Universities in the US offer the same breadth and depth of engineering courses as the UK, if not more. Generally, 6 of the top 8 engineering schools are from the US, while 2 are from the UK. The main difference between the 2 educational systems is that the coursework is more theoretical in the UK and more practical in the US.

Great US Engineering schools

Do note that these are general rankings, each school has their own specialties and thus have different strengths. It is best to check out the specific course you're keen on. However, these general rankings also reflect the overall strength of the engineering programs, for example, MIT is probably no. 1 or 2 in most engineering disciplines. The nature of the system in the US is that you don't choose your concentration until the end of your sophmore year (2nd year out of 4 years), so you're free to explore for 2 years before you finally decide what you want to concentrate on. There are many other schools where you can get a great Engineering education too, and schools that may not have engineering as a forte may make up for that in other areas such as business.

Special Programs in Engineering

Some schools offer interdisciplinary programs which comprise of Engineering courses as well as others, namely Business or Entreprensurship. These courses prepare students to be engineering leaders and not just good engineers per se. I shall share some information on 2 courses here:

University of Pennsylvania's Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology (M&T)

Students enrolled in the M&T Program pursue degrees from both schools concurrently, creating a true interdisciplinary learning experience. This combination enables our students not only to understand engineering and business concepts, but also to understand the integration of the two and how this intersection distinctively shapes our world.  

M&T students pursue a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School and either a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) or a Bachelor of Applied Science in Engineering (BAS) from Penn Engineering. The curriculum builds on the strengths of these prominent professional schools and on the respected faculty of Arts and Sciences to provide a true Ivy League experience with a blend of educational and research opportunities. 

The program is well known for being highly selective and extremely rigorous at the undergraduate level, integrating aspects of both the business and the technical worlds. The majority of program graduates choose careers in either investment banking or management consulting upon graduation though a number follow other career paths in the technology, nonprofit, entrepreneurial and medical professions.

Student Profiles

Brown University's Special Engineering Programs

Bachelor of Arts in Engineering with a focus in Environmental Studies

This program is offered in cooperation with the Environmental Studies Program and is intended for students who want to prepare for positions and/or graduate programs in environmental policy, planning, and regulation.

Bachelor of Arts in Commerce, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship (COE)

The COE Program is a new multidisciplinary, multi-track undergraduate concentration in Commerce, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship, offered for the first time in the fall of 2005. Sponsored by the Departments of Economics and Sociology, and the Division of Engineering, this concentration offers students a coordinated, integrated, and synergistic approach to teaching and learning about commerce, organizational theory, entrepreneurship, and technological innovation. COE places specific emphasis on the formation, growth, and organization of new ventures, innovation in commercial applications, financial markets and the marketplace, and management and organizational theory. Students will learn the methodological approaches of economics, sociology, engineering, and entrepreneurship to study for-profit and nonprofit enterprises in the national and global economic context. 

Students focus their course of study on one of the following three tracks within the program:

• Business Economics

• Organizational Studies

• Entrepreneurship and Technology Management

Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts 

Students who wish to combine the study of engineering with study in the arts, humanities, or social sciences can arrange a five-year program leading to an Sc.B. in Engineering and an A.B. in a non-technical field.

Undergraduate Teacher Education Program

For students interested in a career in education, the Division of Engineering and Department of Education has established an Undergraduate Teacher Education Program for students concentrating in any of the engineering disciplines (A.B. or Sc.B.).

Architecture & Engineering

Students contemplating the possibility of pursuing a degree in architecture after finishing their undergraduate program at Brown can prepare themselves by taking selected courses in Visual Arts, Engineering, and History of Art and Architecture at Brown, as well as certain courses at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).