Pre-Engineering Program

What You'll Learn

The best engineers can examine a problem from all angles. You’ll get that kind of perspective when you start your engineering studies at Drake: here, you’ll develop the academic, analytical, and communication skills that come from studying at a liberal arts college, with the technical knowledge you’d expect from a research school.

Students pursuing the Dual Degree Engineering pathway study liberal arts in ways that strengthen engineering education; in the process, they gain critical and scientific thinking, technical insight, collaborative communication skills, and adaptability. You can construct an engineering career through a cohort-based experience with Drake University’s Accelerated Dual-Degree Engineering opportunities, including research and internships.

How does this work? Through our dual-degree partnership with Washington University in St. Louis, you’ll complete a sequence of prerequisite courses at Drake in the sciences, mathematics, and programming before continuing your studies at the McKelvey School of Engineering, one of the country’s best engineering schools.

Because these introductory subjects integrate into many STEM-related majors at Drake, students select from a broad range of disciplines here before earning specialized bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering, receiving a well-rounded education that emphasizes communication and problem-solving skills.

Many students choose a STEM field related to an engineering specialty. If you’re interested in chemical engineering, for example, you might major in Chemistry at Drake, or if you’re interested in mechanical or electrical engineering, you could major in Physics.

However you structure your studies, our Pre-Engineering program combines the personal attention and mentorship you’ll get from faculty at a liberal arts college with the rigors of a major research institution.

About the Pre-Engineering Program and Washington University Partnership

• Earn three degrees through our 3+3 and 4+3 pathways: one from Drake (undergraduate; B.A. or B.S.) and two from Washington University in St. Louis (B.S./M.S. in Engineering).
• Strengthen your engineering education with a study of the liberal arts, plus internships and hands-on lab work.
• Construct an engineering career through a cohort-based experience with Drake University’s Accelerated Dual-Degree Engineering opportunities.
• Tap into the career centers, alumni networks, and other resources of two institutions.
• 90% of applicants gain admission to the dual-degree program.
• Transfer candidates must earn a minimum 3.25 GPA (at Drake).
• Students are eligible for financial aid at both Drake and Washington University.

Program Facts

• On campus, for both the Drake and Washington University degrees
• 90 credit hours at Drake required for admission to Washington University
• 6-7 years to completion for a liberal arts undergraduate degree at Drake and specialized engineering training at Washington University (undergraduate/graduate)