General advice

To SB or not to SB….

The most important distinction between the two is that Bachelor of Science (S.B.) is ABET-accredited, while Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) is not. Whether or not this is important to you will depend on your career goals.

For example, an S.B. is recommended for students who want to go directly into industry or pursue technical roles, but for students who are pre-med or seeking joint/double concentrations, getting an A.B. may be most ideal, as it offers greater flexibility.

Additionally, there’s also an A.B./S.M. program (concurrent Bachelor’s of Arts and Master’s). However, it’s okay to take graduate courses without committing to the S.M.! The key is to stay realistic about the workload and what aligns best with your career goals.

***Each option has their own pros and cons, so it’s important to talk to others—especially other concentrators—for this reason. Upperclassmen can offer important and honest advice: some wish they had chosen a different path, and others are glad they switched.

General Advice

Want to choose happiness?

There are many reasons why switching majors is ideal for students, and this also applies to engineering. Generally, it’s easier to start out with the S.B. track and switch to an A.B. or entirely separate field than the other way around. There’s a lot of overlap between CS and AM (applied math), so this may be a reasonable path for students who think it would be most beneficial to pursue a secondary or citation instead.

However, if the reason for the switch is due to a feeling of incompetency rather than outright disinterest, it’s recommended to hang in there and stick through the challenge!

Impostor syndrome is a real thing, and we hope to settle your worries in later sections (see work-life balance).

***A tough class is NOT a sign of not belonging!!! 

General advice

Quarter life course selection crisis?

*Make sure to have a concentration plan of study at your disposal, and look out for pre-requisite courses*

Here is the 2024-2025 Student Handbook for Fields of Concentration where required courses are outlined.

For electives, these are generally exploratory courses to get a sense of what the field of engineering is like and discover potential niche interests

***The QReports from previous years are also a great resource to look into when getting a sense of time commitment, rigor, and material covered in a course. While they are subjective on the student’s experience, it can be a great way to get a greater feel for the class.

Prerequisites

Math

While the placement exam is a great way to start, it’s ultimately your decision to start at the level of math you feel comfortable with. (It’s fine to start at a lower level like Ma/Mb, but if you feel confident enough in what you’ve learned, it’s also fine to start in 1a, 1b, or 21a. If you start at a higher level, also keep in mind that there will be an additional math course or two to meet ABET requirements, so it’s still the same number of courses at the end of the day :)

This requirement should be completed ASAP because it is a prerequisite for many engineering courses and will make learning the material go much smoother.

We also recommend taking the 1a/b and 21a/b series as this is most practical for engineering applications and accepted for all plans of study.

Physics

Depending on the specific concentration, there are a couple of options from Physics 15, 12, 16, 50, or 2 series.

This depends largely on what you want to get out of the course the most, whether it be a more computation based approach, or learning python alongside physics.

Like math, physics can be a prerequisite for many courses, but this all depends on your plan of study and concentration.

However, some physics courses do not count for certain concentrations (ex. Physics 2/3 counts for bioengineering but not for electrical, so make sure to check for overlap if you’re still undecided)

Generally, students take the 12 and 15 series, but which one you choose is up to personal preference. In short:

15a has a greater emphasis on the mathematical aspects of physics while 12a is not as rigorous with its math, and allows for up to three retakes for exams (the only caveat being that exams are graded based on proficiency, so you either get the point for the question or don’t)

Course selection advice by concentration

    • Within Mechanical Engineering, there are two tracks: thermal and mechanical. These will likely dictate what engineering electives to take aside from core courses.

      • While we do not want to sway any potential concentrators to a certain direction, it would be worth looking into what types of careers are most desirable in the future (Ex. going into energy, materials, etc) to determine what track is best

    • Most Challenging/Favorite Courses

      • While we also recommend checking the Qreports, here’s what some upperclassmen had to say about their experiences

        • ES120 - Introduction to Mechanics of Solids

          • This course was noted to be both the most challenging and rewarding course taken because the course material can be easily applied to practical scenarios, which is great when applying to different career opportunities. 

        • ES128 - Computational Solid and Structural Mechanics

          • This is also a course with a very heavy workload, but it has a very in-depth approach to teaching FEA analysis which is another great skill to add on a resume.

  • *Currently has no tracks

    • ES1410 - Computing Hardware

      • This class is notorious for its difficulty and time commitment. While the problem sets aren’t too bad, the labs are time consuming and it might get in the way of putting in the necessary amount of work to succeed in this course.

    • ES152  - Circuits, Devices, and Transduction

      • While the difficulty of this class is not too bad, it is worth mentioning that this course contains material that can usually be found in three separate ones, meaning that there is a lot more content to be covered in a short amount of time. That being said, Professor Gage Hills is very receptive to students’ questions and concerns, which makes the experience much less intimidating.

    • ES173 -  Intro to Electronics and Photonics

      • While we were conducting interviews, this course stood out to one of our concentrators, especially as it is taught by Evelyn Hu, who was held in high regard.

    • If none of the aforementioned tracks stands out particularly, a great way to still get an engineering degree while choosing a plan of study tailored to your interests is Engineering Sciences. This concentration consists of three tracks: Bioengineering, Environmental Science and Engineering, or a Cross-Disciplinary track. The main advantage to a Cross-Disciplinary track is greater flexibility towards selecting desired engineering electives; however, something to consider is how to approach the concentration so future employers don’t overlook a non-traditional path.

    • ES53 is the intro to Bioengineering course and can help build foundational skills like MATLAB and provide important insight into the human body

    • BE125 is about Tissue Engineering and while it is highly rigorous, it teaches a lot of valuable material regarding biology and medical applications

    • Neuroengineering (Professor Jia Lu)

    • BE110 is an unavoidable course, but while it is described as highly unorganized, it is also graded very generously

Who to reach out to

  • Incoming freshmen are familiar with pre-concentration advisors; however, it may sometimes depend on luck whether or not they’re matched with an advisor that is knowledgeable about the field. For example, an engineering friend of mine was paired with a history major and they were advised not to take math (don’t do this!)

    The main benefit to reaching out to a concentration advisor is that they’re well-versed in what each course entails and what pursuing a career in the field is like. While they will likely be of most help sophomore year and beyond, it doesn’t hurt to establish a relationship with your advisor before officially declaring a concentration.

    Want to take courses at MIT? MIT classes are a great way to explore a larger scope of engineering, or even get a deeper understanding of previous course material learned at Harvard. Just keep in mind that not only will classes be held there, but office hours, too. Make sure to plan ahead and talk to an advisor or PCA that’s taken a course there before!

    More information about the process and instructions on how to do so can be found here.

  • PCAs are a great way to both make a reasonable plan of study for undergrad and make friends with upperclassmen! While concentration advisors can be of much help, there’s usually nothing better than talking to the people who were once in your shoes and actually had the experience of taking the course (some concentration advisors didn’t go to Harvard for undergrad, and even so, courses change over time). Plus, interests may overlap and you can learn about different clubs and communities on campus to get involved with!