degree makes you more likely to be
successful as, for example, a manager. In fact, engineering
firms have been known to hire liberal arts majors
who have no engineering background, then pay for their
education in engineering. Graduates of the Furman
program report that they tend to stand out to potential
employers because they have both a liberal arts and
an engineering degree.
Small classes – At engineering schools, introductory
classes are usually quite large and access to professors
outside of class is often limited. At Furman, however,
most introductory classes have fewer than 30 students,
and much of the learning process occurs in individual
conferences with professors who are readily available
to work with students outside of class.
Course sequence – Through the Furman program,
you complete all of your foundational math and science
courses before you begin your engineering courses.
When you reach the engineering school, this allows
you to focus directly on engineering classes – and
benefit more from them. Graduates of the Furman program
report that their background in basic science and
math courses is significantly better than that of
their peers who began engineering school as freshmen.
Curriculum flexibility – In a traditional
engineering school, you must commit early not just
to engineering as a major, but frequently to a specific
field of engineering. You can change your mind, but
it might cost you credits to shift to another area.
In Furman’s dual-degree program, you are taking math,
science, and other Core courses required for any
Furman major, so you have the time and flexibility
to test other areas and see if they interest you.
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Our partner
schools
Engineering majors offered at the destination schools
*Area of emphasis within UGa's B.S. in
Agricultural Engineering program (BSAE)
**Area of emphasis within UGa's B.S. in
Biological Engineering program (BSBE)
We are in the process of updating our
agreement with North Carolina State University. If you
are interested in this destination school, please contact
Dr. D'Amato.
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Course Requirements
While at Furman, students complete Furman's
Core requirements, their major, and other courses to
total at least 96 credits. The Core requirements consist
of 13-16 courses, depending on language placement and
on whether courses taken for the World Cultures and
Natural Environment requirements also satisfy Core requirements.
For the major, students may choose one of two options.
The pre-engineering major consists of 9 courses in chemistry,
physics, and mathematics (beyond the Core requirements).
The dual-degree physics major consists of the courses
in the pre-engineering major plus 3 additional physics
courses.
Students planning their first year at
Furman should plan to take a calculus course ("which
course" depends on Advanced Placement credit for
calculus and/or the results of the Calculus Readiness
Test) and either Physics 111 or Chemistry 110 in their
first semester. If they are unable to take chemistry
or physics in the fall semester, then before fall classes
begin, they should work with their academic advisor
and Dr. D'Amato to formulate
a plan for completing the dual degree program after
taking the first science course in the spring of the
freshman year.
A detailed list of major requirements
is given below. (To see this information and additional
curricular information in chart form, click here.)
The course requirements for the dual-degree
major in pre-engineering are:
• MTH-151 (12) and 160 (13),
• CHM-111 (11) and 210 (12),
• PHY-111 (11), 112 (12), 321 (21), 311 (26),
and 331 (41), and
• additional CSC and/or MTH courses as specified
by the destination engineering program.
The course requirements for the dual-degree
major in physics are:
• MTH-151 (12) and 160 (13),
• CHM-111 (11) and 210 (12),
• PHY-111 (11), 112 (12), 311 (26), 312 (42),
321 (21), 322 (44), and 331 (41),
• at least one of the following: PHY-241 (20),
421 (32), 432 (35), 441 (30), 442 (45), 451 (47), 452
(39), 502 (85), or 504 (80), and
• additional CSC and/or MTH courses as specified
by the destination engineering program.
A minimum grade point average of 2.60
is required to declare a major in the dual degree engineering
program. This helps to insure (although it does not
guarantee) that students will meet the gpa admissions
requirements of the engineering schools.
