College Life

Private Schools That Are Well Known for This Major

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Stanford University
• Carnegie Mellon University
• California Institute of Technology
• Cornell University

State Schools That Are Well Known for This Major

• University of California—Berkeley
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Georgia Institute of Technology
• University of Michigan
• Purdue University—West Lafayette

Classes in the Major

Mathematics: We sincerely hope you knew this would be coming. You might be able to sneak through college without any rigorous math classes if you're in the humanities, but for engineering, you might as well break out your TI-84 Plus while you're ahead. You'll be taking strenuous math courses to make sure you're up to snuff for the engineering classes which—spoiler alert—are mostly math. Math in engineering is like traffic during rush hour—you cannot escape it.

Physics: Thermodynamics. It is important to all things electrical, and it is a core aspect of physics. This is a requirement for many other scientific majors, but unlike chemistry or biology, you'll have to do more than the minimum for the engineering overlords to be satisfied. We're talking about the third or fourth level of college physics. It's a necessary part of a science education, so face it head-on.

Electrical and Computer Engineering: If you're wondering why "computer" and "electric" are together here, it's because they go together like butter and popcorn. Computers are electric, after all. Also, you can't walk down a crowded sidewalk without rubbing elbows with someone on their phone. Your car, phone, and television are all forms of computers. With that in mind, prepare to learn how electrical systems work and how important they are to pretty much every aspect of our society.

Electromagnetics: In these courses, you'll be learning about wireless communication, polarization, and optical fibers. If you go back a few hundred years in history, you'd find that all of these were lumped into one course of study called "witchcraft," which often ended with a pile of flaming wood and one very unhappy person in the middle. Don't worry, you should be safe now, even though basic circuiting is still magic to some people.

Circuit Analysis: Being able to establish a working circuit is important for all electrical engineers, and these courses will teach you everything from storage to appropriate circuit voltage. This means learning electrical systems that are a bit more complex than sticking a wire in a potato and charging your iPhone, so gear up. You'll have a chance to engage in labs that put into practice all the classroom jargon you've been learning, as well. That way, you can see firsthand if those textbooks are actually full of it.