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Resources for Engineering Students: 5 Things You Should Know

Resources to help Engineering students successfully navigate EC, transfer, and more.

Top 5 Things You Need to Know about Engineering Transfer

 

Do you want to know what you didn’t know you needed to know about transferring to a university engineering program? Your Engineering Faculty have shared these insider tips - click through the tabs to learn what you need to know!

Every university has different transfer requirements.

While you’re studying at Edmonds College, you’ll be working toward completing an Associate of Science Transfer degree (AS-T), or any of the specializations of that degree, which are called MEEMCAS (Mechanical, Civil, Aeronautical, Industrial, Materials Science), EECCEAS (Computer and Electrical), or CHEBCAS (Computer and Electrical) in the academic catalog. These degrees have very broad requirements that give you lots of options for elective courses.
 
The best way to decide what courses to take here at Edmonds College is to look ahead to what university you’ll be transferring to and what degree you’ll be working toward when you get there. You can find a list of universities and a list of engineering degree programs in this Resource Guide. Each of these universities and each of these degree programs have different requirements for admission, so it’s worth your time to think about which one you want to transfer into so you know which courses you’ll need to take here at Edmonds College to transfer successfully.
 
All of the programs listed in this Guide are ABET accredited, which brings us to our next tip…

Accreditation and licensing are important for your engineering career.

Becoming a licensed engineer can be very important to your career.  Not only does licensing demonstrate that you are an experienced professional, having a license for engineering in your state is required for some engineering positions in industry and government and also allows you to act as a consultant.  In order to become a licensed engineer, you need three things:
 
So, if you know that an engineering position that requires licensing is in your future, or if you just think it might be, it’s worth it to you to make sure that the degree program you are transferring into is ABET-accredited.

Many universities offer engineering degree programs.

Let’s say you want to design the next ion drive that deep space probes will use to explore the universe, so you’ve decided to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.  The University of Washington Seattle has an ABET-accredited Mechanical Engineering program that is very highly regarded, but did you know that there are eight other Mechanical Engineering programs from universities like Washington State University, Eastern Washington University, and Gonzaga?  All of these degree programs are also ABET-accredited and provide unique opportunities for their undergraduate students to learn and grow as engineers. In addition, each of these universities has different admission and graduation requirements that may assist you in achieving your academic goals.
 
The bottom line: explore your options!  Get a picture of what’s out there so you know where you’ll best be able to succeed.

Math is fundamental to graduating on time.

One of the biggest hurdles to graduating and transferring to a four-year university in two to three years are the math prerequisites for other science and engineering courses.  The more math you know when you enter Edmonds College, the sooner you can take the math, science, and engineering courses that your chosen university requires for transfer admission.  Here’s some tips for maximizing your math potential:
 
  • Get placed in the math course that’s right for you.  The Testing and Assessment Services Office can help you figure out what math class you’ll need to start with when you come to Edmonds College.  Placing you in the proper math class might require you to take the Edmonds College Math Placement Test test, which leads to our next tip…
  • Study for the placement test.  Regardless of whether you took your last math course last month or twenty years ago, it’s worth the time to prepare for the placement test, so that you can sharpen your math skills and get some practice with the kinds of questions the test will ask.  Check out the EdReady Math Placement prep course and sample tests that are provided on the Test Preparation page of the Testing and Assessment Services website.
  • Know your path, including the shortcuts.  A flow chart of the paths through the various math courses at EC can be found on the Placement site for the EC Mathematics Department.  Many of the math, science, and engineering courses you need to transfer require you to take MATH& 151 (Calculus I) before or at the same time as those courses.  So, set your sights on completing MATH& 151! If you’re not quite ready for calculus yet, consider taking MATH 144, which combines MATH& 141 and MATH& 142 (Precalculus I & II) into one quarter, allowing you to finish your precalculus classes faster.

Understand the different degree options that EC offers.

Edmonds College offers an Associate of Science Transfer Degree (AS-T Degree) that you can earn while you’re here at Edmonds College.  The courses you choose to complete this degree should be courses that will either fulfill the requirements of EC or transfer to your chosen university’s engineering degree program.  EC also offers AS-T degrees that allow you to specialize in computer and electrical engineering, bioengineering and chemical engineering, and mechanical, civil, aeronautical, industrial and materials science engineering.  These three degree programs make suggestions about the courses you should take to prepare for those engineering disciplines, but at their core they are all AS-T degrees.
 
Most importantly, the university you are transferring into does not need for you to earn any specific AS-T degree for your major. The easiest one to graduate with only requires 90 credits - just make sure to take the classes that your transfer institution requires for your degree.