ItsMe
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Engineering degrees (and programs/curricula that teach engineering) in Universities in the U.S. are accredited (certified) by only a few recognized certifying organizations. Universities try to get their curricula accredited so that students and employers (who will hire their students) will consider their programs good & strong.
After all, one reason why a student chooses to go to a particular school is to make sure they get a good and strong education in their chosen field - which should translate to good/strong job offers or additional opportunities for graduate education.
Similarly, employers/companies look at schools to hire their graduates - and they hire from those schools that have better educational programs. So the accreditation given to university & its programs are very important to its academic reputation. Accreditation (or lack of it) also affects what courses are taught, and what professors are chosen to teach specific courses in an academic subject/curriculum.
Universities have to request to have each curriculum accredited. So if they have a BSME, BSEE, BSCE, and BSE programs, each is assessed separately and each gets accredited separately. So for example, if a brand new university creates the above programs and requests each to be accredited, they may find that only one of those gets accredited and the others do not because they are not considered strong enough curricula.
Chances are, the school that offers the BS in Engineering was not able to get accreditation for its BS in ME curriculum. This could be because they don't have enough professors to teach critical ME courses, or their professors aren't strong enough (e.g. they don't have a PhD degree), or for another reason. That school then will offer only the more generic "BS in Engineering" degree to their students. To still attract ME candidates, they can decide to offer a "concentration" in ME - which only means they have some ME courses (and they've packaged them into a group and given that group a special name). This concentration will give you an "understanding" of mechanical engineering, but is not considered the same as a BS in Mechanical Engineering. A proper BSME degree will meet international/regional minimal requirements for professorial stature/qualifications, required courses/topics, length of study (e.g. # of semesters of study in fluid dynamics or thermodynamics), years of study, number and types of electives, etc.
So if you found two schools, one offers a BS in ME and the other offers a BS in Engineering with concentration in ME... I would choose the first one.
And remember, employers will expect you to put the proper degree on your resume after you graduate, so if you receive a BS in Engineering (with or without the ME concentration), the degree is still a BSE - it will not be considered a BSME degree, and you should not claim it as such. Employers can find out easily if someone lies about their degree - and they will take retroactive action (e.g. fire the person for lying to them). I don't want to scare you, but in the real world it's very important you understand the difference between the two, and even a simplification or abbreviation of your degree can be considered lying about it. So the BSME and BSE degrees are not the same.
Anyway, looks like you're interested in a career in engineering, possibly mechanical engineering. Great if that's the case. It's a fun & exciting field, lots of potential across our economy. And we certainly need more strong bright engineers and scientists in the world, to create exciting new products and inventions!!
Anonymous
the first qualifies you to be a technician. the 2d qualifies to be an engineer. I actual do not comprehend why the first is even a actual college degree. it is continually only a education application. yet who's conscious what is going on on your element of the international.