They allow participants to earn undergraduate degrees in both engineering and a liberal arts area. Participants typically spend three or four years at a liberal arts institution and four semesters at the Sever Institute of Technology of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Washington University.
Students completing the program obtain the advantages and strengths of two complementary educations.
Clearly specified requirements permit students with a wide range of backgrounds to obtain degrees in chemical engineering, civil engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, engineering and public policy, mechanical engineering, and system science engineering. Majors in biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, physics, and pre-medicine should find the engineering prerequisites relatively easy to complete. The basic core of technical requirements is sufficiently flexible to permit motivated students from areas as diverse as business, history, the languages, and political science to enter the program if they begin serious planning immediately upon entering college. Successful applicants to Sever Institute of Technology must complete prerequisite courses and be recommended by the Dual Degree Liaison Officer of their college or university. Of these 18 hours, at least eight must be taken in one subject or area and include one junior-senior level course.