Jack Ganssle, Chief Engineer, The Ganssle Group
11/8/2014 00:00 AM EST
Recently I was interviewed me about mythoughts on engineering education. Now, first, it’s important to note that the university experience is not an engineering education; it’s merely the start of that process. Too many of us practitioners figure we can stop learning after graduation. It’s disturbing that the average firmware person reads just one technical book per year; this in a field where change is the very foundation of our profession. When I went to college, a very long time ago, I felt the University of Maryland had a great engineering program. But it did suffer from an over-emphasis on theory. We were not allowed to solder, as the school feared we’d burn ourselves!
Today the U of MD requires one English class, on technical writing [ENGL 393 (PW)]. Back in my day a composition course was mandated, though one could test out of it. We also had to take a literature class.
Engineering curricula are packed with too many classes in too short a period of time. Few manage to get out in four years, [only 48% get a BSEE in 4 years] and that fifth, at an astronomical cost per year, can be financially devastating. But I sure wish we could wave a magic wand to squeeze in some much-needed additional classes.
Number one on my wish list: Written and spoken communications. I think students need a number of classes on the subject. They simply must learn to write, and to write well. This is the communications age, yet too many techies have no communications skills.
University of Maryland Undergraduate Catalog 2014-2015
Undergraduate Program | Electrical and Computer Engineering
I remember (1963-67) EE labs with banks of light bulbs and building flip flops with discrete components on plug boards with toothpicks, and programming in Fortran with card decks. Engineers were recognized by their T squares and slide rules. I learned to solder with Heathkits in high school. It seems to me that the ECE curriculum packs as much as possible into a 4 year program, and half the time students entering as freshmen complete it. It is indeed a tough program.
The Electrical Engineering curriculum requires a minimum of 120 credits to degree completion. Undergraduate students pursue a common foundation in math, physics, chemistry, and an introduction to engineering design and programming. Sophomores and juniors will concentrate on the electrical engineering core curriculum and seniors will choose from a wide variety of electrical engineering elective courses from the following sub-disciplines:
- Communications and Signal Processing
- Computer Engineering
- Electrophysics
- Microelectronics
- Power Systems
- Controls
During senior year, students will also complete a capstone design course that integrates classroom learning with hands-on practical design. Students thereby gain valuable technical skills for subsequent graduate study and/or technical advancement.
Electrical Engineering Four Year Academic Plan-2012.pdf requires in addition to the technical writing class in the senior year, the following seven non science/math/EE classes in a 4 year program which would seem to answer the gaps identified above:
- ENGL 101 (AW)
- ORAL COMM (OC)
- Scholarship in Practice (SP)*
- Humanities (HU)*
- Hist & Social Sciences (HS)*
- Humanities (HU)*
- Hist & Social Sciences (HS)*
Enrollment and Graduation Rates
Our current undergraduate enrollment is 862 students distributed over all four years of study. For students who entered our department as freshmen in Fall of 2008,
- 48 percent graduated in four years and
- 61 percent graduated in five years
with a B.S. in Electrical or Computer Engineering. Our five- and six-year graduation rates are nearly identical. That is to say that all of our students who graduate do so in five years or less. For students who entered our department as freshmen in Fall of 2008,
- 59 percent graduated in four years and
- 83 percent graduated in five years
with a degree from University of Maryland, College Park.
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