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Electrical and Computer Engineering

Undergraduate Students

Academic Guide

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:

Program Educational Objectives: 'What you do' is the x-axis; 'How you think' is the y-axis; 'What you know' is the z-axis

Three dimensions of objectives for our graduates.

What they know

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
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
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.


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