At Scripps, students are given the freedom and support to pursue whatever subjects interest them. With the 3-2 Engineering Program, operated through the W.M. Keck Science Department, students at Scripps and across The Claremont Colleges can earn bachelor’s degrees from two different schools, in two disparate fields.
Scripps students enrolled in the program spend three years on campus, where they earn their Bachelor of Arts degrees, and then apply to their choice of engineering schools in the U.S., where, after two years of study, they earn their Bachelor of Engineering degrees. Graduates of the program work for world-renowned companies such as Tesla and Google; they use their varied skills to design bridges or develop medical technologies; and they can be found across the U.S. and abroad, in locations including Amsterdam, Sydney, and Singapore, to name a few.
The program appeals to students who want a strong liberal arts education in addition to applied engineering and technology skills. Professor of Physics James Higdon, head of the 3-2 Program, says, “Engineering schools don’t offer anything resembling the Scripps Humanities Core Program, and for many students it’s worth an extra year to have that opportunity, while still pursuing an engineering degree.”
Cameron Statton ’16 finished her third year at Scripps last spring and was recently accepted to the engineering program at Columbia University in New York. Statton says when choosing which college to enroll in after high school, she felt instantly at home at Scripps, yet it was the College’s 3-2 Engineering Program that clinched her decision.
“I love the feel of a liberal arts college, but they don’t usually offer engineering degrees. Fortunately, because I was able to get both at Scripps, I discovered so many interests outside of engineering along the way.”
The main benefit of a 3-2–style program, Statton observes, is that it makes you a well-rounded and versatile engineer, student, and person. While companies primarily focus on the technical skills of entry-level applicants, higher-level positions require the kind of creative thinking and social skills that are developed as part of a diverse education. And, with the rise in tech start-ups and new fields emerging within engineering, the program has become increasingly popular.
And that popularity, Professor Higdon has found, has dramatically shifted the demographics of the program. He estimates women used to make up one third of participants, and now they account for more than half of the major’s student enrollment. Furthermore, while the majority of women used to opt for biomedical engineering programs, they are now pursuing everything from computer, to chemical, to financial engineering.
“The Scripps women are such an asset to this program and carry a unique perspective with them from their humanities coursework,” Higdon says.