First year of enginnering?

Question

is it true that in most universities in the US and Canada that all first year engineering students regardless if they want to have a mechanical or chemical degree take all the same courses. Then after the first year they chose their specialty, whether it be electrical, mechanical, chemical. ect

thanks

Answer 1

In the US that is true for the most part, I took one class in the last half of my freshman year that was specialized but that is not the norm.  Expect to take Chem, Physics, Calc, some type of English (composition) and probably some S&H elective like Psyc.  Hopefully your college makes you take an engineering seminar where they talk about all the different kinds so you can get an idea of what you want to do.

I stayed with my major but lots of other folks changed in their soph or even Junior year, most classes apply across.  Only maybe half of the classes you will take will be "major" ones, the rest can be for anything

Answer 2

Typically there is an "engineering core" which is quite generic. It may not be EXACTLY the same for all engineers; for instance I have noticed some differences between my program, civil engineering, and electrical engineering. But they are reasonably similar and if you decide to change after one year you will probably not have too much to catch up on. (I'm at Concordia University, Montreal.)

Answer 3

most universities only have first semester same. Then all courses change. However some universities allow students to take transition courses if switching to a popular engineering program such as mechanical or electrical engineering program.