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Mathematics/Engineering

  • Bachelor of Arts

The Mathematics/Engineering Program

The 3-2 Mathematics/Engineering program is a dual-degree program. A graduate from this five-year program earns two degrees: a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics/Engineering from Saint Vincent College and a Bachelor of Science in a selected engineering discipline one of our partner schools:

Pennsylvania State University*
University of Pittsburgh
The Catholic University of America

The B.S. degree programs offered through partner schools include civil, mechanical, chemical, electrical, industrial, mining, petroleum, aerospace, bioengineering, metallurgical and computer engineering.

Undergraduate Programs

Why Should I Enroll in This Program?

This program is ideal for students who want to start their engineering education at a small college before transferring to a larger university. The small classes sizes and mentoring by Engineering faculty at Saint Vincent College will ensure that you have a strong foundation in engineering to succeed at a larger university. Graduates from this program tell us that they were well-prepared for their final two years of study at our partner institutions.

*As of the spring of 2015, Biological Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Energy Engineering, Engineering Science (Honors Program), Environmental Systems Engineering, General Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering and Mining Engineering are the majors available at Penn State. 

Curriculum Requirements

  • Major Requirements

    Major Requirements (97 credits)
    (11 of these satisfy Core Curriculum requirements)
    The student must complete the requirements listed in the following categories:

    Engineering, Math, and Science Requirements: at least 58 credits

    ENGR 100 Introduction to Engineering - 2 credits
    ENGR 222 Engineering Graphics and Design - 3 credits
    ENGR 223 Statics - 3 credits
    ENGR 224 Dynamics - 3 credits

    Two ENGR electives; one elective can be CH 221/CH 223 Organic Chemistry I + Lab – at least 6 credits

    CS 110 C++ Programming I (Pitt)
         or CS 270  Introduction to Numerical Computation (Penn State) - 3 credits
    MA 111 Calculus I - 4 credits
    MA 112 Calculus II - 4 credits
    MA 211 Calculus III - 4 credits
    MA 212 Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations - 4 credits
    MA 251 Linear Algebra - 3 credits
    MA 311 Probability and Statistics - 3 credits
    CH 101 General Chemistry I - 3 credits
    CH 103 General Chemistry I Lab - 1 credit
    CH 102 General Chemistry II  - 3 credits
    CH 104 General Chemistry II Lab - 1 credit
    PH 111 General Physics I - 3 credits

    PH 113 General Physics I Lab - 1 credit
    PH 112 General Physics II - 3 credits
    PH 114 General Physics II Lab - 1 credit

    Core Curriculum Requirements: 39 credits*
    EL 102 Language and Rhetoric - 3 credits

    Any English course (Pitt) or EL 108 Technical Writing (Penn State) – 3 credits

    EC 101 Microeconomics - 3 credits

    Foreign Language (intermediate level) - 6 credits

    History (100-level) course – 3 credits

    History (200-level) course – 3 credits

    Any Music or Fine Arts course - 3 credits
    PL 101 First Philosophy - 3 credits
    PL 215 Ethics (Pitt) or another philosophy course - 3 credits

    Social Science elective; CA 120 Public Presentation (Required for Penn State) - 3 credits - 3 credits

    TH 119 First Theology - 3 credits
    Theology elective - 3 credits
    * There are 50 credit hours of Core Curriculum requirements, but 11 of those are satisfied by the Math and Science courses listed below. 

  • Typical Freshman Schedule

    Fall
    ENGR 100 Introduction to Engineering - 2 credits
    MA 111 Calculus I - 4 credits
    CH 101 General Chemistry I - 3 credits
    CH 103 General Chemistry I Laboratory - 1 credit
    EL 102 Language & Rhetoric - 3 credits
    First Year Seminar - 1 credit
    Core Curriculum Course - 3 credits

    Spring
    ENGR 115 Introduction to Engineering Computation or CS 110 C++ Programming I - 3 credits
    MA 112 Calculus II - 4 credits
    PH 111 General Physics I - 3 credits
    PH 113 General Physics I Laboratory - 1 credit
    TH 109 First Theology - 3 credits
    Core Curriculum Course - 3 credits

Program Highlights

Unique features of the 3-2 Math/Engineering Degree

  • Curriculum – Saint Vincent College, in conjunction with several University Schools of Engineering, offers a five-­year cooperative liberal arts and engineering program. The student normally spends three years at Saint Vincent College, during which time a student’s stud­ies concentrate on liberal arts subjects and the general science prerequisites for an engineering major. In addition, SVC’s program gives students the opportunity to take several engineering courses during the first three years to provide an introduction to the discipline and to ease the transition to the partner institutions. The students spend the fourth and fifth years at the engineering college, which fulfills the remaining engineering require­ments.   
  • Facilities – James F. Will Engineering and Biomedical Sciences Hall – In April 2016, ground was broken on the $4.5 million hall with an anticipated completion date of fall 2017. The 2nd floor will provide space for Saint Vincent’s engineering programs including a state-of-the-art classroom and laboratory in addition to faculty offices.  This is the fifth building in the Sis and Herman Dupré Science Pavilion.  The Pavilion also includes a Machine Shop used by Engineering and Physics students in their laboratory and project courses.
  • Success – The 3-2 Math/Engineering program prepares students for employment immediately after completing their degree or for entry into graduate school.  Graduates of the 3/2 Math/Engineering program have been successful in finding employment and attending graduate school.  Recent graduates of that program have entered the PhD program at MIT and pursued Master’s programs at the University of Pittsburgh.  Graduates of both engineering programs (Engineering and 3-2 Math/Engineering) find employment in the engineering field before or shortly after graduation.  Recent graduates have been employed by Schlumberger, Bettis Laboratories, Westinghouse, the Naval Surface Warfare Center and Westmoreland Mechanical Testing & Research and they are working as project engineers, assistant project managers and transportation construction engineers.

Program Learning Objectives

Mathematics/Engineering Program Objectives

The program, in conjunction with the Saint Vincent College liberal arts emphasis and its core curriculum, has the following education objectives:

  1. Establish the foundation of liberal arts, mathematics, and science tools at Saint Vincent College to enable a successful engineering education at a partner institution.
  2. Expose students to select engineering courses to nurture, support, and reinforce their interest in the engineering discipline.
  3. Foster well-rounded individuals by uniting math and science with the liberal arts, in preparation for a wide variety of engineering disciplines and vocations.

Student Learning Outcomes

To ensure that our 3-2 Mathematics/Engineering students attain the program educational objectives, the curriculum of the program is designed so that students have the following abilities at the time of transfer to the cooperating engineering institution:

  1. An ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics
  2. An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies
  3. An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
  4. An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts

Affiliations

Saint Vincent College is affiliated with the following Schools of Engineering:

  • Pennsylvania State University
  • University of Pittsburgh
  • The Catholic University of America

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