Choosing Your Major (T2M for Engineering)

Many First Year Engineering (FYE) students know from the outset what they will pursue. Some may have dreamed of becoming an Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineer (AAE) from their childhood, while others have been fascinated by Formula 1 Racing and Mechanical Engineering (ME). If that’s you, then you are lucky. However, my son wasn’t so sure. He knew he loved STEM but was still undecided about his career choice.

One of the key reasons he chose to attend Purdue (instead of the three universities he got admitted to in Canada) was that Purdue offered the chance to get to know Engineering before committing. The Canadian universities, on the other hand, admitted you directly to a Major and many programs were closed to internal transfer. Even if you could change your major after admission, it was a challenging process and often meant wasting one or two semesters. Thus, Purdue offered him a chance to delay the decision until he got to know the majors better with the FYE General Curriculum. Even for those of you who “know” what major you want before you joined Purdue- I would urge you to keep an open mind. Use the FYE year to get to know the different disciplines, as you may be inadvertently ignoring a major that would have been perfect for you. Throughout FYE, he kept searching for the answer to the question, “What do I want to do?” This is a question most people who start an engineering degree ask themselves. If you are new to engineering, you might not know much of what you are getting yourself into. Not having a clear direction for your studies can feel overwhelming.

You need to make a choice by the time for Transition to Major (T2M) comes around. T2M is an important process that you will undergo during your second semester of FYE, which will shift you from First Year Engineering into the engineering major of your choice. This is where you decide what you are going to pursue throughout the rest of your undergraduate experience at Purdue. I know for some students, that sounds super-scary (as it did for my son!). But in hindsight, after going through the process a few months ago, he found it was not as frightening as it had originally seemed.

There are certain restrictions Purdue places when you choose your major. Purdue Students generally tend to concentrate on the 3.2 GPA requirement, as they think that achieving it will mean they are guaranteed admission to their choice of major. However, there are additional requirements beyond just the 3.2 GPA. Here’s the short version:

1. Must be admitted to FYE (or PABE or EXPL) and take ENGR 131, 133, or 161 your first semester on campus. (If you did early/summer start, you still meet this requirement)
2. Must do 2 full time semesters (12 credits or more) and complete at least 20 credits of graded coursework from College of Engineering or College of Science, or MFET 163/164. Note that any transfer credits (AP/IB/A Levels etc.) don’t count, these must be completed at Purdue for a letter grade.
3. Must complete FYE in May — if you don’t finish until the summer, then you would not qualify for the guarantee.
4. Must earn a 3.2 GPA and 3.2 EAI – Engineering Admission Index; this is your GPA just from FYE courses (So, ENGR 131/133/161, PHYS 172, CHM 115, MA 165, MA 166, Oral Comm, Written Comm, and FYE Elective). Again, any Transfer credits from AP/IB/ A Levels which do not include a Purdue grade are not included in the EAI calculation.

No matter what you read on Reddit, or what your friends tell you- If you meet these requirements, you will be admitted to you first choice major, even if they are “at capacity.” If you miss any of these, you’ll be in the competitive admission group where you’ll be evaluated holistically for any remaining spaces in the major. That being said, it’s good advice to think hard about potential backup options. Note that at Purdue, by consensus, academically the hardest majors are ECE, AAE, ME and BME in that order.

Although the official T2M process does not start until your Spring semester of FYE, you are exposed right from the start of your first semester to the different pathways. This is the Engineering Your Major (EYM) process. The EYM process typically involves attending several seminars of the different engineering disciplines on campus and completing a few small activities, such as filling out a “journal” detailing your thoughts and questions about the majors. The informational seminars often consist of a short presentation by advisors of that school discussing career options, required coursework, and other resources pertaining to that school, as well as a short Q and A with that school’s ambassadors. Finally, you fill out a final survey about your tentative thoughts on what major you are considering pursuing. Many students, after attending the EYM sessions, manage to finalize their choice of major.

My son, however, still had not gained final clarity. He knew what he didn’t want to pursue (AAE due to ITAR restrictions for international students and Chemical/Civil engineering as he wasn’t that attracted), but there were still many fields that were equally attractive to him. Mechanical, Electrical, Computer, and Industrial engineering all seemed to be something he could potentially pursue.

Luckily, apart from EYM, there are other things that can be done to find what major you are most passionate about pursuing. 

• Engage with Professors: Go to office hours. Talk to professors after class. Putting yourself out there can be hard if you tend to be more reserved and less communicative, but taking that leap out of your comfort zone is beneficial. Chances are they will know what it is like to work as an engineer. You can ask them what their degree is in and what it was like for them working in that field. These discussions can help you make a more informed decision about what major to pick.
• Join Engineering Clubs: Joining a engineering club at your college can help you. It is not only a fun way to use what you learn in the classroom, but you can interact with peers that might be farther along with their studies than you. They might already have a good idea why they chose their major, and gaining their insight may help you.
• Engage with Professionals Online: Some working engineers have YouTube channels or are on LinkedIn. Getting an idea of what it was like for them going through college and working as an engineer can help you decide what you want to do.

At the end of his Fall Semester, my son told me he would probably pursue Mechanical Engineering, as that is where all the bright kids went and it was difficult to get into. He knew, with his high GPA, he could get in. However, choosing a major just because it’s harder to get into is not the right approach. Some kids believe getting into the “sexier” space-restricted streams like AAE, ME, BME, etc. shows that they have made it, but you should choose a major that interests you! Similarly, don’t choose a major based solely on what your salary will be. Future earnings are, of course, important, but is there a point in earning 20% more but being 100% more miserable?

After discussing it with him and trying to help him narrow his choices, we concluded that Mechanical Engineering was actually a sensible move—but for a different reason. If you are unsure about your major but you enjoy engineering in general, then ME (with a minor in EE) will give you the broadest choice once you graduate. So we agreed that is what he would probably choose when T2M came about in Spring.

However, sometimes the choice of major is hiding in plain sight. He had chosen to take an extra (non-credit) Certificate in Python class. At that time, he told me he wanted to learn Python as it is apparently very useful for all engineers. One day, he told me he had been awake till 4 AM because, after finishing his two math homework assignments, he started working on his Python assignment. He had to make a Battleship game from scratch and got so engrossed that he didn’t realize the time. Reflecting on that, he realized he really enjoyed coding, and that’s when he decided to become a Computer Engineering major.

Within the first couple weeks of the beginning of the Spring semester, a survey was available to allow him to pick a first and second choice major. While the majors that are capacity-restricted are not available to be selected as second choices, all other majors are. There is a small chance that you may not get into your first choice major, but the School of Engineering website states that 93 to 95% of students who have completed (or are on track to complete) the First Year Engineering program get into their first choice of major.

While a vast majority of students get into their first choice major, it doesn’t happen for everyone. FYE can be difficult, and sometimes getting those requirements for a guaranteed T2M can be hard. But don’t dwell too much if you don’t get into your desired major. For instance, if your GPA isn’t enough to get into AAE, remember that in today’s industries, you don’t need a specific degree. You can still get into the aerospace industry with a ME degree with an focus on structures, engines, hydraulics, or electromechanical systems. Or go into Electrical Engineering as many EE areas are used in aerospace. Or go into Chemical Engineering and specialise in fuel production and delivery systems. There are a lot of ways into aerospace without an AAE degree. Not quite a million, but close. Your degree is pretty much a piece of paper that says you can think. However, if you still want to pursue a particular major that you did not get into, you can also consider remaining in FYE and trying to T2M again in your next semester.

For my son, Computer Engineering was really easy to transition to as it is not capacity-restricted. The hardest part for him will be staying in the CompE major over the coming years, as it is academically so tough. But if he is passionate about it, he will not know how the time will fly.

Be innovative about discovering what engineering major you want to pick. You know what you feel passionate about better than anyone else. Put yourself out there, take chances, make mistakes, and learn as you go. Find something you know you will be passionate about, not just a job you want to do because it is a 9-5 and anything will do. The harder a major is academically, the more difficult it will be for you, especially if you are not so interested in that field. Without the passion, you may find it difficult to stick it out through all the hard work and burnout you will experience over the next three or four years.

The T2M process may seem tricky and a little frightening, but Purdue has so many resources available to aid you along the way. The FYE advisors are here and ready to help you with whatever questions you may have. While the size constrained majors will not be available after FYE, others will, meaning that what you choose now is not what you’re stuck with forever. Whichever path you take, the Purdue community is here to support you.