Dual-Degree Engineering

Why study dual-degree engineering?

This partnership program builds on math and science with a liberal arts education that better prepares future engineers to deal with cultural, economic, psychological and environmental constraints on modern design.

Students receive a Bachelor of Arts from Augustana and bachelor’s or master’s degree in engineering from the partner institution — Columbia University, in New York City, New York; Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri; or South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota.
Students benefit from Augustana’s small but rigorous courses, nationally recognized physics instruction and undergraduate research opportunities. Through the engineering partner schools, students gain access to the resources, specialized expertise and networking available at larger institutions.
The program has historically produced outstanding career outcomes.

Physics Department Physics Research & Grants

Academics at AU

Related Programs of Study

Engineering Physics
Physics

Contacts

Professor of Physics Dr. Eric Wells

Latest News

Augustana Announces STEM Scholars Program for Fall 2023

Augustana University is excited to announce a new STEM Scholars Program made possible through a more than $30,000 Project Innovation Grant (PIG) from the South Dakota Space Grant Consortium (SDSGC).

Highlights

The dual-degree program has provided exceptionally strong career outcomes.

The demand for engineers that combine outstanding technical abilities with some of the “softer” skills inherent in a liberal arts education is always strong. Students gain a liberal arts understanding of the relationships of their technology to economic, social and political forces — leaving them prepared to meet the challenges of ever-changing modern engineering research and development.

Careers

Augustana physics and dual-degree alumni have gone on to find employment at many exciting and influential organizations, both large and small.

Graduates can secure careers in aerospace, chemical, civil, electrical, geological, industrial, mechanical, nuclear and safety engineering.

Employment

75F, AT&T, Atomic Data, Avera Health, BASF, Boeing, Boston Scientific, Braun Intertec, CACI, Central Square Technologies, Coherent, Collins Aerospace, Contango Oil & Gass, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, Express Scripts, Festo, Fiserv, GEA Group, General Dynamics, General Electric, GeoTek Engineering and Testing Services, Graco, Harley-Davidson, Hewlett-Packard, Honeywell, IBM, INVISR, IP Design Group, Johnson Controls, Johnson & Johnson, JS Sullivan Development, Kidney Specialists of Minnesota, KPMG, Link Manufacturing, Lockheed Martin, Mayo Clinic, Minnesota Department of Transportation, Motorola, National Solar Observatory, Northrop Grumman, North Dakota Department of Transportation, NimbeLink, Opsis Health, Oracle, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Pfizer, Prismatic, Raven Industries, Realtime Robotics, Rockwell, Rotary Systems, SAb Biotherapeutics, Sanford Health, Schlumberger, Seagate, Siemens, Sioux Falls School District, SONIFI Health, South Dakota Investment Council, Stony Brook University Hospital Cancer Center, Trane, Ulteig, US Army, US Navy, Weta Digital, WHKS, Xeal, Xerox

Graduate & Professional Schools

Students from the physics department have a track record of completing advanced degrees from well-respected graduate programs. This includes graduates of the dual-degree program and those with related engineering interests. Augustana alumni have gone on to study at:

Arizona State
Colorado
Columbia
Cornell
Minnesota
Nebraska
North Carolina State
North Dakota
Oklahoma State
Purdue
Rensselaer Polytechnic
South Dakota
South Dakota State
Washington University in St. Louis

Hands-On Learning

Augustana excels at providing undergraduate research experience for its physics and dual-degree engineering students through Augustana-based research and finding internship and research experiences off-campus.

Past Internship Opportunities

Previous Off-Campus Research Experiences

Arizona State University
Clemson University
Iowa State University
Indiana University
Kansas State University
Michigan State University
National Radio Astronomy Observatory (LVA)
Sanford Research
Sanford Underground Laboratory
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC)
Temple University
University of California - Los Angeles
University of Minnesota
Universt of Oklahoma

Courses & Organizations

There are three main parts to the dual-degree program, which include:

SOPHIA general requirements
Augustana major requirements
Prerequisites and GPA requirements specified by the particular school and engineering program

Some departments may allow one or more courses to be transferred back from the engineering school to complete major requirements. Preparatory courses at Augustana depend upon the engineering school selected and which specific program students wish to enter. Students should speak with their academic advisor or the physics department if interested in this program.

Dual-degree students often participate in these campus groups:

Degree Options

Program Area	Affiliated Schools
	Columbia University	Washington University (St. Louis)	South Dakota State University
Aerospace Engineering		M.S.
Applied Mathematics	B.S.
Applied Physics	B.S.
Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering
Biomedical Engineering	B.S. (a)	B.S., M.S.
Chemical Engineering	B.S.	B.S.
Civil Engineering	B.S.
Civil and Environmental Engineering			B.S.
Computer Engineering	B.S.	B.S., M.E., M.S. (c)
Computer Science	B.S.	B.S., M.S., M.E. (c)
Construction Management		M.E.
Control Engineering		M.E.
Cybersecurity Engineering		M.S.
Data Analytics & Statistics		M.S.
Earth and Environmental Engineering	B.S.
Energy, Environmental, and Chemical Engineering		M.E.
Electrical Engineering	B.S.	B.S., M.S.
Engineering Management	B.S.	M.S.
Engineering Mechanics	B.S.
Geoengineering
Imaging Systems		M.S.
Industrial Engineering and Operations Research	B.S. (b)
Information Systems Management		M.I.S.
Materials Science and Engineering	B.S.	M.S.
Mechanical Engineering	B.S.	B.S., M.E.	B.S.
Operations Research	B.S.
Systems Science and Engineering		B.S., M.S.

Program Details

(a) The Columbia Biomedical Engineering program has three tracks: Cellular and Tissue, Biomechanics, and Biomedical Imaging.

(b) The Columbia Industrial Engineering & Operations Research program offers three concentrations: Engineering Management Systems, Financial Engineering, Operations Research, and Industrial Engineering.

(c) Special Information for Students Wishing to Pursue Computer Science or Computer Engineering at WashU: The Dual Degree Program is designed to allow participating students to earn degrees at WashU that are not available at their liberal arts institutions. Students earning computer science degrees at WashU should not have earned computer science degrees at their liberal arts institution. Students earning computer science degrees at their liberal arts institution might consider pursuing a computer engineering undergraduate degree at WashU along with a master’s degree in computer science at WashU, or earning only a master’s degree in computer science at WashU without earning an undergraduate degree at WashU.

A computer science or computer engineering degree awarded by WashU must signify that a notable number of major-specific units were actually completed in residence on the WashU campus. For students planning to earn computer science or computer engineering degrees at WashU, please be aware of the major-specific residency requirements listed below.

Residency Requirement for Computer Science Degrees: The BSCS computer science major consists of 6 core courses (CSE131 and 5 others) and 8 elective courses. Students entering this program must have credit or demonstrate proficiency for CSE131 prior to entry. For any of the other 5 core courses, students who have credit or demonstrate proficiency for such a course will not be required to take it; however, some other course must be designated in consultation with the CSE advisor to replace that course. For the 8 elective courses, all but 2 of them must consist of CSE department courses that normally count for elective credit. Any course taken out of the CSE department for elective credit must be approved by the student’s CSE advisor.

Residency Requirement for Computer Engineering Degrees: The BSCoE computer engineering major consists of 9 core courses from the CSE department (CSE131 and 8 others), a probability/statistics course, and two circuits courses. Students entering this program must have credit or demonstrate proficiency for CSE131 prior to entry. For any of the other 8 core courses that are from the CSE department, students who have credit or demonstrate proficiency for such a course will not be required to take it; however, some other course must be designated in consultation with the CSE advisor to replace that course. The probability/statistics course and the two circuits courses may be satisfied by credit earned anywhere, subject to approval by the CSE advisor or the School of Engineering and Applied Science. The BSCoE course further requires 6 elective courses. For those, all but 2 of them must consist of CSE department courses that normally count for elective credit. Any course taken out of the CSE department for elective credit must be approved by the student’s CSE advisor.