Engineering is one of today's fastest growing fields. In a world of rapid technological change, it is the engineer who must apply scientific innovations to construction methods, computer design, and other areas that vitally affect our daily lives. And as technology becomes more complicated, engineering becomes more diverse, with specialized branches in civil, mechanical, electrical, industrial, and chemical engineering.
The Coordinated Program at Brooklyn College prepares students for these opportunities through an innovative curriculum. Mathematics and science courses at Brooklyn provide a strong foundation for students who later transfer to junior status at a coordinated school of engineering. The college's widely praised liberal arts curriculum meets the requirements of engineering schools, while giving students the broad intellectual background needed for leadership in the industry. Moreover, the Coordinated Program enables students to earn a bachelor of science degree in engineering from a private engineering school at nearly half the usual expense.
The coordinated program with Polytechnic University, one of the oldest engineering schools in the United States, permits students to attend Brooklyn College for two years, taking part in its specially designed coordinated curriculum, and then have guaranteed transfer, as juniors, to Polytechnic for their final two years of study. Students can obtain a bachelor of science degree in the same amount of time it would take at a four-year engineering school. Under a similar arrangement, students in the program may choose to transfer as juniors to the City College School of Engineering or to College of Staten Island
Students in the Coordinated Program are instructed by the internationally recognized faculty of Brooklyn College, one of the nation's leading public institutions of higher education. The science faculty receives nearly two million dollars a year in research grants. The Physics Department, which administers the interdisciplinary Coordinated Program, alone generates about $750,000 annually in grants and contracts from government and industrial sources to support research in the basic and applied sciences. The department is widely known for its strength in materials science, solid-state physics, and nuclear physics research. 'The Departments of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Computer and Information Science, Geology, and Mathematics conduct research in conjunction with the college's Applied Sciences Institute. Several of these departments, including the Physics Department, actively participate in the City University doctoral program by offering on-campus research and instruction.
Coordinated students also benefit from the nationally acclaimed liberal arts education they receive during their two years at Brooklyn College. Our excellence in this area was recognized in a report by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, which cited Brooklyn, along with Harvard, among the five institutions most frequently named by academic deans as a place where general education is succeeding. A recent survey conducted by U. S. News & World Report ranked Brooklyn among the top four comprehensive colleges in the eastern United States.
The program
During their first two years in the program,
students follow a 71-credit course of
study that provides a solid foundation for the more advanced courses they will
encounter in engineering school. Such courses as "Mechanics" for engineers and
"Electrical Circuits" for engineers were specially designed as equivalents to those
offered in engineering school. The program is so constructed that not only are 68
to 69 of the credits fully transferable to the degree programs of the participating institutions,
but all the courses are equated to required courses at these institutions.
Students complete required mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computer science courses, as well as all of the liberal arts courses required for the engineering degree, including English. In fact, if a student should decide not to pursue engineering, the college's liberal arts curriculum allows a smooth transition to any of the seventy-five majors available at Brooklyn College.
Completion of the Coordinated Program with an index of 2.5 or better in mathematics and science courses guarantees that a student can transfer to junior status in one of the engineering degree programs at Polytechnic University. Students who complete this program with a general index of 2.0 or better are guaranteed transfer as juniors to the City College Engineering School or to College of Staten Island. The final two years of the program take place at one of these institutions, where students work toward a bachelor of science degree in the branch of engineering they choose. Students transferring to Polytechnic usually enroll for an additional five credits at the institution the summer before their junior year. Upon enrollment at Polytechnic University, College of Staten Island, or at City College Engineering School, students are eligible to receive financial aid based on family need, as well as scholarships, on the same basis as other continuing students at these institutions.
Students enrolled in this comprehensive program, however, are not restricted to attending the participating institutions. Many Brooklyn College students elect to pursue their engineering degrees at other schools throughout the nation, including such institutions as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Colorado.
A warm, friendly environment
Attending the Coordinated Program at Brooklyn College not only reduces the expense of engineering school; it also provides small classes and individual
counseling that help students adjust to the rigors of an engineering curriculum. Unlike most
engineering schools, where students often attend introductory classes in vast lecture
halls with hundreds of students to a class, classes at Brooklyn College rarely exceed
thirty-five students.
Counseling is an integral part of the coordinated student's years at Brooklyn College. Each student is assigned a faculty mentor to assist in planning a program of study and to provide advice and counseling if the student experiences difficulties. The program fosters a warm and friendly atmosphere in which to learn.
Students in the program also receive the support of the student-run Coordinated Club. The club supplements formal course work with informal educational opportunities. The club's regular activities include tours of manufacturing and design facilities at Grumman, Lockheed, IBM, Singer, AT&T Bell Laboratories, Bendix, RCA, and other corporate plants. The club also invites deans and professors from engineering schools to speak on campus.
Academic facilities
At Brooklyn College, coordinated students benefit from hands-on experience in the sophisticated instructional laboratories maintained by the Physics, Chemistry ,Biology, and Geology Departments. Experiments are enhanced by the online computer device-interfaced laboratories of
the Physics Department. In many cases, students assist faculty members in conducting government- and industry-
supported research. The college's Dynamitron Particle Accelerator facility, as well as its Material Sciences Laboratories, are used as research training facilities by qualified undergraduates and by graduate students.
The college's Computer Center is one of the largest data-processing facilities in the City University system. The 120-workstation center consists of microcomputers and terminals that provide access to the IBM 4381 mainframe at Brooklyn College, as well as to the central City University IBM 3084 mainframe and Amdahl VS-6, which is one of the finest academic computing facilities in the nation.
The Brooklyn College Library contain approximately 915,000 volumes and more that 3,000 periodicals in the sciences, social sciences, and the humanities. The library offers computerized searching of all databases available through the National Library of Medicine, Bibliographic Retrieval Services, and Dialog. Students may also use the other libraries of the City University system.
Application and matriculation requirements
Applicants to the Coordinated Program at Brooklyn College are considered for admission on the basis of their high school academic average, their high school graduating
class ranking, or their SAT scores. High school students planning to enter the
Coordinated Program should complete Regents chemistry, twelfth-year mathematics,
and twelfth-year English while in high school. In addition, courses in biology, computer science,
and physics are recommended. Advanced placement credit will be given for college-level courses. Upon
entering the college, students whose high school mathematics skills are not adequate
preparation for Mathematics 3.3 (Calculus I) begin their coordinated studies with
Mathematics 2.9 (Precalculus). Students who have not successfully completed a
Regents chemistry course in high school are required to take Chemistry 1.I as their
first chemistry course at the college. Students are admitted on a rolling basis; however, they
are encouraged to apply by January 15 for fall-term admission and by October 1 for spring-term admission.
Once admitted to the college, coordinated students will be contacted by a faculty member who will help
them plan their programs.
For more information
For additional information about the program, please call or write:
Office of the Preengineering Coordinator.
3438 Ingersoll Hall.
Telephone: (718) 951-5785.
Applications may be obtained from the
Office of Admissions
1602 James Hall
Brooklyn College
2900 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11210
Telephone: (718) 951-5001