M AC A L E S T E R AC A D E M I C U P DAT E2 0 1 8 FA L L

Pre-EngineeringThe pre-engineering program provides a means for Macalester students to gain the benefits of a liberal arts education while preparing themselves for a professional career in any of several areas of engineering. Although Macalester does not offer engineering majors, many Macalester students who major in fields such as mathematics, applied mathematics, computer science, chemistry, phys-ics, biology, geography, economics, and others continue on to graduate programs in engineering at institu-tions such as Yale, Stanford, Columbia, Northwestern, Duke, MIT, Berkeley, the University of Illinois, and the University of Minnesota. We are proud that 6 percent of all 2016 graduates who went straight to graduate school are pursuing engineering degrees. Some of the more popular areas of engineering graduate studies include biomedical engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, materials science and engineering, and chemical engineering. In addition to the excel-lent background in science and math-ematics needed for graduate study in engineering, students also receive a broad background in the humani-ties and social sciences that is crucial to the successful modern practice of engineering. Engineers with a liberal arts background are poised to advance in technical management and to play major roles in solving increasingly complex societal problems.

In addition to formal coursework preparation, students contemplating graduate studies in engineering are also strongly encouraged to consider a summer research experience in an engineering-related field. For example, the NSF-REU program has extensive opportunities for off-campus research in all areas of engineering, and many students have been successful in applying to these programs

After MacalesterShelby Witherby ’18 (Bloomington, Minn.), is in graduate school at the University of California–Berkeley, in civil and environmental engineering.

Andre Archer ’17 (Kingston, Jamaica) is in a PhD program in the Department of Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics at Northwestern University.

Nicholas Michalesko ’17 (Skokie, Ill.) is a software engineer in Chicago.

Yifei Sun ’17 (Beijing) will attend Cornell University for a master’s in electrical engineering in fall 2018.

Tristan Truttmann ’17 (Clayton, Wis.) is starting a PhD program in materials science at the University of Minnesota.

M Ulmer ’17 (Sebastopol, Calif.) is a Google engineer-in-residence.

Michael de la Torre ’16 (St. Paul) is starting a PhD program in materials science and engineering at the University of Houston.

Yan Jin ’16 (Suqian, China) is in the PhD program in social and engineering systems at MIT.

Mengdie Wang ’16 (Wuhu, China) is in a PhD program in computer science and engineering at the University of Minnesota.

Brittany Ehmann ’15 (Island Lake, Ill.) entered a master’s program in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Minnesota.

Henry Fremont ’15 (St. Louis) is a data engineer at Epic in Madison, Wis.

Ben Hillmann ’15 (Watertown, Minn.) is doing computational genomics research in a PhD program in computer science and engineering at the University of Minnesota.

Jared Willard ’15 (Lakeville, Minn.) is pursuing a PhD in computer science and engineering at the University of Minnesota.

Updated August 2018

macalester.edu/academics/preengineering