Engineering (Cooperative) Program
Office:150 Houghton Hall
(716) 673-3302
Dr. Junaid Zubairi, Chairperson
Dr. Erica Simoson, Program Coordinator
Email: cooperative.engineering@fredonia.edu
Website: https://www.fredonia.edu/academics/colleges-schools/college-liberal-arts-sciences/physics
The Cooperative Engineering program takes its name from the academic cooperative agreements between Fredonia and its affiliated engineering schools. The intent is to combine liberal arts and sciences at Fredonia with engineering at another school, thereby maximizing the student’s potential as a member of society and as an employer or employee. Cooperation between Fredonia and the engineering school facilitate student transfer and mutual recognition of general education requirements. Fredonia keeps in contact with the program coordinators and/or Fredonia cooperative engineering students have completed degrees at the following institutions:
Case Western Reserve University
Clarkson University
Columbia University
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Louisiana Tech University
New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred
Ohio State University
Penn State Erie Behrend
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rochester Institute of Technology
State University of New York at Binghamton
State University of New York at Buffalo
State University of New York at Stony Brook
Syracuse University
Trine University
*NOTE: An affiliation agreement is in place with Columbia University for their combined plan program giving priority status to any applications from Fredonia Cooperative Engineering students.
The following is a list of the diverse program options available at the engineering colleges, under the Fredonia Cooperative Engineering program. As institutions are continually revising and updating their offerings, students are advised to consult with the catalogs of affiliated schools for recent additions and changes.
Aeronautical
Aerospace
Aerospace & Aviation
Applied Physics
Biomaterials Engineering
Bioengineering
Biomedical
Biomedical Materials Eng. Science
Ceramic
Chemical
Civil
Civil and Environmental
Computer
Computer and Systems
Electrical
Engineering Mechanics
Engineering Physics
Engineering Science
Environmental
Fluid and Thermal Science
Food, Agricultural, & Biological
Glass Engineering
Industrial
Industrial and Management
Industrial and Operations Research
Industrial and Systems
Interdisciplinary and Management
Manufacturing
Materials
Materials Science
Materials Science and Engineering
Mechanical
Mechatronics
Microelectronic
Nuclear
Operations Research
Polymer Science
Renewable Energy Engineering
Robotics
Software Engineering
Systems and Control Engineering
Welding Engineering
These cooperative arrangements include but are not limited to the popular Three-Two (3-2) option. Briefly, a student in the 3-2 option takes a minimum of 90 credit hours (three years) at Fredonia in a curriculum, modified specifically for this program, in biology, business administration, chemistry, computer science, economics, English, environmental science, geology, history, mathematics, mathematics physics, physics, political science, psychology, or sociology. The student then transfers to an affiliated school and completes at least 60 credit hours (two years) in an engineering discipline. When the student completes this five-year option, they obtain a baccalaureate from the engineering institution. Provided the student has satisfied Fredonia’s remaining requirements at the engineering school, they obtain a second baccalaureate; this one from Fredonia according to the curriculum there followed. It is possible for students who do not wish to major in any one of the specified departments to enter the Interdisciplinary Studies program, which allows the student to design their own Cooperative Engineering curriculum. This curriculum will include, but not be limited to, the engineering core and related courses for the engineering college of the student’s choice. Although the popular 3-2 option is considered the basic option for Cooperative Engineering, 2-2, 2-3, 3-3, and 4-2 options are available. The 2-2 and 2-3 options do not lead to Fredonia degrees; the 3-3 and 4-2 programs do. In many cases the latter will result in a master’s degree in engineering in addition to the bachelor’s degree from Fredonia. There are several newly emerging fields of study in engineering focused on nanotechnology, microelectronics, photonics and quantum engineering that a student with a strong physics background would be particularly equipped to pursue.
Suggested Engineering Core:
NOTE:
- PHYS 321, PHYS 322, PHYS 329, PHYS 323, and PHYS 324: Students interested in electrical engineering may omit PHYS 322; areas other than electrical and mechanical engineering may omit PHYS 324 (in some cases, mechanicals may omit this also). Students are encouraged to consult engineering school catalogs for specific requirements.
Strongly recommended are courses in computer programming such as Computer Science I (CSIT 121), Modern Physics (PHYS 234), and 3 to 6 credit hours of economics. This core, coupled with the departmental and general university requirements, forms the basic curriculum for the three-year program at Fredonia.
An attractive feature of the 3-2 option is that the final decision regarding the area of engineering usually is not made until the third year, thus providing the student with sufficient experience to make a more informed choice. However, it is to the student’s advantage to choose the second institution and the area of engineering as soon as possible so course selections can be tailored to that choice. To transfer, the student first consults with the Cooperative Engineering director and then applies to one of the affiliated engineering colleges or to any other engineering college of their choice. At the affiliated engineering institution, a Fredonia student application is given special consideration. Admission is not, in general, guaranteed. However, for 3-2 students with GPA’s exceeding 2.80, 100 percent have gained admission to an engineering school.
Since there are more than 60 baccalaureate programs with numerous concentrations available at the affiliated institutions, and since these curricula are frequently updated, it is mandatory that all students registered in Cooperative Engineering meet the director or authorized designee for advisement each and every semester.
For students interested in transferring to the Cooperative Engineering program either from other Fredonia majors or from other colleges, the following applies:
- The student should have completed sufficient background courses to ensure timely completion of the three-year Fredonia component.
- The student should have a cumulative GPA of approximately 2.5 or higher.
- Students should be aware that engineering schools will not accept students with less than outstanding academic records.
A student organization, the Fredonia Engineering and Physics Society, provides opportunities to travel to conferences and other extracurricular activities including design projects.
A large number of engineering and engineering-related courses comprising most courses typically taught in the first two years at engineering schools are offered at Fredonia. These include Statics, Dynamics and Mechanics of Solids (PHYS 321, PHYS 329, PHYS 322), Circuit Analysis (PHYS 323), Thermodynamics (PHYS 330), Optics w/lab (PHYS 340-PHYS 341), and Electronics w/lab (PHYS 325-PHYS 327).
Students should contact the director of the Cooperative Engineering program for additional details for the following awards:
- Herbert P. Carlyon Scholarship
- Cooperative Engineering Scholarship Award