The three years at St. Andrews are challenging. An important goal of the mathematics and science courses we offer is for students to develop – through active participation – a deep understanding of the fundamentals of calculus, physics, differential equations, and the other science and mathematics courses that make up the fundamentals of an engineering education. With that depth to draw on, students tend to excel in engineering and related courses. The records of St. Andrews graduates who have done a “3-2” program in the past show clearly what such a strong background can help them to accomplish!

The core curriculum for students in the 3-2 program includes general chemistry, calculus-based physics, computer information science, and mathematics through differential equations. There are choices as well, in two separate categories. First, students take electives of their choice outside their major – in fields such as history, art and politics. These electives need to be chosen to meet similar graduation requirements at N.C. State, but there is still considerable diversity among the options.

Also, there are three electives within the major, chosen mostly from upper-level courses in mathematics, computer and information science and chemistry. Students may take all three electives in one area--for example, a student planning to go into chemical engineering could take all three of them in chemistry.

There are three advantages of the dual degree program– which may not all apply to everyone, but may well apply to you.

Like many students, you are likely to benefit from beginning your college career at a place where most of your classes will be quite small in size (perhaps 20 students; considerably fewer in many cases), and where faculty members are not only willing but also eager to meet with students one-on-one or in small study groups outside of class. What better way could there be to develop the kind of deep understanding of course material that will get your career off to a great start?

The flexibility of our program is a benefit. You may well feel certain of your career choice now, and more power to you if you do. However, the truth is that most college students do change their major at least once. As a student in the 3-2 program, you could easily switch to a regular mathematics major or to a major in some other science such as biology or chemistry, with little or no loss of credit towards your major.

Finally, in our modern and extremely interconnected world, engineers need to be able to interact knowledgeably and professionally with a vast array of thinkers and professionals: artists, writers, businesspeople, scientists, and philosophers, just to name a very few examples. You may decide that you want to be CEO of your own company, or you might decide to combine your engineering expertise with work in the legal field or in environmental policies. Having a degree from a highly regarded liberal arts college along with your engineering degree would help you get started in these types of career moves.

St. Andrews has been preparing students for careers in engineering for twenty years; our students have successfully graduated (some with honors and, in one case, high honors) from a number of different engineering-major programs. Other St. Andrews graduates, whose initial interest in engineering evolved in directions that led them toward other majors, can attest to the fact that their change of plans was not costly, in terms of time or in terms of credits toward graduation.

So, WHATEVER becomes of your current interest in engineering, you can be assured that your career will be off to a safe and sound start at St. Andrews Presbyterian College!