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Pre-Engineering Program at VWC
New agreement with Old Dominion University expands opportunities for Wesleyan students planning careers in engineering
By Laynee Timlin | January 26, 2012
Virginia Wesleyan College has recently entered into an agreement with Old Dominion University that provides students the opportunity to earn both a Bachelor of Science degree from VWC and a master†s degree in civil, environmental, mechanical, electrical, computer, aerospace engineering or modeling and simulation from ODU.
Students in this newly articulated program would enroll at Virginia Wesleyan and take several pre-determined undergraduate engineering courses at ODU. VWC Associate Professor of Mathematics Dr. Margaret Reese was the catalyst for this agreement.
†Over the last several years some students in the calculus classes have expressed an interest in engineering as a career,†says Reese. †In addition, potential students who have visited our campus during VWC Days have also expressed a desire to study engineering. By having this program option, students interested in engineering can stay at Virginia Wesleyan to earn their bachelor†s degree and continue to pursue an engineering career by continuing their studies at Old Dominion.â€
The Master of Engineering program is designed to require approximately 12 months to complete assuming full-time graduate status. A Master of Science degree would take longer (typically 18 months) because of the thesis research associated with the degree.
†This is the only program that I know about in which students enrolled at a liberal arts college without an engineering program can take engineering courses while in residence at the liberal arts college,†says Reese. †Most programs like this require that students transfer to the engineering school for the senior year. Our students will be able to stay in the Virginia Wesleyan community for the entire undergraduate part of their program.â€
Students interested in declaring pre-engineering at Virginia Wesleyan should schedule a meeting with the pre-engineering advisor through the Registrar†s Office during their first year at VWC.