A Liberal Arts Perspective on Engineering
The Colby dual-degree program means students don’t have to choose between a liberal arts experience and an engineering degree
Leaving Mayflower Hill to study abroad is a rite of passage for many juniors. Each year, a small group of students takes the leap to venture into foreign territory—not to another country, but to engineering school.
They’re part of Colby’s dual-degree program, which partners with top-tier engineering programs at Dartmouth College and Columbia University. Dartmouth dual-degree students spend their junior year “abroad” in New Hampshire and then return to complete their B.E. after graduating from Colby. Columbia dual-degree students graduate from Colby as juniors and then spend two consecutive years of intensive study in New York City.
Dual degrees combine a liberal arts experience with more specific engineering coursework to fully prepare students for a technical or design-focused career. “When I consider the uniqueness of a liberal arts engineer, I see that their broad understanding and multiple-paradigm mindsets give them an advantage in problem-solving,” said David Ding, DavisConnects advisor for STEM professions. “Because they’re starting their engineering studies toward the latter half of their degree, they gain the potential to develop more perspective into other areas and industries they’re interested in, and can bring that into their careers.”
At Columbia, students can choose from engineering concentrations in mechanical, electrical, software, and more. Dartmouth has a general engineering program. No matter the kinds of projects they take on, their Colby education grounds them in who they’re designing for in the first place.
“Our students can really think about the human side of whatever they’re building,” said Professor of Computer Science and Program Advisor Stephanie Taylor. “What makes Colby students so successful as engineers is that they’re taking preparatory classes from professors who care deeply about their subjects and are willing to talk deeply with students. They’re taking classes that teach them how to think.”
Typically, engineering classes are more project-based and lab-focused, with hands-on projects that require them to design and build solutions to problems. “The program has had a dramatic surge in popularity. We send eight to 10 students each year,” said Taylor. “At Colby, we prepare them for their experience throughout their coursework. When they’re taking a calculus class, for example, they’re not just taking a ‘plug-and-chug’ class. They’re challenged to think critically and to be comfortable with open-ended projects. They’re encouraged to work together to further their understanding.”
Chloé Hamilton Gilbert ’24, a math and physics double major at Colby, knew she wanted to be an engineer, and the dual-degree program made that possible. “It was such a relief,” said Gilbert. “Combining liberal arts and engineering means you can think about problems with different perspectives, and that I could get the best of both college experiences.”
That’s exactly how economics major Liam Cotter ’24 felt about adding coursework in electrical engineering to his studies. He leveraged his economics and engineering backgrounds this past summer while interning in product management at Apple, before returning for his fifth year at Dartmouth.
“This program ended up working perfectly for me,” Cotter said. “If I were to just do engineering as an undergrad, I wouldn’t get a chance to study the business side of things with economics and how these products actually fit into people’s lives.”
Gilbert joined Cotter at Dartmouth this fall to finish her B.E. and plans to add another year to receive her master’s of engineering management. “I love engineering, but I also want to be a leader in my career,” she said. “As an engineer, of course you’re building things, but you’re building them for people. Colby really taught me how to think more deeply about who we’re building for, the economics behind it, the anthropology of it, the ethics. It’s a holistic perspective that I can bring with me into the entire product lifecycle.”
Said Ding, “Doing both degrees allows them to soar, so they can be more flexible as they approach problem-solving. There are so many places you can end up as an engineer, and this program gives them more exposure into what it can look like in the real world.”