Undergraduate Program Tour
The B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering is a broad and highly flexible (four year ABET-accredited) degree program based upon the recognition that Electrical and Computer Engineering is broad and multidimensional. The program is structured to provide students with the smallest set of constraints consistent with a rich and comprehensive view of the profession, as judged by the faculty of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Through consultation with the Associate Department Head, the Assistant for Undergraduate Education, or the Undergraduate Program Assistant, students design a customized degree program comprising a specific set of courses, tailored to meet their individual interests and career goals.
Program objectives
Over the past decade we have watched our innovative undergraduate program develop and mature. Besides making an impact on the education within the ECE department, ideas from this curriculum have been adopted across all the departments within the College of Engineering at CMU. Equally important is the fact that this curriculum has heavily influenced curricula across many universities within and outside the USA. Indeed our curriculum has also helped to shape the new ABET "outcomes based" accreditation system. We have capsulated the objectives of our program along the three axes described below:
Three dimensions of objectives for our graduates.
- What they know
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Our graduates will solve problems based on:
- Fundamentals
- Knowledge of ECE fundamentals;
- Breadth
- Understanding the breadth of areas in ECE, and;
- Depth
- Substantive command of some specific area(s) of ECE.
- How they think
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- Creatively
- Our graduates will develop creative solutions to problems in current and emerging applications.
- Holistically
- Our graduates will define problems and formulate solutions from a systems perspective.
- Strategically
- Our graduates will anticipate and plan for change and innovation, and engage in lifelong learning.
- What they do
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- Initiate
- Our graduates will stand out for their resourcefulness, ingenuity, and ability to find innovative solutions to problems.
- Collaborate
- Our graduates will work successfully in multidisciplinary teams.
- Lead
- Our graduates will contribute to sustained improvement and development in their organizations, their profession, and society at large.