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By Victoria Hansen
hansenv@findlay.edu
The University of Findlay now has majors for every field of STEM, but there’s a catch: engineering is a 2+2 program.
The “2+2” in the name of the program means that students will do their first two years of general studies at UF, and then transfer to either Wright State University for electrical engineering or Ohio Northern University for civil, electrical, or mechanical engineering. Because of this division of classes, UF will not need to hire new professors or create any new courses for the major.
“We have the classes that they [WSU and ONU] expect our students to take in order to go and start there,” said Erin Randall, director of undergraduate admissions at UF. “Our programs already could prepare the student for that, so there will be no extra classes that the student will need to take in order to get set up to go there.”
For the first two years, the aspiring engineers will be fully fledged UF students, attending classes on campus, eating at Henderson, and paying UF tuition. For their junior and senior year, however, the students will fully transfer to either ONU or WSU for specialized engineering classes. Their final school will be on their diploma, with no mention of UF.
“I think the 2+2 opportunity opens the door for those students that want to stay local for at least two years; that don’t want to leave right out of high school,” Randall said. “We have an engineering pathway that will help bridge you to where you want to go.”
When students apply to the 2+2 program, those that want to transfer to ONU must also apply to ONU as a non-degree seeking student and be accepted there. There are no additional application requirements for the WSU transfer path. To transfer from UF to ONU, an overall GPA of 3.0 is required along with a 2.5 in courses at ONU. The WSU transfer path requires a GPA of 2.0.
ONU will require 2+2 students to take one class per semester on their campus during the two years as UF students. UF will not provide transportation to ONU for this program, which means that students will need some form of transportation to participate in the 2+2 program with ONU.
According to U.S. News & World Report, ONU has the No. 14 best undergraduate engineering program at a school where doctoral degrees are not offered and is the No. 1 best regional college in the Midwest. WSU’s engineering program is ranked No. 150 and the university is ranked No. 395-434 for national universities.
