The Junior-Senior Programs

Students may review degree progress via DARS (Degree Audit Reporting System) as presented on Student Services Online. Required courses should be completed according to the academic charts in the department sections of the bulletin. Until they are completed, they are listed as deficiencies in the Degree Audit Report. If they are not completed according to the departmental plans, it may be necessary to complete these courses either over the summer or be carried as overload courses in later semesters.

Having chosen their program major in the first semester of their sophomore year, students are assigned to a faculty adviser in the department in which the program is offered. In addition to the courses required by their program, students must continue to satisfy certain distributive requirements, choosing elective courses that provide sufficient content in engineering sciences and engineering design. The order and distribution of the prescribed coursework may be changed with the adviser’s approval. Specific questions concerning course requirements should be addressed to the appropriate department or division.

Double Major

Students who wish to apply for a second major must consult their advising dean about next steps. A proposal to double major must be approved by both departments and then forwarded to the Vice Dean of Academic Programs for a final decision.

Major courses cannot be cross-counted between dual majors. Please consult with an Advising Dean and the respective departmental advisors to find alternative courses for duplicate requirements.

3-2 students are not eligible to have a second major because of the time constraints of their program.  

Tau Beta Pi

Tau Beta Pi is the nation’s second-oldest honor society, founded at Lehigh University in 1885. With the creed “Integrity and excellence in engineering,” it is the only engineering honor society representing the entire engineering profession. Columbia’s chapter, New York Alpha, is the ninth oldest and was founded in 1902. Many Columbia buildings have been named for some of the more prominent chapter alumni: Charles Fredrick Chandler, Michael Idvorsky Pupin, Augustus Schermerhorn, and, of course, Harvey Seeley Mudd.

Undergraduate students whose scholarship places them in the top eighth of their class in their next-to-last year or in the top fifth of their class in their last college year are eligible for membership consideration. These scholastically eligible students are further considered on the basis of personal integrity, breadth of interest both inside and outside engineering, adaptability, and unselfish activity. Benefits of membership include exclusive scholarships and fellowships. Many networking opportunities for jobs and internships are also available, with 230 collegiate chapters and more than 500,000 members in Tau Beta Pi.

Taking Graduate Courses as an Undergraduate Student & Advanced Standing

With the faculty adviser’s approval, a student may take graduate courses while still an undergraduate in the School. Such work may be credited toward one of the graduate degrees offered by the Engineering Faculty, subject to the following conditions:

  1. the course must be accepted as part of an approved graduate program of study;
  2. the course must not have been used to fulfill a requirement for the B.S. degree and must be so certified by Engineering Student Affairs; and
  3. the amount of graduate credit earned by an undergraduate cannot exceed 15 points.

Undergraduates may not take CVN courses.

The Bachelor of Science Degree

Students who complete a four-year sequence of prescribed study are awarded the Bachelor of Science degree. The general requirement for the Bachelor of Science degree is the completion of a minimum of 128 academic credits with a minimum cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of 2.0 (C) at the time of graduation. The program requirements, specified elsewhere in this bulletin, include the first-year/sophomore course requirements, the major departmental requirements, and technical and nontechnical elective requirements. Students who wish to transfer points of credit may count no more than 68 transfer points toward the degree and must satisfy the University’s residence requirements by taking at least 60 points of credit while enrolled in The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. Courses may not be repeated for credit unless it is stated otherwise in the course description.

The bachelor’s degree in engineering and applied science earned at Columbia University prepares students to enter a wide range of professions. Students are, however, encouraged to consider graduate work, at least to the master’s degree level, which is increasingly considered necessary for many professional careers.

The Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET, an organization formed by the major engineering professional societies, accredits university engineering programs on a nationwide basis. Completion of an accredited program of study is usually the first step toward a professional engineering license. Advanced study in engineering at a graduate school sometimes presupposes the completion of an accredited program of undergraduate study.

The following undergraduate programs are accredited by the EAC of ABET: biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, earth and environmental engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering.

Minors

Columbia Engineering undergraduates may choose to add minors to their programs. This choice should be made in the fall of their sophomore year, when they also decide on a major.

In considering a minor, students must understand that not all minors are available to all students. Additionally, no class substitutions are permitted when completing a minor. The potential for the successful completion of a minor depends on the student’s major and the minor chosen, as well as the course schedules and availability, which may change from year to year. The list of minors, as well as their requirements, can be found in the Undergraduate Minors section.