Everything You Need to Know About Choosing an Engineering Discipline

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Purdue has so many resources to help you decide which engineering discipline to pursue. Whether you’re looking to find out more about a discipline you’re already interested in or you have no idea which discipline is for you, Purdue will help you to choose the best fit for you.  This blog goes through everything you need to know about how Purdue can help you choose your engineering discipline.

Some of the students at the WE Link Volunteer Night talking about how Purdue helped them choose their disciplines



1.      Who is available to help discuss options?

·       “The most helpful person for me to go to is my WIEP mentor. She helped answer all the questions I had and directed me towards different resources I could turn to for additional help. The ENGR 131 classes that cover parts of different disciplines also helped me figured out what I liked and didn’t like.” -Selina Woo, First-Year Engineering

·        “Sophomore friends that I met through clubs and classes that had already gone through the transition to major process and had more insight on the different majors than I did at the time.” – Blessie Tandon, CompE ‘21

·        Purdue professors are also accessible to discuss more about their field, and you can find out a lot from the classes they teach and the research they’re involved in.

·        Academic advisors are trained to help you determine which major could be the right fit for you.


2.      What opportunities are there to learn about disciplines?

·        “For me, I think that the ENGR 131 guest speakers were the most useful because they exposed me to different disciplines I wouldn’t have otherwise thought about or looked into. I had always thought Computer Engineering and Computer Science were basically the same thing until the presentation highlighted the differences.” – Blessie Tandon, CompE ‘21

·       Engineering Your Major Sessions: They give a general overview of majors, and they are easy to attend.  It’s helpful to choose a couple of these to go to and hear more about one discipline if you are between a few different majors.

·      100 and 200 level seminar courses: These seminars include lab tours, alumni speakers, guest speakers, professors and advisors that will introduce you to the major.

·      First-Year Engineering Classes: the projects helped us to understand how various disciplines helped to finish a project, and they can help you learn in a hands-on way what you enjoy and are interested in.


3.      Where can students go for help?

·      "Advising Offices: There is an advising office for First-Year Engineering, and each major has one. You can even make an appointment as a freshman! I visited with an IE advisor in Grissom Hall and had the chance to talk about how to sculpt my career plan to what I am interested in as soon as the Spring of my Freshman year." -Industrial Engineering Student

·       Center for Career Opportunities (CCO): The CCO offers different sessions on various industries and you can make an appointment to discuss your career goals.


4.      When do students learn about disciplines and figure out which one they want to pick?

·      “I originally wanted to do Chemical Engineering. During the FYE class in the fall of freshman year, I learned more about other disciplines and became more familiar with Agricultural Engineering. I made my final decision after the first semester.” -Agricultural Engineering Student

·       Students receive formal presentations about majors in the fall of their freshman year and declare a discipline in the spring.


5.      Why do students ultimately pick their major? 

·      “I ultimately chose chemical engineering because I liked how broad the major was and how many different fields I could go into. Specifically, the pharmaceutical and consumer goods industries really interested me, which both relate to chemical engineering. I knew it was right for me when I began my undergraduate research involving pharmaceuticals. I really enjoy what I do in my lab and know I would enjoy doing something similar after college.” -Susan Levecke, ChE ’21

·      “The broadness of the major drew me to IE (Industrial Engineering) and the human factors aspects of the major as well. I am interested in the management and engineering of people and IE will give me the skills to do that.” -Tori Welker, First-Year Engineering

·       “I had known before I began college that I had wanted to go into chemical engineering. However, it wasn’t until after I began working on my Engineering Projects in Community Service team (EPICS is learning community you can join to get hands-on engineering experience) that I was 100% sure I wanted to go into chemical engineering. The goal of my EPICS project was to create a biogas digester, which converts to waste to fuel. After I did more research about this project and continued working with my team, I learned that I really wanted to enter the energy industry”. -Caroline Morgan, ChemE ‘23


6.      How can prospective students start their search now?

·       Google News: Search your interested discipline and see if the articles are of interest to you.

·       Purdue Office of the Registrar: Look at the elective courses offered in the major to help you find what major caters to what you want to learn.

·       WIEP Blog: Read about different student experiences related to each major and see what has been said about the majors you’re interested in.

·       Department Websites: Read about the department to find out what you like or don’t like about it.  This website should also include a plan of study, so you can see what courses are involved in the degree plan.


As you can see, Purdue is here to help students, especially when it comes to choosing your engineering discipline.  Keep these opportunities in mind when thinking about how you would want to make your choice!


-Brittany Allen, Industrial Engineering '20
WE Link Leadership Team


Stay Connected With Purdue WIEP!
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Purdue Women in Engineering

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