Science and Engineering Program

Goucher College has established a dual-degree program through which students earn both a bachelor of arts degree from Goucher and a bachelor of science degree from the G.W.C. Whiting School of Engineering of Johns Hopkins University (JHU). The dual-degree program enables students to explore the liberal arts and sciences, while developing professional knowledge and experience in a specific field of engineering. Students in the program are admitted initially by Goucher College, where they will typically spend three years fulfilling general education requirements and completing major requirements for the B.A. degree in biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, or physics.

Successful students then complete an additional two years at JHU, during which requirements are completed for the B.S. degree in one of the following disciplines:

• Electrical and computer engineering, which include the fields of communications, control systems, electronics, and digital systems.
• Chemical & Biomolecular engineering, which relies upon the laws of chemistry, physics, and mathematics to change the structure of chemical substances and purify new substances that are created in the process. There are two chemical engineering tracks. The biomolecular engineering track is dedicated to solving problems and generating products through molecular scale biochemical and biological transformations. This discipline teaches students to integrate modern molecular biology and biochemistry with engineering concepts in the design of novel biological products and processes for biotechnology and bioengineering.
• Civil engineering, which reflects the breadth of the engineering disciplines in the planning and designing of buildings, bridges, transportation systems, and environmental programs.
• Environmental engineering, which deals with the amelioration of environmental problems.
• Materials science and engineering, which is concerned with the structure, properties, performance, processing, and production of all materials including biomaterials.
• Mechanical engineering, which deals with the manipulation of energy through useful mechanical devices including biomechanical devices.

Students who wish to pursue the dual degree should submit a letter of intent to the associate dean for academic affairs at Goucher before beginning their second year of study at the college. On written approval of the academic dean at Goucher and the associate dean for academic affairs of the Whiting School, students are assigned academic advisers at JHU and are permitted to cross-register for appropriate (usually introductory) engineering courses at JHU during their sophomore and junior years at Goucher. In return, students accepted at JHU are eligible, during the fourth and fifth years while enrolled at JHU, to take an equivalent number of courses in their liberal arts major at Goucher that count toward electives in their engineering major.

Students who have completed two-and-one-half years of full-time study at Goucher may apply to JHU through the Office of Undergraduate Admissions as transfer students for the B.S. degree, effective at the end of the junior year at Goucher. Ordinarily, the written recommendation of the program director is the primary basis for evaluating these students. Students who have achieved outstanding records during their first two years at Goucher may apply for an early decision at the end of their sophomore year.

For purposes such as payment of tuition, student governance, financial aid, and housing, participants in the program are considered Goucher students during their first three years and JHU students during the last two.

Both the B.A. degree from Goucher College and the B.S. degree from JHU are awarded at the conclusion of the fifth year, provided all requirements for each degree have been fulfilled. Interested students should contact director of the program, Dr. Ali Bakhshai in the Physics & Astronomy Department abakhsha@goucher.edu.