Engineering Programs: Tips and Stats

Smart Choices

Petroleum Engineering. Gas prices have swung wildly, but this discipline is white-hot. Why? The world will be just as thirsty once the economy turns up.

Civil Engineering. The Obama White House promises an economic recovery package heavy with infrastructure projects. Your country needs you.

Insider Tip

How do you succeed during your master's years in a world of aspiring Ph.D.'s? Agitate. Gently. To put it bluntly, says Christopher Hall, a professor of aerospace engineering at Virginia Tech, master's-level students aren't necessarily an adviser's top priority. For one thing, there are more of them than there are doctoral candidates, and anyway, professors have their own research to do. Hall's advice?

"It's important for students to, politely, be a little bit pushy with an adviser.... If you don't demand attention, you might not get it."

Getting In

Make Contact. Faculty members have a "huge say" in who gets into engineering graduate schools, says Paul Peercy, dean of engineering at the University of Wisconsin. So check websites to see what kinds of research faculty members are doing, and identify topics that interest you—then dig a little deeper into them.

If possible, schedule appointments. "Personal contact can't hurt you," Peercy says. "It says something about a student's character and interest level."

Show Original Thinking. Do some independent study in your junior or senior year of college. After all, says Wei Shyy, a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan, grad school gives you the chance to own a piece of research. "We want to see a taste of independent thinking," says Shyy.

Letters Count. Grad schools place considerable emphasis on letters of recommendation. "Get to know your faculty well, so a few will be willing to write letters for you," says Thomas Farris, head of aerospace engineering at Purdue University.

Reality Check

• Increase in doctoral degrees awarded, past year: 8.5 percent. Increase in doctoral degrees awarded, past five years: 57 percent
• Top master's engineering discipline: electrical, 5,026 degrees. Second: computer science (within engineering), 4,913. Third: mechanical, 4,485
• Most popular doctoral discipline: electrical/computer, 1,234 degrees. Second: mechanical, 1,161. Third: electrical, 1,064
• Average starting salary for engineers with master's: $56,033. With doctorates: $76,956. With 10 to 14 years' experience: $85,544

Reality Check Sources: American Society for Engineering Education (2008 Report); National Society for Professional Engineers (2008 Data)