Interested in studying engineering? Ask questions here.

[Emmi]

Hi, I'm pre-IB right now and I'm kinda interested in taking aerospace engineering as a major. I have English Lang. and Lit., Physics, and Maths drafted as my HL with Chemistry and French as SL. Would my subject choice match with university requirements?

Also, I'm in between Psychology and Economics as my last SL. I reckon that Psychology is better because research methods is a part of the syllabus and you get to do a study for IA, and it is overall more interesting to me than Economics. However, my parents are pretty much convinced that Economics is a better choice because it teaches you skills you'll use for the rest of your life (which in my opinion is present in all IB subjects) and because they had to take it as a social study course when they were in university. 

Any help would be much appreciated, Thanks 

 

Hello,

 

For most universities for aerospace engineering, you should be fine. The only thing that would hold you back would be if the university required HL chemistry for engineering regardless of the type of engineering, but this usually isn't the case. You should check with potential universities you're interested in to see if they require this, but for aerospace you should be good to go with what you've picked!

 

What your group 3 subject is isn't going to matter at all. Just pick whichever you find most interesting. I don't have experience in either of those courses so I can't really say much about them, but it seems to me like you'd rather take psychology, so just take that.

[thecoltismyelderwand]

Hey!

So basically I've been meaning to go to University of Manchester for doing chemical engineering. I'm not really the kind of person who had an ambition or passion in something so since I wanted to do engineering, and since I like chemistry, I decided to do it

So is the degree worth doing or is it something you have to personally decide? And I mean according job perspectives and all as well.

I heard that this university is good for chem engineering so any idea as to how true that is?

And to get in I need atleast an 18 in HL subjects, and mine are chem, math and physics. Is it really hard to get a 6 in these subjects.?

And one last question - if I stick to chem engineering, are there any other really good universities (preferably in England or Great Britain) that you would recommend?

Thanks!

 

PS: First IBSurvival post yaaay!!!

[Emmi]

Hey!

So basically I've been meaning to go to University of Manchester for doing chemical engineering. I'm not really the kind of person who had an ambition or passion in something so since I wanted to do engineering, and since I like chemistry, I decided to do it

So is the degree worth doing or is it something you have to personally decide? And I mean according job perspectives and all as well.

I heard that this university is good for chem engineering so any idea as to how true that is?

And to get in I need atleast an 18 in HL subjects, and mine are chem, math and physics. Is it really hard to get a 6 in these subjects.?

And one last question - if I stick to chem engineering, are there any other really good universities (preferably in England or Great Britain) that you would recommend?

Thanks!

 

PS: First IBSurvival post yaaay!!!

 

Hi there,

 

Chemical engineering is always worth doing, but you'll have to decide if this is what you'd like to do. Chemical engineering is pretty general and can be applied to a lot of different industries, but the common link is processes and optimizing a process to create the desired products. There's actually not a lot of actual chemistry in chemical engineering, surprisingly enough. While the chemistry is still important, you won't have to know every tiny detail about every reaction mechanism, just the general properties of some reaction or compound so you can use those to design your process. It's much more about the process to make the products. I'm kind of the same way as you, I never had a compelling draw towards any one field (unlike those people who say they've only ever saw themselves as a doctor or have wanted to be a lawyer since they were a kid, etc) and was reasonably good at math and chemistry, so I picked chemical engineering since I could do a lot with it.

 

While the job market always has its ups and downs, and it's different in different industries and locations throughout the world, a good engineer with experience shouldn't have a problem finding a job. I'm not sure where you want to work after university, so you'll have to do some research on your own.

 

I don't know much about rankings for UK universities in regards to engineering since I'm based in the USA. Your best bet would be to do a google search for something like "best chemical engineering programs in the UK" or whatever and see what pops up. So I can't really answer some of your questions regarding that, unfortunately.

 

Those are pretty tough subjects, but it's not impossible to get at least a 6 in them. People get 6's and 7's in them every year, so you can also! You'll just need to always be on top of your work, make sure you understand the topics, and perform well on the IB exam.

 

Glad to see you're considering chemical engineering! Everyone wants to do either mechanical engineering or computer science but we're clearly the best

 

JK all engineers are cool ^{except computer scientists}

[thecoltismyelderwand]

 

Hey!

So basically I've been meaning to go to University of Manchester for doing chemical engineering. I'm not really the kind of person who had an ambition or passion in something so since I wanted to do engineering, and since I like chemistry, I decided to do it

So is the degree worth doing or is it something you have to personally decide? And I mean according job perspectives and all as well.

I heard that this university is good for chem engineering so any idea as to how true that is?

And to get in I need atleast an 18 in HL subjects, and mine are chem, math and physics. Is it really hard to get a 6 in these subjects.?

And one last question - if I stick to chem engineering, are there any other really good universities (preferably in England or Great Britain) that you would recommend?

Thanks!

 

PS: First IBSurvival post yaaay!!!

 

Hi there,

 

Chemical engineering is always worth doing, but you'll have to decide if this is what you'd like to do. Chemical engineering is pretty general and can be applied to a lot of different industries, but the common link is processes and optimizing a process to create the desired products. There's actually not a lot of actual chemistry in chemical engineering, surprisingly enough. While the chemistry is still important, you won't have to know every tiny detail about every reaction mechanism, just the general properties of some reaction or compound so you can use those to design your process. It's much more about the process to make the products. I'm kind of the same way as you, I never had a compelling draw towards any one field (unlike those people who say they've only ever saw themselves as a doctor or have wanted to be a lawyer since they were a kid, etc) and was reasonably good at math and chemistry, so I picked chemical engineering since I could do a lot with it.

 

While the job market always has its ups and downs, and it's different in different industries and locations throughout the world, a good engineer with experience shouldn't have a problem finding a job. I'm not sure where you want to work after university, so you'll have to do some research on your own.

 

I don't know much about rankings for UK universities in regards to engineering since I'm based in the USA. Your best bet would be to do a google search for something like "best chemical engineering programs in the UK" or whatever and see what pops up. So I can't really answer some of your questions regarding that, unfortunately.

 

Those are pretty tough subjects, but it's not impossible to get at least a 6 in them. People get 6's and 7's in them every year, so you can also! You'll just need to always be on top of your work, make sure you understand the topics, and perform well on the IB exam.

 

Glad to see you're considering chemical engineering! Everyone wants to do either mechanical engineering or computer science but we're clearly the best

 

JK all engineers are cool ^{except computer scientists}

 

Thank you so much!!

Ya I'm taking chem engineering for pretty much the same reason you are. And I figured I could go into something environment related with it. Might as well do something for this wonderful world of ours

Oh and thank you for the insight into what chemical engineering actually is like as well. That's kinda really helpful. And I'm still really considering chem engineering coz I gennuinely can't think of anything else I would rather do

So yes, as a hopeful future chem engineer...we do rock B|

[Marie S]

Am I required to take chemistry to get into any good engineering schools?

 

I am currently taking HL math, HL physics, HL global politics, SL English/literature, SL Norweagian (native) and SL Visual Arts.

I could of course change my arts to chemistry, but I would like some variarity in subjects so I dont get bored...

And is there anything else to know about my subjects combination in regards to engineering?

[Emmi]

That's going to depend on the country and the specific school. I've seen places require it regardless of the type of engineering you want to study, and some only require it for chemistry related disciplines, and at others it's suggested but not required. If you have an idea of where you want to apply, you can see if there are any specific requirements needed and see if you need chemistry.

As for the rest of your subjects, you've got HL math and physics, so you're good to go.

Edited April 30, 2015 by Emmi

[Marie S]

Thank you!

[MaryKate]

I am doing IB next year and having hard time choosing the right subjects to take!!

I would like to pursue a career in engineering and go to a university in the US.

So here are the subjects I am surely taking:

Math

Physics

Chemistry

At HL

Spanish B

English A

At SL

I am missing a SL class, and I am doubting between Environmental Systems and Societies and Economics. Which class will you recommend taking? And what class is more interesting and useful?

[Emmi]

I am doing IB next year and having hard time choosing the right subjects to take!!

I would like to pursue a career in engineering and go to a university in the US.

So here are the subjects I am surely taking:

Math

Physics

Chemistry

At HL

Spanish B

English A

At SL

I am missing a SL class, and I am doubting between Environmental Systems and Societies and Economics. Which class will you recommend taking? And what class is more interesting and useful?

Neither is going to have much of an effect on your chances of admission so you'd be fine taking either of those. Take whichever one you're more interested in, or I you really don't care at all, whichever has the better teacher. I didn't take either class and my school didn't offer them so I have no idea how interesting or useful they'd be, sorry!

[Rosalina]

Can you tell me a bit about biomedical engineering? Thanks

[Schrodinger's CAS]

I believe that in Canada, only a few universities offer an undergraduate program for bio-medical engineering: Waterloo, McGill, UBC, UAB, UT, and U of Calgary. For some of them, the admissions only require physics and chemistry; biology is not necessary. You should also know that universities like Waterloo offer 5-year co-op programs. 

[Rosalina]

I believe that in Canada, only a few universities offer an undergraduate program for bio-medical engineering: Waterloo, McGill, UBC, UAB, UT, and U of Calgary. For some of them, the admissions only require physics and chemistry; biology is not necessary. You should also know that universities like Waterloo offer 5-year co-op programs. 

UAB?

[Slovakov]

I can only speak about the UK and there biomedical engineering is sometimes treated as an option in mechanical engineering courses. In these cases you do your master's straight away, the course lasts 4 years and you have biomedical-specific modules in 3rd and/or 4th year.  Not sure how the system works in Canada, but it may be worth checking.....

[Schrodinger's CAS]

UAB?

University of Alberta. 

 

I forgot to mention that in most universities, you take the general engineering course in your first year (and second in some uni), and you begin to specialize in bio-medical courses in year 2/3.

[Rosalina]

Thank you for replying! 

 

 

Will Uk/USA/European/Canadian universities be ok with me taking Physics that is not IB and Chemistry SL? 

[Schrodinger's CAS]

Are you taking a correspondence physics course? I'm taking one from Nova Scotia since IB schools in PEI don't offer physics. I emailed several universities, including McGill, Dal, and Memorial, and they all accept Correspondence physics. 

[Emmi]

Assuming you don't want to study chemical engineering or something like materials science:

For the US, you're probably fine. I didn't even have physics at all, taking it at my university was the first time I had ever taken a physics course!

Canada is probably similar, but don't quote me on it.

UK may be iffy, they usually likely see one curriculum (all AP or all IB or A-levels only) but it doesn't hurt to ask if it's okay. Europe I'm not sure about at all and if someone else who knows more than I do here can respond that'd be great.

[by.andrew]

For Canadian engineering programs, they will usually require you to have the following subjects: English, any form of calculus, Chemistry, and Physics. They don't necessarily have to be taken in the IB level. Many of my engineering friends took Chem&Bio in IB and summer schooled Physics. 

[Slovakov]

For UK, just as Emmi said it's best to ask a uni you're interested in as they will vary in requirements. And talking about Europe it really depends on the country. In Poland for example you'd have problems with mixing qualifications, but then I doubt anybody would be willing to study in Poland. While in Sweden (where I only partly know the admissions process), you're allowed to put various qualifications in your application and then they're rated by each uni individually. In total you may then be advantaged in some unis more than others, but still, formally there's no problem with it.

[almostasurvivor]

Hi! 

 

Thank you so much Emmi for starting this thread. I've been wanting to ask things to engineering people so yay for this thread!!

 

I'm going to take electrical and computer engineering this fall in a country where the first language is not English and only about 30-40% of the course is taught in English. I'm not that proficient in that country's language so I have concerns here and there.

 

I also came from a non-English speaking country but I have been exposed to the global language since I don't know when. So when I had to take IGCSE and IB, the language was not really a problem for me. The problem was understanding specific terms for each subject. Now I'm not sure whether I can follow the courses later in uni. There will be a language test before the start of the semester and I'm sure I read somewhere that if the result is not satisfactory, I can spend some time learning the language first (sadly I can't find anything about that now). But still, I'm not sure. I'm afraid that later I can only understand some basic language but not specific terms for the subjects.

 

Considering the IB subjects that I'm taking, do you think this will be a huge problem for me? I mean I know the concepts already since I study Physics and Math HL. But what about the development of those concepts? Will I be able to understand it if it's not taught in English?

 

I always thought that 'oh maybe this won't be a problem. I got through IGCSE and IB without using English to study subjects before that' But again, that was because I've been exposed to English and I'm not that exposed to this country's language.

 

Can you please help me with this? I'm sorry if what I'm saying doesn't make any sense. I'm trying to study for Chem Paper 3 tomorrow and I'm so tired of studying