Engineering Majors can Study Abroad, Too!

Are you pursuing a major that is homework-intensive and cannot imagine being able to juggle studying abroad while still accomplishing credits towards your major? Well I am living proof that it is possible! I am a senior in mechanical engineering on a five-year plan. I didn't put much thought into studying abroad  until my junior year. Junior year is the most typical year students commit to studying abroad. It gives the student another full year at their home university so they can walk at their graduation. Just because it's the normal time to fulfill most students traveling desires,you can certainly study earlier or later.

study abroad, studying abroad, study abroad in Dublin Classroom at DCU

Ideally, if you are in a major that has a heavy academic load, you should plan to study abroad sooner than later. This is not saying that you should study abroad sooner than later; just having the plan established is most of the battle of studying abroad. You should also know if that difficult major is the major you are going to stick with so you do not have to waste any time switching majors.

Desks at DCU

For me, I  knew that I wanted to do engineering and I was able to get into engineering classes since my first semester at the university. But the most important suggestion I have for tougher majors is to save your general education classes. This is how I managed to study abroad without falling behind academically. I still had three general education classes I needed to complete before graduating, so I applied for these classes in Dublin so I did not have to spend all of my nights in a library instead of out exploring and soaking the culture in. You still have to attend class, do presentations and write essays, but you will learn so much more by studying the cultures around you rather than continuing your majors credits. Below are two typical of pictures of a classroom setting at Dublin City University.

As an engineering student, I am fascinated by the engineering in the different countries I have been blessed to see, like Dublin Castle...

Dublin Castle

...and City Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Belfast City Hall

This is only half of Westminster Abbey in London, England. It was hard to choose a single building in London because their architecture is all amazing but Westminster really took my breathe away.

Westminster Abbey

Lastly, my personal favorite city I have stayed in, Amsterdam in the Netherlands. It is incredible to see what the Dutch have done to the land to utilize as much as possible. There are canals throughout the city and the buildings are so cramped together. At the top of every building is a scaffold that juts out so the occupants can move larger objects from the outside instead of weaving through the building.

Canals and buildings in Amsterdam

Sylas S. is the Spring 2017 MOJO Blogger in Dublin, Ireland. He is currently a senior studying Mechanical Engineering at University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

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