Engineering FAQs

Wheaton offers an Engineering BS (4-year) degree with concentrations in Mechanical, Biomedical, Civil/Environmental, and a Distributed Concentration where you develop a unique concentration with your advisor. You may also select the 3-2 Dual Degree Engineering pathway that lets you begin at Wheaton and finish at another engineering school.

Engineering BS
The Engineering BS degree allows you to take full advantage of 4 full years in the incredible Wheaton College residential community while receiving an engineering education that features small class sizes, integration of Christian faith with engineering practice, and project-based learning – with a focus on engineering design and lots of teamwork across all four years. This path will prepare you for a wide range of engineering work after graduation and/or more specialized engineering education at the graduate level.

3-2 Dual Degree Engineering
“3-2" means students in this program will spend their first three years at Wheaton, then transfer to an ABET accredited school for the final two years of their undergraduate studies. “Dual Degree” means that, when they graduate, Wheaton engineering students will receive two degrees – a BS or BA Liberal Arts Engineering degree from Wheaton and a specialty BS engineering degree from their final ABET accredited college or university.

Both the Engineering BS and the 3-2 Engineering programs are excellent options for anyone interested in an engineering major. You will also have ample opportunity to switch from one to the other in your first year or two in the program. But how do you decide which program is best for you?

Choose the Engineering BS major if you:

• Wish to receive a robust engineering education in just 4-years with a strong Christian liberal arts focus.
• Desire to combine your engineering degree with other programs offered on campus.
• Want to pursue a degree with strong project-based teaching and design focus across the entire curriculum.

Choose the 3-2 Program if you:

• Wish to receive a degree in a specific engineering discipline which is not offered at Wheaton, such as a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Architectural Engineering, Materials Science, Aerospace Engineering, Industrial Engineering, etc.
• Would like to combine a Christian liberal arts education in a community-centered environment with a training at a larger engineering school.

Engineering BS
If you pursue the Engineering BS program, you will graduate with a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree.

3-2 Engineering Program
You can request either a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree or a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree when you graduate from Wheaton’s Liberal Arts Engineering program. The BS indicates a depth of study in your engineering field while the BA indicates a breadth of study beyond engineering. Both are valid for this degree, so Wheaton allows you to choose. Your final engineering school will award you with a BS in a specialty engineering field (e.g. Mechanical or Civil Engineering).

Because of the requirements in the engineering program, this is very difficult to do without adding on an additional semester or two. However, some students pick up a minor (math is an especially popular minor for engineers) or take non-major courses in areas of interest. If you are interested in this option, you should talk with your advisor.

ABET is the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. It accredits engineering programs at colleges and universities and is a standard that employers look for when hiring engineers. With some exceptions, graduating from an ABET-accredited program is the first step toward professional licensure, including taking your Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam and becoming a Professional Engineer (PE). Wheaton is currently seeking accreditation for its Engineering BS program.

A strong math and science background is always a plus for engineering students (pre-calculus, calculus, physics, chemistry, etc.). You should come prepared to take Calculus I and Physics I in your first semester at Wheaton. Students coming with AP or transfer math and science credit may be placed in higher-level courses.

Wheaton publishes a list of AP courses that may transfer to Wheaton. There is also a list for IB courses. Courses from other colleges and universities or from dual enrollment between a high school and a college may be transferred into Wheaton according to Wheaton’s guidelines. In all cases, you must have the granting institution send your transcript to admissions@wheaton.edu.

A word of advice on transferring course credit into the engineering program. If you found the AP course to be very challenging, you may wish to retake it at Wheaton (e.g. taking MATH 235 Calculus I even if you have a qualifying score in AP Calculus AB). This could give you a more grounded sense of the subject, which is important since you will take courses that build on the concepts presented in the AP course.

Wheaton engineering professors do not have a strong preference for a PC or a Mac. However, a Mac will sometimes need to dual boot or set up a virtual machine with a Windows OS when installing engineering software. It would be best to have a laptop that meets the minimum requirements for software packages such as SOLIDWORKS, AutoCAD, and MATLAB.

Minimum recommendations:

• Memory (RAM): 16GB
• Hard drive storage: 512GB
• Processor: Core i5, i7, i9, or 4-Core
• Operating System: Windows 10/11 or macOS 14 (Sonoma)

Wheaton’s Engineering BS major is a comprehensive, yet broad engineering program that prepares students for a variety of engineering careers or graduate programs. Wheaton students study the same math, science, and core engineering courses that students at other engineering institutions study. However, we believe that Wheaton’s focus on hands-on design projects lead students to become more robust and adaptive problem-solvers. At Wheaton, we emphasize teaching students how to learn and engage effectively in diverse projects. Coupled with Wheaton’s liberal arts focus, students grow to become adept collaborators, excellent communicators, and high-level technical and critical thinkers. All Engineering BS students specialize in a selected concentration.

Wheaton offer concentrations in

• Mechanical Engineering
• Biomedical Engineering
• Civil/Environmental Engineering
• and a Distributed Concentration that allows students to work with an advisor to develop a unique concentration of study.

Yes. Many students find a specific engineering passion and go on to get a Master’s degree in that area of engineering. Sometimes their employers even pay for that degree!

The Engineering BS program is an ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) accreditation seeking program. ABET accreditation may only be sought after at least one student graduates from the program. Accredited status is then granted to all recently graduated students. Wheaton will apply for ABET accreditation in 2026.

Wheaton calls its engineering program both a “3-2 Program” and a “Dual Degree Program.” “3-2 Program” means that most students will spend their first three years at Wheaton, then transfer to an ABET accredited school for the final two years of their undergraduate studies. “Dual Degree Program” means that, when they graduate, Wheaton engineering students will receive two degrees – a BS or BA Liberal Arts Engineering degree from Wheaton and a specialty BS engineering degree from their final ABET accredited college or university.

There are more than 400 engineering colleges and universities in the U.S. with ABET accredited engineering programs. You can apply to transfer to any one of them! Of course, your ultimate acceptance is decided by that school. Wheaton has special agreements with Illinois Tech (25 miles east of Wheaton, in downtown Chicago), NIU (30 miles west of Wheaton in DeKalb, IL), and Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) that offer strong engineering programs and, because of Wheaton’s agreements, can be natural fits for Wheaton students. Studying at Illinois Tech or NIU also allows students to live on Wheaton’s campus and participate in sports, if they choose. However, where you study may depend on programs offered, geographic area, or other priorities of yours. Wheaton will work with you in the transfer process to go wherever you choose to go.

Wheaton engineering students may apply to be a part of the Wheaton-Illinois Tech Joint Program any time after their first semester at Wheaton. If accepted, it means that students may take Illinois Tech courses to support or complete their engineering degree. Students may also participate in other Illinois Tech activities such as job and internship fairs.

Through Wheaton’s agreement with Illinois Tech, Wheaton will administer all finances, including financial aid, for Joint Program students over the entire five years that they are undergraduate engineering students. Exceptions to this include optional purchases at Illinois Tech such as Illinois Tech administered health insurance, meal plan or a parking pass, etc., and required graduation fees. Note that, for Joint Program students, the cost of tuition for taking courses at Wheaton or Illinois Tech is the same.

When attending an engineering school other than Illinois Tech, that school will take care of all finances related to the school. Students will pay tuition and fees and apply for financial aid at that school. This includes our partner schools, NIU and WashU.

Wheaton’s agreement with NIU allows students that meet GPA thresholds to easily transfer to NIU after their third year at Wheaton. Wheaton and NIU have agreed on a set of equivalent courses and requirements, which means that usually all of NIU’s general education requirements are met by Wheaton courses.

Yes. We have a set of curricular maps for students in the 3-2 program who wish to finish at Illinois Tech or NIU. They may be used as guides when considering transfer options to other engineering colleges or universities. However, wherever you are considering transferring to, make sure that you understand that school’s graduation requirements.

Yes to both! You just need to be diligent. Some students take a summer course to ease their course load in certain semesters. Because Illinois Tech and NIU are not far from Wheaton, some students have studied at those schools while competing in varsity sports at Wheaton in their fourth year.

Yes, financial aid is available in a student’s fifth year. Need-based aid often does not change greatly in the fifth year, but other scholarships, including Wheaton merit-based scholarships, should be read carefully since they are often limited to four years.

Students coming in with significant AP credit, a willingness to take very full Fall and Spring semester course loads and possibly some summer courses may be able to complete their degree in four years. More will be able to complete their degree in 4 ½ years. It is important to remember that national averages show that even at schools where undergraduate programs are designed to be completed in four years, less than half of all engineering students actually complete their degree in four years.

If it is important to you to finish in four years, we recommend considering our 4-year Engineering BS program option instead of the 3-2 program.