Local businesses provide co-op opportunities
By Arelia Jones
For the St. Louis American
Minorities make up 5 percent of engineering graduates nationally. At University of Missouri-St. Louis, minorities are 12 percent of engineering graduates. The Joint Undergraduate Engineering Program of UM-St. Louis and Washington University, which allows UMSL students to take engineering classes at both campuses, has made it feasible for hundreds of students to earn engineering degrees.
The program was approved in 1993 under Chancellor Blanche Touhill. It was designed for non-traditional, place-bound students. These are students who typically are older than the average undergraduate, may already have jobs and families of their own, and are unable to leave St. Louis to enroll in engineering programs in Rolla or Columbia. The Joint Program allows these students to stay in the city while getting an engineering education. Many classes are in the evening, which allows students to work during the day.
Students can co-op through the program or work in engineering jobs while taking classes. Co-ops give students real-life work experience and a salary. “I think the co-op or intern experience is as valuable as what they learn in the classroom,” said Associate Dean Bernard Feldman of UMSL.
Large companies like Ameren UE and Anheuser-Busch as well as numerous smaller firms provide co-op opportunities. Many companies offer jobs to students upon graduation. “We are, in a small way, providing engineers primarily for the St. Louis area,” said Feldman. Starting salaries for engineering graduates average around $50,000.
The program gives students a Washington University education at an UMSL price. “The program has been designed to duplicate as closely as possible the same education that a student at Washington University would get in electrical, mechanical and civil engineering,” said Feldman. Graduating students receive an UMSL degree that states “Joint Undergraduate Engineering Program,” names both universities and is signed by both chancellors.
The state of Missouri reimburses Washington University for the cost of the program. The cost to the state would be greater if UMSL built and maintained its own facilities and resources.
Joint Program students must meet the same requirements as other students to enroll at UMSL. Once enrolled, students take the pre-engineering portion of the program, which consists of courses in chemistry, physics, and math. Many students take these courses at other schools and transfer to UMSL. Students at UMSL who have completed a pre-engineering program with a minimum grade point average of 2.75 are generally admitted to the advanced portion. Students pay an engineering fee.
The second half of the program is advanced engineering courses, almost all of which are taught at Washington University. A full time student typically takes four and a half years to complete the electrical engineering program and five years to complete the civil and mechanical engineering programs.
Tori Gillespie of Florissant is a senior studying mechanical engineering. Gillespie transferred to UMSL from Tennessee State University after she “stumbled onto the UMSL website” while researching engineering programs. She chose UMSL over other regional programs because UMSL is “right here at home, really close by the house and it’s a wonderful deal.” Gillespie said the program “gives me the ability to do work during the day and save money and do things I want to do.”
The Washington University and UMSL program is the first of its kind in the nation. The program has not drawn as many engineering students as the founders intended. Feldman said that may be due to engineering not being a popular major, and many students may not have the necessary math background. Nationwide enrollment has dropped over the last two years, so UMSL is competing for a smaller pool of students. UM-Rolla is a significant nearby competitor. Almost 300 students have graduated since the initiation of the program.
Gillespie does not yet have a job for after graduation, but she plans to “work with engines and motors, heat transfer, pipe flow, and work in that area.” She also wants to earn her masters degree and open her own engineering business. “Once I find an internship or co-op, I do believe I will be ready after graduation,” she said.
“I definitely recommend it,” she said. “It’s a wonderful program.”
Call the Joint Program at UMSL at 314-516-6800 or the Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science at 314-935-6100 for more information.