Humanities graduate programs coming from engineering undergrad?

[odysseyofcake]

Hi,

This is a relatively general question at this point, since I'm a year and a half from graduating, but I'm curious if anyone can shed light on this. I am a 3rd year engineering student, with a pretty good academic record (~3.6 GPA with an upward trend). I have spent quite a lot of time trying to find my niche within engineering (I have research experience in several labs), but so far to no avail (i.e., I have generally been 'successful' in my positions but have not been very interested in the research). More and more I am seriously considering the possibility of applying to humanities graduate programs (specifically, equity studies or history). I've taken courses in the humanities and social sciences as electives and have done well in them; typically better than my engineering courses. I read a lot about these topics in my spare time, and although my formal humanities education would seem lacking from my academic record, I can hold my own in conversations with people who are actually studying what I'm interested in because of my extracurricular reading.

My main question is - what would the reaction be of admissions committees seeing an applicant with a background like mine, especially competitive programs in the U.S., the U.K. and Canada? I know that applying to Law school from engineering is not unheard of, and is something I've considered as well, but what about M.A. or Ph.D programs? I feel like the 'analytical thinking skills' doing well in an engineering program supposedly shows might be a boon for me, but I'm not sure how favourably this would be looked upon in practice. I'd love to hear from people who've faced a similar dilemma in the past or can otherwise speak from personal experience.

Thanks a lot.

[Eigen]

I've got a colleague at my current university who went from Chemistry to Anthropology. He even did a bit of graduate work in Chemistry before he decided he wanted to work in the social sciences instead. So it's definitely possible- can't really give you much to go on past that.

[odysseyofcake]

@Eigen: It's reassuring to see examples of switches like that; do you by any chance know how difficult this switch was for him, though? Did he have to spend some time before applying taking undergraduate anthropology courses? And was it at the same school? I guess just about any kind of switch is 'possible' if you're willing to go through the required hoops, but it would also be interesting to know how relevant his science background was considered if you happen to know.

Thanks.

[Eigen]

I actually may see him this week- if so, I'll ask him about it.

I know the two graduate programs were not at the same school, and both were different from his undergrad (I think). I don't think there was more than an application cycle between the two, but I'm not positive.

If I recall, the PI he works with now does a lot of bioanthropology work in the amazon rainforest, and some other people working with that advisor do a lot of work on hallucinogens and other natural medicinal agents, so I'm sure his background was useful to what he's doing now in that manner.

[especially]

I certainly don't think it's impossible - many master's programs up here (Canada) will take on students with a 'qualifying year' if they're transferring from a very different undergrad degree. In this case, you'd probably take core courses in upper-level history to make sure you've got a good grasp on things. I'd advise emailing the schools/programs you're thinking about and asking about their policy with qualifying years!

[odysseyofcake]

@Eigen: If you wouldn't mind asking, that would be appreciated!

@especially: What do you mean by a 'qualifying year' exactly? Would this mean taking undergraduate courses before being taken on as a student, or is it more like a 'probationary' period where you take the courses in conjunction with research? I'll read into it; thanks.

[especially]

I think whether the courses are probationary or preliminary depends on the school. Here are some example links I dug up, hope it helps:

http://www.mcgill.ca/history/graduate/ma#QUALIFYING

http://www.yorku.ca/gradhist/ma/index.html

http://www.ucalgary.ca/pubs/calendar/current/gs-3.html

http://www4.carleton.ca/calendars/grad/current/regulations/index.html#2

[orangeMan]

In the UK, there is this thing called (postgraduate) diploma. It's a graduate qualification but considered less prestigious than a masters and entry requirements are set accordingly. For example,

http://www.courtauld...dha/index.shtml

http://www2.lse.ac.u...nSociology.aspx

http://www.econ.cam....ospect/diploma/

http://www.lancs.ac....ad/diplomas.htm

Or a 2 year BA might be your thing.

http://www.ox.ac.uk/...applicants.html

Edited December 17, 2011 by orangeMan