DIT or DCU for engineering?

bmcgillick

Will be doing my leaving cert this year and am hoping to do engineering. I like the general engineering course in DIT but i saw that DCU offers a mechanical and manufacturing course also. Unfortunately i missed the DCU open day as i was interested solely in a different course in DIT and just changed my mind after the open day. Can anyone help me choose which course or at least tell me if i can go to a second open day in DCU?

bren2001

bmcgillick wrote: »

Will be doing my leaving cert this year and am hoping to do engineering. I like the general engineering course in DIT but i saw that DCU offers a mechanical and manufacturing course also. Unfortunately i missed the DCU open day as i was interested solely in a different course in DIT and just changed my mind after the open day. Can anyone help me choose which course or at least tell me if i can go to a second open day in DCU?

There is no such thing as general engineering. It is general entry into engineering i.e. you specialise after one year. This is the same in DCU, everyone is common in first year and you pick which one you want in second year.

There is not a second open day but if you have any questions about any of the courses I can answer them for you or point you in the right direction.

bmcgillick

bren2001 wrote: »

There is no such thing as general engineering. It is general entry into engineering i.e. you specialise after one year. This is the same in DCU, everyone is common in first year and you pick which one you want in second year.

There is not a second open day but if you have any questions about any of the courses I can answer them for you or point you in the right direction.

Ye thats what i meant sorry, i was looking at the general entry engineering in dit and then probably specialise in mechanical or manufacture and design. I then saw that dcu has a mechanical and manufacturing engineering course so i was just hoping to get a comparison between the two if possible

bren2001

bmcgillick wrote: »

Ye thats what i meant sorry, i was looking at the general entry engineering in dit and then probably specialise in mechanical or manufacture and design. I then saw that dcu has a mechanical and manufacturing engineering course so i was just hoping to get a comparison between the two if possible

Firstly, this thread deals with some of the different courses available. There is a lot of talk about accreditation but there is some helpful stuff there too.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057302491

Ultimately, both DCU and DIT are accredited by EI. This means if you want to become a chartered Engineer or move abroad you degree will be recognised straight off.

In DCU and DIT you cover the same material. There is some key differences.

DCU degree in mechanical and manufacturing: the course can be split into three key areas. Solid mechanical, fluid mechanical and manufacturing. The manufacturing engineering deals with how things are made and the processes we use to make them. Both solid and fluid mechanical engineering deal with how mechanical or fluid objects interact with eachother, the mathematics underpinning this and its application in real life.

In DIT: the manufacturing engineering part is the same. I am not sure what the "design" part entails. Looking through the modules covered, they seem to cover a lot of similar things. However, DCU has more modules in mechanical. I do find it odd they chose the word design and not mechanical. You should have a better knowledge of what DIT offers than me.

Secondly, the course structure in DCU is different. In 3rd year your 2nd semester is reduced to 6 weeks (as opposed to 12), all students then must find an industrial placement to work from April to September. DCU assist in finding you the placement. This is the key selling point from DCU. You finish you degree with experience. I do not believe this to be the case for DIT.

Finally, DCU is common for everyone. At the end of first you you can switch. It offers a slightly wider range of engineering (even if DIT has more courses). You may enjoy electronics and decide to go Mechatronics or discover your love for making limbs.

Other things to consider are where you live, what campus life is like etc. Neither course is better than the other however, one is a University and the other an IT. Some people place an emphasis on this (note MIT is one of the best engineering colleges and is an IT).

Both will have some form of project work. I have no idea what DIT do but DCU; 1st year make a robot car to play football, 3rd year make an autobot to follow a white line on a black track i.e. it must make its own decisions based on code, 3rd year make a device to climb a ladder or rope (depends on the year) and of course your final year project in 4th year.

A list of modules taught on the DCU course can be found here:
http://www.dcu.ie/registry/module_contents.php?function=4&programme=CAM

bmcgillick

I do like the course in DCU its just that i've only been to DIT's open day so i just dont want to make a blind decision into another college. I basically want to get the same understanding i got from going up to DIT. On paper the DCU courses sound better with the intra work placement and i have a good few friends going to DCU and possibly one going to DIT so DCU seems to have an edge socially also. I feel i should make the most informed decision possible and unfortunately i'm a bit late to find all these things out.

Deenie123

bmcgillick wrote: »

I do like the course in DCU its just that i've only been to DIT's open day so i just dont want to make a blind decision into another college. I basically want to get the same understanding i got from going up to DIT. On paper the DCU courses sound better with the intra work placement and i have a good few friends going to DCU and possibly one going to DIT so DCU seems to have an edge socially also. I feel i should make the most informed decision possible and unfortunately i'm a bit late to find all these things out.

The very last factor I would consider is where your friends are going. They're both well respected degrees. I'd suggesting talking to someone in DCU (you'll probably have to wait until the new year, the semester is over now) about the course and see if you can get a feel for it.

Are both as easy to get to on your commute? Sounds trivial, but it's really not. The longer the commute, the tireder you are and the less you'll enjoy it and the poorer your performance. Engineering hours are long. It doesn't matter where you go, they'll always be long hours.

If there's nothing in it course wise (there's very little difference - one has work experience, the other has more contact time with lectures & labs, both are accredited, both are respected), then I'd be looking towards how livable each college will be. You'll make new friends in college no matter which course you pick. I'd advise against constantly meeting up with existing friends during lunch at college because you just won't settle in and make friends with the rest of your class.

bmcgillick

Well with DCU i'll most likely be able to live in the area this would be harder to work out with DIT. The fact that DIT is spread out is a real turn off for me too in that a campus like DCU sounds so much more accessible and enjoyable in general. Is the mechanical and manufacturing course a sufficient combination of the two or would DIT's separation of the two be better? To be honest i really want to go to dcu but i want to make sure im not sacrificing my education.

Deenie123

bmcgillick wrote: »

Well with DCU i'll most likely be able to live in the area this would be harder to work out with DIT. The fact that DIT is spread out is a real turn off for me too in that a campus like DCU sounds so much more accessible and enjoyable in general. Is the mechanical and manufacturing course a sufficient combination of the two or would DIT's separation of the two be better? To be honest i really want to go to dcu but i want to make sure im not sacrificing my education.

Go to DCU

In DIT mech and mfg stay fairly closely linked and share a lot of modules up until final year so not a huge difference. There's very little materially different. Both courses produce good grads who become good engineers.

However, your heart is set on DCU so really that's where you should go. You won't be compromising your education

bren2001

bmcgillick wrote: »

Well with DCU i'll most likely be able to live in the area this would be harder to work out with DIT. The fact that DIT is spread out is a real turn off for me too in that a campus like DCU sounds so much more accessible and enjoyable in general. Is the mechanical and manufacturing course a sufficient combination of the two or would DIT's separation of the two be better? To be honest i really want to go to dcu but i want to make sure im not sacrificing my education.

Firstly, you are not sacrificing your education. Both are EI accredited which is all that is really important. If you are worried about the fact you missed the DCU open day, why dont you go to DCU one day and walk around it. I can answer any of your questions re the course and if needs be can show you around the Engineering building.

Tesco TripleChicken

Deenie123 wrote: »

The very last factor I would consider is where your friends are going. They're both well respected degrees. I'd suggesting talking to someone in DCU (you'll probably have to wait until the new year, the semester is over now) about the course and see if you can get a feel for it.

Are both as easy to get to on your commute? Sounds trivial, but it's really not. The longer the commute, the tireder you are and the less you'll enjoy it and the poorer your performance. Engineering hours are long. It doesn't matter where you go, they'll always be long hours.

One thing schools always tell you is NOT to choose your course based on what friends are doing. No one in first year really knows each other anyway so making new friends isn't a problem.

Secondly, I'd disagree about the commuting part to some extent. I can either walk 15 mins and get a bus straight to DCU, or get a bus from my house to town then another to DCU, both options usually take 1-1.5hrs, sometimes slightly longer. Yes you spend a good portion of your day on buses and you get home late, but it wouldn't be a factor I'd consider if I was going to drop out.

OP you can easily just go sit in a random lecture if you want an idea of course material and no one will notice or care as long as there's plenty of free seats. Im not doing eng. so not sure what the numbers are like but I'd assume they're high if it's all common entry first year so you won't be noticed in a big lecture hall.

bmcgillick

Would i be able to just go in innocuously like that? If so when should i go up and what time would lectures be on at?

Borzoi

bmcgillick wrote: »

Would i be able to just go in innocuously like that? If so when should i go up and what time would lectures be on at?

Did your open day at DIT say when they're moving engineering from Bolton St to the new Grangegorman campus. That would be a big draw as the brand new facility should really be great. (And will address some of the social issues that Bolton St had with its 90% male population)

Btw from an employers point of view the degrees are all equal

Tesco TripleChicken

bmcgillick wrote: »

Would i be able to just go in innocuously like that? If so when should i go up and what time would lectures be on at?

http://www.dcu.ie/timetables/feed.php3?prog=CE&per=1&week1=16&week2=36&hour=1-20&template=student

Theres the Common entry engineering (for all first years doing engineering) timetable for semester 2.
If you want to check other course timetables go here first:

http://www.dcu.ie/registry/module_programme.shtml

Then here:

http://www.dcu.ie/timetables/time2.shtml

Use the first link to look through the courses and check the abbreviation for the course you want. Then go to the second link and select the course code form the drop down menu, select the year and weeks.
On the timetable, the room number is at the top right of each module entry. (e.g XG15 = X: Science building, G: Ground floor, room no.15)

The Common entry timetable has some lectures in HG23 and T101, which are big rooms so you'll have no problem getting a seat in any of those lectures (T101 especially). There's a map on campus of all the buildings.
If you want to sit in on a smaller room lecture I'd say if you asked the lecturer you'll probably be allowed if there's space.

Also lectures are finished until around February.

Message me if you need anything else

Deenie123

Tesco TripleChicken wrote: »

Secondly, I'd disagree about the commuting part to some extent. I can either walk 15 mins and get a bus straight to DCU, or get a bus from my house to town then another to DCU, both options usually take 1-1.5hrs, sometimes slightly longer. Yes you spend a good portion of your day on buses and you get home late, but it wouldn't be a factor I'd consider if I was going to drop out.

Who said anything about dropping out? Commuting absolutely does have an impact. Depending on where you live, DCU can be near to impossible to get to (minimum 2 busses) at rush hour, or it can be very easy to get to. If you're not from Dublin then there's no difference because you'll be moving to somewhere near the college anyway. But if you are commuting and spending 2 hours getting in and 2 hours getting home, you're tireder and have less time for study than if you're spending 1 hour each way. That absolutely makes a difference not only to your social life and enjoyment of college, but also to grades. If you're constantly tired and don't have any time left when you get home (and engineering hours are long hours regardless of where you go) then your grades will not be as good as if you're less tired and have more time at the end of the day. If there's no difference in the difficulty of getting to either college, then there's nothing to consider int hat respect. If DCU or DIT would be easier to get to than the other, well that's a fairly significant factor to consider.

It's a very mundane day-to-day reality to consider, but it all ads up and can be a difference of 10 hours a week, over 26 weeks. That's massive.

bmcgillick

Borzoi wrote: »

Did your open day at DIT say when they're moving engineering from Bolton St to the new Grangegorman campus. That would be a big draw as the brand new facility should really be great. (And will address some of the social issues that Bolton St had with its 90% male population)

Btw from an employers point of view the degrees are all equal

They didnt say specifically but i think i heard 2017 from somewhere so doesnt affect me directly for the moment. On a side note could anyone offer any info regarding accomodation (off campus) and part-time jobs?

bpmurray

Borzoi wrote: »

Btw from an employers point of view the degrees are all equal

Actually, that's not correct. Many employers value a University degree above anything from an IT, and some won't even look at anyone from an IT (MIT excepted).

Deenie123

bpmurray wrote: »

Actually, that's not correct. Many employers value a University degree above anything from an IT, and some won't even look at anyone from an IT (MIT excepted).

A Bolton Street degree would be the exception. Very well respected.

Darren1o1

OP, what would you like to do after you get your degree. I find while the basics are similar from institution to institution there are differences in the education you get. This is not just IT to University but even between ITs or between Universities.
What industry and what position do you see yourself in? This will go a long way to helping us understand which would be better.