Information on the Pre-Engineering Program at UWEC

Overview:  The pre-engineering program at UW-Eau Claire consists of four semesters of study including the beginning science and math courses which are required in all engineering specialties.  During this time students take approximately 15 credits per semester, so at the end of four semesters they should have about 60 credits of college work.  Following their four semesters at UW-Eau Claire, students transfer to an engineering school to finish the specialized course work required to obtain a degree in the engineering field that they have chosen.  Engineering schools in the region include the University of Minnesota, UW-Madison, UW-Platteville, UW-Milwaukee, Marquette University, and the Milwaukee School of Engineering. 

Quality of the UW-Eau Claire Program :  On average students who have gone through the pre-engineering program at UW-Eau Claire perform better academically at UW-Madison than those from any other pre-engineering program in the state.  In recent years, on average, students from Eau Claire maintained their grade point averages after transferring to UW-Madison.

Class Size:  Class sizes for beginning courses at Eau Claire are typically much smaller than those at larger universities and courses are taught exclusively by faculty members rather than graduate assistants.  These two factors allow nurturing one-on-one relationships to develop between students and faculty members.

Requirements for Admission to Engineering School Programs:
Grade Point Average:  Each engineering program at a given school will have minimum grade point average (GPA) requirements for acceptance of transfer students.  Currently UW-Madison standards are averaging an overall GPA of 3.0 to 3.2 and a math and science GPA of 2.5.  GPA requirements are subject to change, so a student should be in contact with his or her adviser to be aware of the current standards in a particular program.

Science and Math:  All engineering schools require a basic core of mathematics, physics, and chemistry courses.

• Math 114 (Calculus I), Math 215 (Calculus II), and Math 216 (Calculus III).  Math 255 (Statics) and Math 256 (Dynamics) are also required for mechanical, civil,  and related areas of engineering.  Math 312 (Differential Equations and Linear Algebra) may also be required by some engineering schools.  Some students may have to begin with Math 112 (Precalculus), depending on their math placement scores. 
  
  

• Physics 231 (University Physics I) and Physics 232 (University Physics II).  Physics 332 (University Physics III) is required for electrical engineering and is strongly recommended for all other areas of engineering. 
  
  

• Chemistry 103 (General Chemistry) or Chemistry 115 (Chemical Principles).  Both Chemistry 101 and Chemistry 104 are required for some civil engineering programs.
  
  

• Students should consult an advisor before registering for computer science courses to ensure that the course being considered will satisfy the computer science requirement for a particular program. Currently, CS 163 (C++) will meet the computing requirement for Electrical Engineering at UW-Madison.. CS 163 is recommended for other pre-engineers with programming experience in a structured language. 
  
  

• Additional math or science electives may be required.  Typical courses include Math 255 (Statics) and Math 256 (Dynamics) which are required for mechanical, civil, and similar areas of engineering,  Math 324 (Linear Algebra),  and Math 345 (Intro to Probability and Mathematical Statistics).  Students going on to UW-Madison should consult Madison’s booklet, “Tips for Transfers.”

English and Communication:  Most engineering schools have English requirements.

• English 110 (Introduction to College Writing).  Although some students test out of this requirement,    it  is recommended that all pre-engineers take English 110.  If your score is high enough to test out of English 110 and you elect not to take it, you must have your placement scores sent to the engineering school to which you are transferring.  Placement scores are not automatically sent with your records.
  
  

• Communication 202 (Fundamentals of Speech) is strongly recommended.

General Education:  General education requirements vary from one engineering school to another and from one engineering program to another.  It is possible to satisfy the general education requirements of an engineering program while at UW-Eau Claire.  Students should consult with their advisers to ensure that a particular Eau Claire course will be accepted by the engineering program that they intend to transfer into after they leave UW-Eau Claire. A few engineering programs require Economics 103 (Microeconomics).

Suggested Course Schedule for Students with “Good Preparation”
(“Good Preparation” = Already taken precalculus or calculus in high school and math placement test permits enrollment in Math 114)

 Suggested Course Schedule* for Students with “Average Preparation”
(Average Preparation = Start at or repeat Precalculus) 

Additional Notes:  If the pre-engineering requirements for a particular engineering school and program are met at UW-Eau Claire, then a student can transfer directly into that program at the engineering school. Students can also transfer from UW-Eau Claire to another university at any time but they may not be admitted directly into the engineering school unless the pre-engineering requirements have been met.  (Transferring to another university does not necessarily mean transferring to that university’s engineering school.) 

The UW-Eau Claire Pre-Engineering Program meets the basic requirements for most engineering schools in the region.  Students interested in specific engineering schools and programs should check with those schools as soon as possible, however, to be sure they meet the requirements for that program. 

Pre-engineering students should be aware that it is unusual to finish an engineering program in eight semesters of full-time study.  The average is about nine semesters and ten is not unusual. 

UW-Madison information:  
Contact person at UW-Madison to answer your transfer questions:

Bonnie Schmidt
Engineering Transfer Student Office
(Admissions/Credit Evaluations)
1150 Engineering Hall
(608)262-4822
schmidt@engr.wisc.edu  

Web Sites:
University of Wisconsin System Transfer Information System: http://www.uwsa.edu/tis
UW-Madison College of Engineering Home Page:  http://www.engr.wisc.edu/
Tips for Transfer: http://www.engr.wisc.edu/students/undergrad/transfer/
PDF of transfer guide: http://studentservices.engr.wisc.edu/transfer/tips/
UW-Madison Liberal Studies for Engineering: http://studentservices.engr.wisc.edu/transfer/tips/TipsForTransfers2008.pdf#page=10

University of Minnesota information (Twin Cities Campus) 

                Contact person to answer transfer questions:

                             Benjamin G. Sharpe
                    Director of Admissions
                    Institute of Technology
                    105 Lind Hall
                    207 Church Street S.E.
                    Minneapolis, MN 55455
                    (612)624-8504
                    sharp003@tc.umn.edu 

                   Web Sites:
                   UM-Twin Cities Institute of Technology: http://www.it.umn.edu/
                   Transfer Students:  http://it.umn.edu/prospective/transfer.html
                   Transfer Requirements:  http://admissions.tc.umn.edu/admissioninfo/trans_requirements.html#it
                   UM-Twin Cities Liberal Studies: http://onestop.umn.edu/onestop/Registration/  
    

Addmissions for the University of Minnesota can be found at  http://www.it.umn.edu/admissions/index.html

The suggested "technical" courses students should complete before applying for transfer can be found by following the following link.
Admissions->Transfer Students->Transferring Credits-> From Liberal education course transfer guides choose non MN then UWEC
http://160.94.12.56/CLE%20Guides-NonMN/UWis-Eau%20Claire%28SEM%29.doc

For the Liberal Education requirements and the UWEC classes that transfer go to:
Admissions->Transfer Students->Transferring Credits-> From Transfer Plans choose Wisconsin then UWEC
http://www.it.umn.edu/prospective/tranplan/Wisconsin/UW_Eau_Claire.doc
             

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