For ambitious students interested in a career in engineering, Saint Mary’s offers an exceptional alternative to a typical engineering degree. By combining the broad liberal arts foundation of the Saint Mary’s experience with the University of Notre Dame’s engineering curriculum, students benefit from the best of both institutions.

Through a cooperative agreement, Saint Mary’s College and the University of Notre Dame offer a dual degree program through which a student earns two degrees—a bachelor’s degree (BA or BS) from Saint Mary’s, and a second bachelor of science degree in engineering from the University of Notre Dame. The dual degree program offers an ideal education for the woman interested in interweaving scientific knowledge, human values, and technical and professional proficiency. The program broadens professional and post-graduate opportunities by enhancing students’ technical skills with the values and problem solving skills developed through a women’s liberal arts education.

The dual degree program offers the option and flexibility to combine majors that fit a student’s individual interests. Some majors complement one another because the disciplines are similar, such as:

• Chemistry and chemical engineering or environmental engineering.
• Physics or Mathematics and aerospace engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, or mechanical engineering.
• Computing and Applied Mathematics (CAM) and computer science or computer engineering.

Other majors complement one another because they are different, such as political science and civil engineering. For the student interested in the humanities or social sciences, combinations of liberal arts and engineering majors may be possible, although scheduling difficulties might require summer coursework.

Saint Mary’s students who participate in the dual degree program work with the Engineering Program Director to design and manage their academic plan. They take pre-engineer­ing courses at Saint Mary’s and engineering courses at Notre Dame in addition to the courses required to satisfy degree requirements at Saint Mary’s College. Notre Dame courses are used as electives to satisfy Saint Mary’s degree requirements, and Saint Mary’s courses are used as electives to satisfy Notre Dame’s degree requirements.

This strenuous program will demand the best effort of well-prepared and well-motivated students. Successful completion will require consultation each semester with the program advisers and careful scheduling of courses on both campuses. Students in the dual degree program must maintain a 2.8 or higher overall and technical GPA and remain in good academic and behavioral standing in order to remain eligible for the engineering degree. Specifically:

• Students declaring an intent to participate in the dual degree program as a first-semester sophomore must have at least a cumulative GPA of 2.8 or above (technical and overall) to be “accepted” into this program. If the student has a GPA of 2.5–2.79, then she will be “conditionally accepted” into this program and must have a cumulative GPA of 2.8 by the end of fall semester of her junior year. If the student has a GPA of less than 2.5, then she will be “denied” from this program.
• Students in the dual degree program must maintain at least a cumulative GPA of 2.8 or above (technical and overall) to remain in the program. If a student dips below a technical and overall GPA of 2.8 for one semester, then she is warned at the beginning of the following semester that she must raise her GPA to remain in the program. If she remains below a technical and overall GPA of 2.8 for two semesters, then she is removed from the dual degree program; this will enable her to focus on completing her Saint Mary’s College major/degree.
• Students in the dual degree program must maintain good academic and behavioral standing in the college. Serious academic violations or excessive student conduct violations and/or disciplinary probation may jeopardize the student’s admission to the engineering program at the University of Notre Dame.

Note: Grades in classes taken at other institutions (institutions other than University of Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s College) are not included in the technical and cumulative average GPA of the students. These courses, if approved, are listed on the student’s transcripts and may be used to fulfill requirements.

Study Abroad

Saint Mary’s has a long history of providing quality international programs as an essential part of our educational mission—forming women leaders who will make a difference in the world (learn more about the various Study Abroad opportunities (p. 50)). Summer experiences, including those offered by the University of Notre Dame, College of Engineering, are encouraged.

Engineering Program Director

Dr. Toni Barstis
B24 Science Hall
tbarstis@saintmarys.edu