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Engineering Undergraduate Education (1986) / Chapter Skim
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4. The Curriculum
Pages 70-75

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From page 70...
... Furthermore, a review of the engineering college catalogs over the same 30-year period reveals the unmistakable trend of increasing science and engineering science content with a compensatory decrease in topics associated with engineering practice. Such catalogs also indicate a trend toward greater curricular flexibility, which includes time explicitly devoted to the humanities and social sciences.
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From page 71...
... The second goal of undergraduate engineering education preparing the student for graduate study imposes an additional curricular dimension that is not always compatible with preparation for professional practice. The conflict appears not only in the approach and sul:stance of particular courses, but also in the time devoted to what appears to lee an ever-l~roadening range of subjects.
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From page 72...
... The reduced emphasis on design created severe curricular tensions, which ultimately led ABET to set a minimum required threshold on design content. In addition, the professional societies insisted on playing a more active role in accreditation, which required their representation on ABET accreditation teams.
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From page 73...
... However, because of the obvious problems that result from trying to fit more and more content into a fixed time period, there have been attempts to lengthen the time to undergraduate degree to five years. After World War II there was a serious, and for that time farsighted, attempt to introduce a five-year undergraduate program.
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From page 74...
... While such programs are often described as trying to strengthen the third goal of engineering education I providing a base for lifelong learning in support of evolving career objectives, this attribute has never been seriously addressed in the sense of a structured 3 + 2 curriculum. Another approach to undergraduate engineering curricula has at times been advocated by several groups within professional engineering societies.
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From page 75...
... The Panel on Undergraduate Engineering Education recommends that, to increase elasticity in enrollment capacities and diversity of educational background of engineering enrollments, a pilot group of colleges and engineering schools be funded to demonstrate effective structures for dual-degree programs. Experience gained from this pilot group could then be applied, if needed, to a widergroup of institutions.
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Key Terms

  • engineering curricula
  • engineering science
  • liberal arts
  • engineering practice
  • lifelong learning

  • professional engineering
  • evolving career
  • science content
  • third goal
  • undergraduate curriculum

  • seriously addressed
  • professional practice
  • professional degree
  • topics associated
  • graduate study

  • engineering faculties
  • reduced emphasis
  • design created
  • supervisory responsibilities
  • college catalogs

  • unmistakable feature
  • curricular tensions
  • technological age
  • strong economic
  • preparing students

  • educational program
  • imposed additional
  • abet accreditation
  • compensatory decrease
  • laboratory work


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