What is a general engineering degree?
Official degree titles often say Engineering, with General Engineering used to describe the program's broad approach. Swarthmore awards every engineering major a B.S. in Engineering. Olin offers Engineering as one of three distinct engineering degrees. Seattle Pacific's catalog names its qualification B.S. in General Engineering.
At another university, the words general engineering may describe an introductory or undeclared stage before students select a major. Read the graduation requirements and final award title. A complete degree should have its own advanced coursework and culminating requirements.
What will you study in general engineering?
The core commonly brings several kinds of analysis into the same degree. For a concrete example, JMU's required curriculum includes solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics and heat transfer, circuits, materials and computational methods. Mathematics and science support that technical work, while design courses ask you to apply it.
The balance varies. Harvey Mudd organizes its major around engineering science, systems, and design and professional practice. Compare course descriptions with the problems you enjoy. Someone interested in testing a physical prototype may want a different elective sequence from someone drawn to computational modeling.
General engineering concentrations and technical depth
Concentrations organize your advanced courses around a subject without necessarily changing the awarded degree. Wake Forest states this directly and requires a focused set of technical electives for a concentration. Trinity also permits an approved B.S. elective plan without a named concentration.
For an interest in automation, compare controls, computing, electronics and mechanical design across the available plans. This mechatronics versus electrical engineering comparison helps frame that choice. Bring an initial course list to an adviser and discuss how the courses connect, when they run and what preparation they require.
What project work should you expect?
Read the capstone requirements closely. A course title alone tells you little about the work. Trinity's description specifies a yearlong process covering design criteria, alternatives, implementation and testing. Olin's SCOPE program involves multidisciplinary teams working with industry sponsors across an academic year.
Also look earlier in the curriculum. Repeated design courses and experiments help you build skills before the final project. Elizabethtown places community, junior and senior projects in its requirements and includes an internship. When comparing schools, distinguish required experiences from opportunities you would need to arrange.
Plan admission, credits and the full cost
Map the route into the major as well as the route out. Swarthmore typically reviews engineering-major applications in sophomore spring; JMU requires full admission before students advance beyond its engineering prerequisites. For a transfer applicant, the order of those courses can be as consequential as the number of credits accepted.
Check whether a published credit total covers the major or the entire bachelor's degree. Seattle Pacific's general engineering catalog identifies a major minimum, while JMU lists a complete 129-credit degree. Use the engineering degree cost guide to organize tuition, required fees, living expenses and the semesters you expect to attend.
Should you choose general or specialized engineering?
Choose from the actual course plans. A broad degree may make sense when you want to connect disciplines and can identify the electives or concentration that support your intended work. A specialized major may suit you when you want most advanced study to follow one established branch of engineering.
Compare the reviewed general engineering programs with the mechanical engineering degree guide and electrical engineering degree guide. Examine exact program accreditation, final projects and prerequisites for any graduate programs you might pursue. Your completed coursework and demonstrated work will give substance to whichever degree title you choose.
Questions, answered
What else should you know?
Is general engineering the same as an undeclared engineering major?
A completed general engineering bachelor's has its own graduation requirements. An undeclared entry pathway leads toward a later major choice. Check the university's degree catalog to determine which meaning applies.
Can I specialize without changing majors?
Often, yes. Olin offers Engineering concentrations and individual plans; Swarthmore organizes specialization through electives. The exact courses, approval process and academic-record wording depend on the program.
Will every employer accept a general engineering degree?
Hiring requirements vary by role. Compare job descriptions for the work you want with the program's coursework, tools and projects. Choose electives and experiences that let you demonstrate the requested technical skills.
What should I bring to an engineering advising meeting?
Bring your transcript, a draft semester plan, the concentration or elective courses that interest you, and examples of work or graduate study you might pursue. Discuss prerequisite sequences, course availability and the final design project.
Sources & further reading
School-specific sources are listed with each program. These references support the guidance on this page.
- FAQs :: Engineering :: Swarthmore College · Checked 2026-09-05
- Majors + Concentrations | Olin College of Engineering | Olin College of Engineering · Checked 2026-09-05
- Engineering, B.S. | James Madison University Academic Catalog · Checked 2026-09-05
- Engineering Degree Requirements | Engineering | Harvey Mudd College · Checked 2026-09-05
- Engineering, B.S. < Wake Forest University · Checked 2026-09-05
- BS-ENGR Program | Trinity College Catalog · Checked 2026-09-05
- SCOPE (Senior Capstone Program in Engineering) | Olin College of Engineering · Checked 2026-09-05
- Program: Engineering (B.S.) - Elizabethtown College · Checked 2026-09-05
- Program: Engineering - Swarthmore College · Checked 2026-09-05
- General Engineering (BS) | Seattle Pacific University Academic Catalog · Checked 2026-09-05
- Mechatronics vs Electrical Engineering (2026) · Checked 2026-09-05