Engineering at McAllen offers an exciting and unique opportunity for students to earn an engineering degree from Texas A&M University while living in the Rio Grande Valley. Here's what some of our students and faculty have to say about the program:
Kassie Juarez '21, Multidisciplinary Engineering Technology Major
“The Higher Education Center at McAllen offers the close relationship and Aggie family. Many people talk about the Aggie family and many people don't get that connection. Here at McAllen, we do get that connection. What's so cool about it is that when faculty, staff or anyone that gets notified about an internship or an opportunity for a co-op or for a job, they notify us right away. One last thing I would like to say is that one of my experiences here is that I was able to have classes by myself. I know when you hear that you're like 'wait what is that possible?' Yeah it was for me. So, that experience can maybe be daunting at first because you're like 'OK, you're just with the professor' but it was actually a really good experience because the professors here at the Higher Education Center are able to adapt to your learning style. So for me, I'm more of a visual learner and they were able to adapt to teach me examples and to actually write and go through the examples with me. By having this opportunity, I was able to learn on my own path rather than waiting for other people when you have a bigger class. Here I was more confident in myself.”
Monica Gomez '21, Interdisciplinary Engineering Major
"After I knew more about Texas A&M, I really wanted to go. When I learned about the Higher Education Center at McAllen, I immediately changed the campus I would attend. I grew up in The Valley, so a part of me wanted to stay where I belonged the most. My favorite aspect of studying in McAllen is that I get to see my family often and I am more aware of the impact I can make in The Valley. Also, classes are small enough to be able to interact more with your professors, and as a peer mentor, I have noticed how everybody can rely academically and personally on their peers."
Oscar Lopez, Professor of Practice
“The newly formed Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering is so exciting. I wish I had been a student when this was around. The original pure mechanical engineer, pure structural engineer, they don’t exist by themselves anymore. The engineer of the future, whom we are educating now at Texas A&M University and specifically at the Higher Education Center at McAllen, have to be able to communicate with a new and ever developing engineering vernacular and skill set in a programmatic way to interact with other engineers, so interdisciplinary engineering is the future. Our students have fantastic opportunities that are new where they can develop their own program, essentially based on their interests. This flexibility wraps around mechanical, electrical, computer science, computer engineering, structural, architecture, construction sciences, among others — with these contributing to the creative fields of the world. All these fields of study are creative and innovative in their nature, and can be mixed and matched in a formal customized program of study.”