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Q: I am about to select a major in engineering and would like to know the best major to select in order to excel in Nanotechnology. I hear that Nanotechnology holds enormous promise and can be helpful in areas from cleansing the air to treating bacterial infections. What schools, domestic and international, would you recommend?
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Q: Let me please know the potential of Nanotechnology education, and the list of universities offering Masters and Doctoral degree in Nanotechnology.
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Q: I consider several undergraduate programs available in my country with the intent of doing research (and possibly some graduate work) later in the area of nanotechnology in Japan.
I have two questions:
(1) Would it be better for me to study chemical engineering or electrical engineering as an undergraduate?
(2) What are some of the institutions that do nanotechnology research in Japan?
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Q: I am unable to decide between a degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, and computer science. Please describe the differences?
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Q: I am a senior in high school and I am seriously thinking about majoring in Biomedical Engineering. I wanted to know how much money biomedical engineers make. I also want to know if biomedical engineers do research for cancer because I would really like to be able to do research on diseases and ways to fight/cure them. Where could you get a job in biomedical engineering in Pennsylvania?
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Q: I have just received my Bachelor of Engineering in electronics and communication). I have great interest in Nanotechnology/MEMS. Should I concentrate on MEMS or on Nanotechnology for my Master-level studies? How are job prospects in these areas?
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Q: Can I work on a Master of Science degree in Nanotechnology after getting a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Engineering degree in chemical engineering?
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Q: Which engineering field should I select for undergraduate studies in order to be able to work later on a Master of Science degree in Nanotechnology?
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Q: I am a second year student in electrical engineering. I have been assigned to write on "the scope of electrical engineering in the 21st century".
Would you please provide me with some guidance?
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Q: BACKGROUND: We live in Sierra Vista, AZ, about 70 miles SE of Tucson. My 17 year old son is a high school senior and wants to become an engineer, but is still undecided which engineering sub-category he wants to specialize in. He is interested in robotics and maybe nanotechnology. He has taken Advanced Placement classes in English, Mathematics and Physics. He already has earned some college credit by signing up for Dual-Credit classes. We are split over 2 options: 1) having him attend for the first 2 years a community college which has a 2-year Pre-Engineering Program, and then have him attend a traditional university for the last 2 years of college; or 2) having him start as a freshman in a traditional 4-year institution.
QUESTIONS:
What, if any, are the pros and cons of both options? Is there an industry bias out there when it comes to hiring an applicant who either completed a 4 year program right away or first did a 2 year program and then finished up a 4 year program?
Our experience (supported by published research) is that students who transferred into a 4-year institution did not suffer from future employer prejudice on account of their taking the first two years in a community college. The search for engineering talent is rather aggressive nowadays; matters of appearance (such as this), that may have been a consideration 20 or 30 years ago, ceased to be a meaningful factor. There is enough research that shows no gap between students who started as freshmen in a 4-year institution and transfer students when it comes to graduation rates, GPAs, and wages (examples: a study from the University of Florida; a study from Wisconsin; see also a paper by Hilmer quoted below as [1] and a report by Hess [2].)
The factors that need to be checked are the quality and reputation of the Pre-Engineering Program at the 2-year community college where you consider enrolling. The main disadvantage of the community college route is that sometimes the quality of the classes offered there does not match the expectations at the 4-year institution. If this is the case, the transfer student would have to take additional classes (or face failure in his/her junior-level classes). Since you have identified both the community college and the 4-year university you are interested in, you ought to find out from both institutions (most importantly, the university) what is the track record of the specific community college in providing transfer students to the university. We suggest that you meet in person with an academic advisor (perhaps the undergraduate assistant department head of the electrical engineering or mechanical engineering department) at the target university, and hear from him/her directly (1) what courses must your son pass and with what GPA in order to be accepted as a transfer student to the university from the specific community college you are considering; and (2) what is the university's experience with past transfer students from that community college. You may also want to find out if there is a formal articulation agreement between the institutions. Such an agreement (see example) states the conditions under which graduates of the 2-year institution can transfer to the university with a Junior status.
In the context of your question, the primary advantages of starting the academic path at a community college are economic, and sometimes location of the community college is also an advantage. Community college classes are often smaller than introductory classes in 4-year institutions, and their teachers are often dedicated solely to teaching (in many 4-year institutions professors have many other obligations, and sometimes they send their assistants to the class). The primary disadvantages are that many community colleges lack the college atmosphere that is part of the academic experience (e.g., they do not have student branches of professional associations), and they sometimes have fewer laboratory and library resources. More importantly, some community colleges do not do a very good job in preparation to college (hence our suggestions above that you check carefully the reputation and track record of the community college).
Overall we believe that the community-college path to an engineering degree, which splits the four year period between two institutions, is viable and practical. With appropriate preparations (and with prior consideration of compatibility of courses between the institutions) the advantages that community colleges offer are undeniable.
REFERENCES
[1] Hilmer, Michael J., "Human Capital Attainment, University Quality, and Entry-Level Wages for College Transfer Students" Southern Economic Journal: Vol. 69, No. 2, pp. 457–469, 2002.
From the abstract: "This paper examines the returns to institutional quality for college transfer students. The quality of university from which a transfer student graduates has a positive effect on his or her future earnings. However, the quality of university initially attended has an insignificant negative effect. Such evidence suggests that a student's entry-level earnings depend only on graduation quality and not on the quality of education received throughout college."
[2] Ryan Hess: "Earnings of 2-year Transfers Beat Traditional College Grads" Employment and Training Reporter, on-line: http://www.workforceflorida.com/wages/wfi/news/reports/Wkflarep.pdf, July 28, 2003 (accessed November 2006).
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