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Major · Engineering

The generalist path through the most versatile discipline in the catalog

Engineering, General prepares students to apply mathematics and scientific principles across a wide range of technical problems rather than within a single defined discipline. About 5,416 degrees are awarded annually across 439 colleges, split between associate's programs that serve as transfer gateways and bachelor's programs designed to remain deliberately broad.

Schools offering
439
Annual completions
5,416
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$83k

About this major

Engineering, General prepares students to apply mathematical and scientific principles across a wide range of practical problems — in industry, public works, and commerce — rather than within a single discipline. The CIP definition puts it plainly: this is an undifferentiated or individualized program in engineering. In practice that means the curriculum covers the analytical foundations common to all engineering disciplines — mathematics through differential equations, physics, materials, and computational methods — without narrowing to a named specialty like thermal systems or electrical circuits.

The major exists in two forms that serve different purposes. At community colleges, Engineering, General is typically a transfer platform: students complete lower-division math and science requirements, then move into a named bachelor's program at a four-year school. At some universities, the program is intentionally broad by design — an engineering sciences track that trains generalists who can move across sectors and sub-disciplines. The top-completing institutions reflect both: Northern Virginia Community College (193 associate's completions), Montgomery College (90 associate's), and City Colleges of Chicago (75 associate's) represent the transfer-gateway side; University of Detroit Mercy (248 bachelor's completions), ASU (139 bachelor's), and Dartmouth (101 bachelor's) represent programs built to stay broad.

Scale gives context. About 5,416 degrees are awarded annually across 439 colleges — a fraction of the 33,431 mechanical engineering degrees or 14,891 electrical engineering degrees produced each year. Most engineering students select a defined discipline from the outset; Engineering, General is the choice of students who haven't yet, or who are deliberately at a school that doesn't require them to. The five-year earnings for bachelor's completers run about $91,424 — comparable to named disciplines at the same horizon.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Architectural and engineering managers $168k +3.8% Bachelor's degree
Engineers, all other $118k +2.1% Bachelor's degree
Engineering teachers, postsecondary $106k +8.1% Doctoral or professional degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$83k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$74k

Bachelor's

$91k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if you're early in deciding which branch of engineering interests you and want a curriculum that keeps options open while building the analytical foundations all engineering work requires. The major also fits students entering a community college with a clear plan to transfer — using the associate's degree as a cost-efficient way to complete lower-division math and science before committing to a specific four-year program. If you're drawn to problem-solving across domains rather than deep specialization in one, and if you're enrolling at a school whose program is explicitly designed to stay broad, the major rewards exactly that disposition. The bachelor's-level earnings data — about $91,424 at five years — suggests the generalist path doesn't penalize you on outcomes relative to named disciplines at that early horizon.

Think twice if you already know you want to be a mechanical, electrical, or civil engineer: the related disciplines have more targeted curricula, cleaner credential signals to employers, and significantly larger graduate pools, which translates to more alumni networks and more established recruiting pipelines. Think twice also if you're drawn to the associate's degree as a terminal credential — the earnings gap between associate's completers ($74,167 median) and bachelor's completers ($91,424) is about $17,000 at five years, and the occupational destinations for bachelor's graduates are meaningfully different. And if your school's 'Engineering, General' is effectively an undifferentiated placeholder rather than a designed generalist track, you may find that a named discipline serves you better from admission through job search.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Engineering, General

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
University of Detroit Mercy Detroit, MI 0 248 248
Northern Virginia Community College Annandale, VA 193 0 193
Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ 0 139 139
Mercer University Macon, GA 0 101 101
Dartmouth College Hanover, NH 0 101 101
Weber State University Ogden, UT 91 0 91
East Carolina University Greenville, NC 0 91 91
Montgomery College Rockville, MD 90 0 90
Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 0 88 88
City Colleges of Chicago-Wilbur Wright College Chicago, IL 75 0 75
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Mechanical Engineering

33,431 completions/yr

Electrical and Electronics Engineering

14,891 completions/yr

Civil Engineering, General

13,488 completions/yr

Computer Engineering, General

9,312 completions/yr

Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering

8,569 completions/yr

Chemical Engineering

7,914 completions/yr

Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering, General

6,386 completions/yr

Industrial Engineering

4,841 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

How is Engineering, General different from mechanical, electrical, or civil engineering?
Named disciplines like mechanical, electrical, and civil engineering organize their curricula around a defined domain — thermal systems for mechanical, circuits and signals for electrical, structures and infrastructure for civil. Engineering, General deliberately avoids that specialization; the curriculum stays broader across analysis methods, physical systems, and problem types. That breadth is a feature at schools that offer a Dartmouth-style engineering sciences track, and a stepping stone at community colleges where the associate's is designed to transfer into a named four-year program. Completions data makes the contrast visible: roughly 33,431 mechanical engineering degrees are awarded each year; Engineering, General accounts for 5,416 — a fraction of the field's overall output.
Does an associate's in Engineering, General lead to an engineering job, or do I need to transfer?
For most career destinations linked to this major, a bachelor's degree is the typical credential. The associate's-level median earnings in this major run about $74,167 at five years, versus $91,424 for bachelor's completers — a gap of roughly $17,000. That gap reflects different job titles and ceilings, not just seniority. Many community colleges that offer Engineering, General explicitly design it as a transfer pathway: students complete lower-division math and science requirements, then move into a named engineering bachelor's program at a four-year school. If your goal is to work as an engineer, plan to complete the bachelor's, using the associate's as a cost-efficient first step.
What kinds of jobs do Engineering, General graduates end up in?
The careers linked to this major reflect its broad scope. 'Engineers, all other' (SOC 17-2199) is itself a catchall occupational category — a $117,750 median wage, 2.1% projected growth — covering engineers who don't fit neatly into a named discipline. Architectural and engineering managers ($167,740 median) represent a senior-level path that typically takes a decade or more of experience. Engineering teachers at the postsecondary level ($106,120 median) require a doctoral degree and are not a bachelor's-level destination. Because this major's career data rolls up into broad occupational buckets, graduates often report under a specific discipline's SOC code once they specialize after graduation.
What's a realistic earnings picture after an Engineering, General degree?
Five-year median earnings for bachelor's completers sit at about $91,424 — close to what mechanical engineering bachelor's completers report. The associate's-level figure is about $74,167 at five years. Ten-year earnings data is not available for this major, so projections beyond the five-year window aren't grounded in data from this packet. The 'Engineers, all other' occupation shows a $117,750 median wage, and architectural and engineering managers reach $167,740 — but those figures represent senior roles or a SOC catchall category, not a guaranteed trajectory from day one.
Should I declare Engineering, General or go straight into a specific discipline?
If you know what kind of engineering you want to do, most counselors and career data suggest declaring the specific discipline from the start — it produces more targeted coursework and a cleaner credential. Mechanical engineering graduates 33,431 per year; electrical and electronics engineering, 14,891; civil, 13,488. Engineering, General makes sense when a school structures its program to stay broad by design, or when you're entering a community college with the intent to transfer and want to maximize flexibility in where you land. If the goal is maximum specialization, Engineering, General is the slower route.
What does the mix of schools offering this major tell me?
The top-completing institutions split between community colleges — Northern Virginia Community College, Montgomery College, Weber State's associate's program, City Colleges of Chicago — and four-year schools like University of Detroit Mercy, Arizona State, Mercer, Dartmouth, and Michigan State. That mix reflects the two distinct uses of the major: a transfer gateway at community colleges, and a deliberately generalist bachelor's track at certain universities. The school you attend shapes what the degree actually is — the name on the transcript is the same, but the curriculum, depth, and downstream credential differ significantly depending on where and at what level you complete.