Has your student decided to come to Georgia Tech to become an engineer? One question they may have is “what kind of engineer?” With eight engineering schools on campus, there are a variety of choices so it is not uncommon for many students to begin their careers at Tech as an undeclared engineering major.

Like many choices students must make during the college years, making the decision of what to major in while at Tech can be a difficult one for many students, which is why the College of Engineering offers a Freshman Engineering Seminar. The seminar is designed to expose students to the engineering profession and undergraduate degree programs at Tech as well as to help them focus on career options.

During the first year, many of the classes are common core courses, so being an undeclared major is not an issue. However, for some majors, such as chemical and biomolecular engineering, students are required to take pre-requisite courses and students are strongly urged to declare as early as possible. To help ensure that students can take the needed courses toward their major, pre-requisite classes may be restricted or given preference to students in certain majors. “While we try to work it out for the students, there are times when a student may have to wait a semester or two to get a class if they have not declared a major, ” says Larry Jacobs, associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Engineering. “If a major looks interesting, we do encourage a student to go ahead and declare.”

Students can remain undeclared for up to two years or 60 hours. “The best piece of advice I can give, is if you think you like a field, go ahead and declare your major. You can switch and many students do, but this may make a difference in getting a class that you want or need,” advises Jacobs. “In the meantime, students looking for more information should take advantage of advisors on campus, talk to other engineering students or a faculty member, and explore several resources that can help match your interests to an engineering field.”

To explore engineering fields and jobs go to: www.discoverengineering.org; www.careercornerstone.org, or www.asee.org. To talk with an adviser contact Dr. Jane Weyant, jane.weyant@coe.gatech.edu.

For more information on the College of Engineering, visit www.coe.gatech.edu.