Today's engineer requires great breadth in educational background. It is no longer enough to have mastery of only the technical aspects of engineering. Since communicating information is a major component of virtually all professional work,,written and oral communication skills are crucial. Humanities help shape a young engineer's judgment and system of values. A strong liberal arts background also prepares an engineer to better anticipate, understand and adapt to new and changing conditions, whether social, economic, cultural or political, that will affect the development of technology. Engineering employment opportunities are plentiful and will continue to increase as society grows in complexity. More and more employers prefer to hire the liberally educated engineer, and Whitworth's program is designed to meet that demand.

Agreements with several top engineering schools allow engineering students to complete their first two or three years of coursework at Whitworth and the remainder of the five-year program at a partner engineering school. Partnership agreements exist with Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Southern California, Columbia University, Seattle Pacific University, and Washington State University. Upon completing the Whitworth pre-engineering curriculum with at least a 3.0 GPA, students are assured enrollment in one of the partner engineering schools. Students who have completed the program report that the broad knowledge base and the critical thinking, teamwork and communication skills acquired at Whitworth enabled them to thrive in both engineering school and the professional environment. Recent 3-2 engineering students have won top honors at Whitworth’s partner schools, and Whitworth graduates are working at successful engineering firms around the country.

Why a Dual Degree Engineering Program?

1. Students receive an excellent educational background in the liberal arts and an in-depth professional education in engineering, thus providing the best of both worlds. Students will receive plenty of individual attention the first years of study and then will have access to facilities of world-class institutions for the latter part of the student’s education.
2. Students are uniquely prepared for a variety of careers and assume a strong position to leadership responsibilities in an increasingly technological society.
3. Students can begin an engineering education while leaving open their choices of a final engineering school and specialty.
4. Students will receive two separate bachelor’s degrees, one from Whitworth University and and an additional degree from a partner institution, giving a competitive edge in the job market. This five-year dual degree program takes only slightly longer to complete than many traditional engineering programs which average four-and-a-half years to complete.

The advisor for pre-engineering is Dr. Richard Stevens. He may be reached by phone at (509) 777-4508, or by e-mail at rstevens@whitworth.edu.