3 + 2 Engineering Program

Student-athletes from SHU are not guaranteed spots on RPI/Columbia teams but may contact coaches to try out. SHU athletic scholarships will not carry over but student may be eligible for funds from partner school.

After 5 years, you will graduate with 2 bachelors degrees, one from SHU and one from RPI or Columbia. Depending on your exact choice of majors at SHU & at Columbia/RPI, and any AP/transfer credits you enter with, a semester with an overload or some summer coursework may be required.

The SHU degree is awarded based on credits being transferred back from Columbia/RPI (although you will have completed the major requirements for a degree at SHU, you won’t have 120 total credits in just 3 years). Awarding both degrees at the end of 5 years means you remain an undergraduate student for the entire program, ensuring your eligibility for corresponding federal financial aid.

Unlike many other fields, in engineering, Masters degrees are not considered necessary for employment and the pay differential is not high enough to be worth it. Industry experience is valued much more highly, so most engineers get to work right away with a Bachelors degree and, if interested in pursuing a graduate degree, do so after a few years of work experience (and often get the graduate degree paid for by their employer).

The specific combination of two Bachelors degrees that you’ll earn in the 3+2 program (one in a liberal arts discipline, one in and engineering discipline) makes graduates highly sought after by employers – it shows you have both technical credentials and hands-on experience, as well as the oral and written communication skills, problem solving mentality, and understanding of social & historical contexts that a liberal arts background provides. It prepares you to be a leader in an engineering field, not just a technician. And, if you decide in your first or second year that engineering isn’t the right fit for you, you have all the options of a comprehensive liberal arts university to explore.

We will have several co-curricular opportunities throughout your three years at SHU to explore different engineering fields and topics (e.g. visits to local engineering firms, talks from practicing engineers in various disciplines, hands-on design challenges, etc.)

You will pay SHU tuition for the 3 years you are enrolled at SHU, and then pay RPI/Columbia tuition for the 2 years you are enrolled there.

No. Each school administers their own financial aid processes, which you apply for along with your combined plan transfer application. Note that Columbia only offers need-based aid and does not award merit scholarships.

Initially you only need to apply to SHU. You then submit an application to RPI/Columbia.

We encourage you to visit each campus during your 2nd or 3rd year.

Technically, yes - but most students will cater their plan of study to one particular program so may not be eligible for the other.

Yes, you are invited to return to SHU to walk with your “social class”, i.e. after your 4th year of undergraduate studies (although you will not receive your SHU diploma until completion of the entire 3+2 program).