Former Occidental student Michael Straus (‘23) recently moved into his new dorm at Columbia University through the 3-2 Engineering Program. The program is a rigorous undergraduate path that includes three years at Occidental, and two years at either Columbia University or the California Institute of Technology. Students in the program receive two bachelor’s degrees, one from each of the institutions they attend.
“I think it’s a really great opportunity,” Straus said.
According to Professor Alec Schramm — director of Occidental’s 3-2 Engineering Program — Occidental often sends less than six students to Columbia University or the California Institute of Technology in a given year. Last year, Straus said he was the only student who chose to leave Occidental and attend the program.
Straus said his time at Occidental served as a strong foundation for his studies in computer science, which he will continue for the next two years at Columbia.
“I feel like Occidental set me up very well for the class material [at Columbia,]” Straus said. “I’m very appreciative of the small class sizes at Occidental… You really get to know your professors and form a personal connection with them.”
Straus said participating in the 3-2 Engineering Program has also provided the best of both worlds, as he’s now able to experience the benefits of a large school environment.
“A bigger school does have its advantages. It’s really nice to be able to find a niche community of people that are interested in whatever you’re interested in,” Straus said. “For example, the chess club here [or] the board games club — I found those to be very inviting spaces that had a surprising number of 3-2 engineering students.”
Moreover, Straus said he looks forward to taking advantage of all New York has to offer.
“I love LA and all, but you don’t have a Statue of Liberty, sorry,” Straus said. “I want to go to Broadway plays [and] I want to go to the Rockettes. The opportunity to network is a really big thing at Columbia too.”
Schramm said that the unique pathway is valuable for both undergraduate students and the partnering engineering institutions.
“There are a lot of people who are interested in engineering but also want to have a liberal arts background. And the engineering schools are interested in it because they want to have engineers who know how to communicate,” Schramm said. “So it’s really a win-win on both sides.”
However, due to the unique nature of the pathway and the fact that it doesn’t align with every student’s goals, Schramm said the program isn’t for everyone. Some students benefit more from staying at Occidental for all four years, Schramm said.
“I had a student several years ago who absolutely would have gotten into Caltech [through the 3-2 program], there’s no question about it. And she decided that she wanted to spend more time at Oxy,” Schramm said. “She really wanted to take French literature, and she knew that once she left Oxy, she would never do it.”
There are alternative options to the 3-2 Engineering Program, and Schramm said a four-year undergraduate degree followed by a two-year master’s program is a more common pathway. Schramm said his former student elected to stay at Occidental for her fourth year to take liberal arts courses, and then went to Stanford University for a two-year master’s program. According to Schramm, it’s important for students to keep an open mind when thinking about the future.
“I always try to tell students that you don’t have to do 3-2,” Schramm said. “I don’t push students one way or the other, I have conversations with them to help them come to their best decision.”
Madalena Larkins (first year), who is interested in environmental engineering, attended the 3-2 Engineering Program information session at the start of the year. But Larkins said she ultimately decided not to pursue the 3-2 program due to the time commitment and rigidity considering that she attended community college during high school.
“I don’t want five more years of undergrad,” Larkins said.
Instead, Larkins said she plans to do the Research Early Access Program (REAP) at Occidental this upcoming summer.
“It’s really easy for sophomores to get access to both STEM and humanities research. I feel like that [REAP] is a really good program, and if I’m able to participate in that it could really help,” Larkins said.
Straus said students interested in taking the leap should think of everything that goes into the decision to pursue the 3-2 Engineering Program.
“I mean, you are going to leave in the middle of your junior year. And you also [have] to weigh the benefits of the 3-2 program against a masters,” Straus said. “Talk to [Professor] Schramm, he’s the liaison and an amazing person if you have any questions… For me at least, he gave me my thumbs-up.”
After graduating from Columbia, Straus said he hopes to work in renewable energy. Straus said he developed this interest during his first year at Occidental while doing data analysis of energy grids with Professor Snowden-Ifft.
“I was able to find ways to integrate my computer science knowledge for good,” Straus said. “I thought that was a really good mission that Occidental and that research [experience] showed to me.
Schramm said he hopes to spread the word about the 3-2 Engineering Program – he said a representative from Columbia will be visiting Occidental’s campus in October. According to Schramm, learning from both the humanities and STEM – such as through Occidental’s 3-2 Engineering Program – is valuable and gives greater insight into the world.
“It’s just such a beautiful combination of liberal arts and science,” Schramm said.
Contact Julian Villa at jvilla@oxy.edu.
