School:Union College

Overview

Innovation and creativity in all places should primarily be driven by the educators. Union College, according to all statistics and personal experiences, is a wonderfully balanced educational institution. With leading undergraduate engineering program embedded in a liberal arts college setting, Union should be the prime leader in innovation. This is the one thing that Union engineering students always unanimously agree upon. If there is any communication across disciplines it should be happening on this almost unique campus.

Union College admits, educates, and inspires nearly 50 engineering students annually, while the general campus population totals in approximately 2,200 undergraduate students scattered across disciplines. With small class sizes, and 96% of faculty that holds PhD degrees, Union College fosters an educational environment that supports and deeply cares about each individual. 

With the ease of access to every discipline available at Union, students can easily branch out of their area of study. This, seemingly common liberal arts college trait proves to be highly significant in educating future engineers, and Union graduates are frequently praised for their distinguished communication skills, excellent team work, and leadership abilities. One of Union's main goals is to educate well-rounded individuals who are likely to succeed in any area they choose after graduation. Union College fosters and encourages creativity and innovation, leadership and academic research. The campus is a wonderful environment that has simply not worded its efforts as "Innovation and Entrepreneurship".

Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Union College is a hub of social events. At this point, every department holds weekly speaker series, there is at least one speaker or discussion event going on each day, and every student can easily obtain a minor leadership position. With vibrant Greek life, and vibrant social life through campus activities, Union sometimes feels overwhelmingly educational even outside of the classroom. With a lot of campus events being student-run, Union students tend to acquire excellent advertising, planning, and event facilitating skills during their four years at the U. A large number of these students join MBA programs, medical school, or law school, and it is highly common for Union engineers to continue their education in business rather than engineering, simply because their interdisciplinary engineering experience allows them to become leaders in the business areas of engineering.

For those students interested in technological advancement, Union is the place to be. With only undergradute students on campus, the professors are committed to providing research opportunities and seeking interested students. Although different for students in liberal arts, engineering students frequently take on faculty research projects as early as their freshman year, committing to practica or summer research.

Students interested in entrepreneurship always find their niche. Ranging from academic majors in economics and menagerial economics that allow vast exploration of the curriculum, through the combined 5-year MBA program with Union Graduate College, this liberal arts college provides a good amount of opportunities for broad education that easily leads students to business and entrepreneurship.