Chemical Engineering in CIT!

the_new_guy

Hi guys!
This is my first post. So I moved into Ireland about a month ago. I am 17 and doing my second year of A Levels (A2). Exams are in up-coming may/june session 2014 at Dublin Tutorial Center. I am currently living in cork city with my dad who is an Irish National. Last year, I graduated high school from US as a foreign exchange student. I have applied though CAO to UCC and CIT as my first and second preference respectively. I am planning to study in chemical engineering. I am pretty confident to get at least 4A in my GCE A levels which equates to (135*4 + 25 ) = 565 CAO points.

Right now, I am a little concerned about CIT VS UCC ( Chemical & Biopharmacaeutical Engineering VS Process and Chemical Engineering). I went through the modules and found CIT being more practical based as opposed to UCC being rather theoretical.

Any Pros and Cons would be greatly appreciated as far as job is concerned, University Life, Classroom ,degree, resources and all.

Thank You! :-)

stardollz

I am not an engineer, but I have studied in both cit and UCC.

CIT: Classroom wise - cit is more "class" based. Smaller groups, generally easier to get extra help from lecturers and tutors as the group is smaller and it's more personal. I've heard from a few engineering friends that the labs and facilities are great! Also worth checking to see if there is placement in either degree as this will really stand to you.

UCC: more lecture based - big group and the lecturers just talk at you. You generally need to do the learning yourself. Bigger group so harder to ask questions etc. But you have the 'University' degree at the end of it.

College life is what you make of it yourself - generally the same in both colleges in the fact that you do what you like. Again, cit being more personal the lecturers will know you by name and will question if you miss a few classes. UCC will not!

Good luck!

mrmeindl

the_new_guy wrote: »

I have applied though CAO to UCC and CIT as my first and second preference respectively.I am planning to study in chemical engineering. I am pretty confident to get at least 4A in my GCE A levels which equates to (135*4 + 25 ) = 565 CAO points.

If you get that many points you'll get into UCC no problem, I'd advise you go to an open day in both before you make your decision. I'm in Chemeng in CIT so PM me if you've any more questions.
Points are a good bit lower in CIT just down to popularity and CITs useless marketing.

the_new_guy wrote: »

Right now, I am a little concerned about CIT VS UCC ( Chemical & Biopharmacaeutical Engineering VS Process and Chemical Engineering). I went through the modules and found CIT being more practical based as opposed to UCC being rather theoretical.

There's no real difference in the degree, the titles are just semantics. CITs degree was called Chemical & Process up to about 5 year ago. The biopharm side is a huge part of the industry now so we have a couple of modules focused on it. CIT have been doing the course for a long time, there's a lot of CIT graduates out there working in industry and the degree has an excellent reputation.

The CIT degree was accepted as masters level by Icheme, I'm not sure if it still is but it doesn't really make any difference in the real world when you start working.
In CIT there's paid work placement organised for you in 3rd year, people finish up at easter and go working. Many people get jobs where they did their placement. At this stage of the year 4/5 4th years already have jobs lined up when they graduate. I dunno if UCC do placement.

Is UCC a good degree - at this stage probably yes, is CITs better? I've no idea but CIT people get on very well with their degrees. Everyone who graduated the last few years have jobs, the majority of which are in Ireland which is rare.

the_new_guy wrote: »

Any Pros and Cons would be greatly appreciated as far as job is concerned, University Life, Classroom ,degree, resources and all.

Pro's for CIT are mainly there's a lot of practical work, in the Process labs we operate scrubbers, distillation columns etc where in UCC they read about them. It depends on if you like to have hands on learning or just reading. CIT is fully semesterised & modularised whereas UCC is some sort of weird variation of both with Christmas and Summer exams for some subjects.

Cons for CIT - College looks a bit like a concentration camp, Library opening hours aren't the best most of the term.

In UCC I believe you're in common engineering until 2nd year so you don't do any Chemical Eng for a little while.

Life in CIT is more like school than university tbh, you're in small classes in classrooms most of the time, in UCC the class sizes are around the same it's just nicer faciliites outside of Chemeng.

College life - it depends what you make of it yourself, there's a huge amount of sports clubs & societies, plenty of opportunities to try new things.

the_new_guy

Thank you guys for you response. It really helped a lot! :-D

mrmeindl wrote: »

There's no real difference in the degree, the titles are just semantics. CITs degree was called Chemical & Process up to about 5 year ago. The biopharm side is a huge part of the industry now so we have a couple of modules focused on it. CIT have been doing the course for a long time, there's a lot of CIT graduates out there working in industry and the degree has an excellent reputation.

I had a couple of more questions if you could answer would help big time!
Would the degree from UCC stand out more if I were to move abroad , e.g US or UK , or there's really no difference if the degree is either from CIT or UCC, (internationally speaking)?
As far scholarships, are there good scholarship opportunities in CIT ? (e.g. entrance scholarship)

Again, Thanks a lot for your help!

mrmeindl

the_new_guy wrote: »

Thank you guys for you response. It really helped a lot! :-D

No problem, if you send me a Private message on this I'll get the details for you to arrange a tour for yourself while we're in the labs some thursday so you can have a look around.

the_new_guy wrote: »

I had a couple of more questions if you could answer would help big time!
Would the degree from UCC stand out more if I were to move abroad ,e.g US or UK , or there's really no difference if the degree is either from CIT or UCC, (internationally speaking)?

Not really tbh, UCC is far from famous in the UK or in the US both degrees are internationally accredited via Icheme. What's more important is getting a good job with a graduate scheme when you're finished. You're more likely to get a good job straight away if you go to CIT. Once you've worked for year or 2 in industry your degree is irrelevant...just like the Leaving cert/A levels it's the most important thing ever until you get into college.

the_new_guy wrote: »

As far scholarships, are there good scholarship opportunities in CIT ? (e.g. entrance scholarship)

For this I've no idea, there is bursary's and things if you get good grades, I'd talk to the admissions office about that if I were you. Are you an EU citizen? if you're not the fees in CIT would probably be lower. If you do as well in your exams as you plan this discussion is a moot point unless you're able to change your preferences as your planned points would be high enough to get into any college in Ireland for Chemeng on first preference.

quietsailor

If your interested in bio pharmacy ul have engineering degrees called bio medical engineering and one called chemical and bio medical engineering. I can't add a link off this phone but Google then.

They also have good work placements

kerry4sam

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Thanks,
kerry4sam

Jippo

If you are happy to believe a stranger: the CIT degree is very good.

My friend and I did similar Leaving Certs... well I say that; he did better.

I went to UCC and did Mathematical Science and got a first in Maths.

He did Chem Eng in CIT and got a first.

Now I lecture in CIT but he works in the IEA 300 yards from the Eiffel Tower.

Does this mean the CIT degree is better? Not necessarily, but it does mean that it is good.

From lecturing in CIT, I know that the very good students can do very well because they get so much attention with the small class sizes.