Undergraduate Programs

From the day you arrive, a world-of possibilities awaits—you can choose from 12 different engineering programs.

The School of Engineering offers 12 undergraduate degree programs, offering you a depth of engineering choices. To begin, all undergraduates complete the CORE engineering curriculum in your first two-years. Then, you'll get the advantage of research opportunities for undergraduates.

Engineering leaders.

Technical savvy is just one dimension of engineering. Another is leadership. Through the Archer Center for Student Leadership Development, all engineering students take professional development classes. From day one, you'll learn about what it takes to succeed in today's global marketplace. It is just one of the many reasons why industry recruiters constantly choose Rensselaer engineers.

Plus, you'll work with the latest professional grade software. Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering, PACE, is an exciting opportunity at Rensselaer. PACE provides hardware and software (life-cycle management (PLM) software tools) in the interest of developing the next generation of automotive engineers, designers, and managers.

Our Engineering Programs:

Aeronautical Engineering

Today's aeronautical engineers not only develop airplanes and rockets, they design high-speed trains and submarines, hydrofoils and wind turbines. Rensselaer graduates have helped to develop the engines that propel jumbo jets, the lunar lander for the Apollo spacecraft and the Rover for the Mars Exploration Mission.

Biomedical Engineering

At Rensselaer you'll have hands-on experience with biomedical equipment and computing. Your coursework will include specialization in engineering solutions to medical problems with in-depth project design experience.

Chemical Engineering

Chemical engineers use the energy and the products of chemical reactions to create new industries and strengthen old ones. They use their creative energies to make laboratory solutions practical on a large scale.

Civil Engineering

Rensselaer has been supplying the top civil engineers in the field for over 160 years. The vital links in the Industrial Revolution, the builder of the Brooklyn Bridge, and even the inventor of the Ferris wheel all share the same proud Rensselaer heritage.

Computer and Systems Engineering

Computer and systems engineers focus on digital computers and their applications in information processing, on-line control, and modeling and design tools to solve problems like these. Their imagination led to the creation of the microwave oven controller and the ATM.

Electric Power Engineering

Rensselaer's small specialized program furnishes students with a sound grounding in fundamentals and an appreciation of applications. While in most universities electric power studies are done through concentrations within electrical engineering, Rensselaer's program in Electric Power Engineering has its own degree program with its own faculty. Undergraduates collaborate with graduate students and faculty in a computer-intensive study of modern electric power systems.

Electrical Engineering

At Rensselaer, electrical engineers apply creative applications of electrical phenomena to the needs of industry and society. The curriculum spans broad offerings from circuits, electronics, and electromagnetics to computers, control, and communication systems.

Environmental Engineering

Although recent advances in engineering and the sciences have benefited mankind, they've also created serious problems. Environmental engineers work to solve today's environmental challenges.

Industrial and Management Engineering

Rensselaer's distinctive coupling of engineering and management prepares Industrial and Management Engineering graduates to be the "change masters" within organizations, enhancing productivity, growth, quality, leadership, and the successful application of new technology.

Materials Engineering

Materials engineers couple a knowledge of chemistry and physics with the creative analysis of engineering. They develop the methods and materials for the amazingly small and increasingly complex technologies of the semiconductor, medical, and telecommunications industries.

Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical engineers design, develop, manufacture, sell, and maintain machinery. Air conditioning and heating systems, automobiles, jets, power plants, spacecraft, and oil drilling equipment all bear the imprint of the mechanical engineer.

Nuclear Engineering

Nuclear engineering focuses on methods, devices, and systems required for peaceful use of nuclear technology.