Frequently Asked Questions
- What Engineering programs does ECU offer?
- What is special about the ECU engineering curriculum?
- Why is ECU Engineering right for the 21st Century workplace?
- How has ECU Engineering responded?
- What Topics do the core (ENGR) courses cover?
- How does the BS in Engineering differ from traditional engineering disciplines?
Answers
- Q: What Engineering programs does ECU offer?
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A: ECU offers a BS in Engineering with four concentrations: Biomedical Engineering, Bioprocess engineering, Industrial and Systems Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. The curriculum is composed of a common core of 40 credits of engineering courses which provide a foundation of the most important topics for the 21st century. In addition, students take 25 credits of concentration courses that build expertise in the specific discipline area.
- Q: What is special about the ECU engineering curriculum?
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A: At ECU, every engineering faculty member is dedicated to the excellence of our program and the success of our students. Together with our advisory board, we have identified these critical factors which distinguish us from traditional engineering programs and provide a 21st-century engineering education focused on student success:
- Collaborative learning: The foundation of student success is collaborative learning. Beginning with the first semester, students start with the ECU Engineering Learning Community. Freshman students live in a residential setting, study together, and develop friendships, teamwork, collaboration, and group problem solving. This focus on collaborative learning enhances growth and success. This focus continues throughout the program.
- Activity-based learning: Many engineering programs focus on theory with very little hands-on practice. ECU engineering focuses on learning engineering in the context of projects and hands-on activities. ECU engineers are given their first projects as freshmen. Our engineers build on this experience with increasingly demanding projects as they develop engineering expertise. This emphasis on real-world experience culminates in the senior design projects in which students demonstrate skills equivalent to practicing engineers.
- Project management and team skills: While technical skills are the foundation for engineering, ECU also develops essential career skills in project management, entrepreneurship, and teamwork. Our graduates know when it is time to lead and follow. As a result, ECU engineering graduates are recruited by employers for their ability to make a difference and contribute to business success.
- Focus on undergraduate engineering excellence: Beginning with the first semester of freshman year, students develop close relationships with engineering faculty. Every ECU engineering faculty member is dedicated to the excellence of our program and the success of our students. All classes and labs are taught by faculty, not graduate students.
- Q: Why is ECU Engineering right for the 21st Century workplace ?
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A: The word engineer originates from the Latin word ingeniator—one who designs or devises. In the fast-paced global economy of the 21st century, the historical roots of engineering are still true. The modern engineer is someone who quickly designs and devises solutions to technical and scientific problems. ECU engineers are uniquely skilled to fulfill this vision and turn concept into reality.
In The Engineer of 2020, the National Academy of Engineering identified critical skills that 21st-century engineers must have to develop, improve, and operate the technologies of the future:
- The ability to work in complex, interdisciplinary, and systems-oriented environments
- The ability to embrace the technological changes essential for constant success
- The capability to continue to learn as materials, life sciences, and systems analysis become more prevalent
The National Academy of Engineering study identified several recommendations for improving engineering education:
- “ ... reconstitute engineering curricula ... with due recognition of the rapid ... change in the world and ... lack of predictability.”
- “... providing a broad engineering education to students has become an enormous challenge. ... Engineering education must avoid ... teaching more and more about less and less.”
- “Addressing this ... may involve reconsideration of the basic structure of engineering departments….”
- Q: How has ECU Engineering responded?
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A: The ECU engineering program has implemented National Academy of Engineering recommendations and offers a 21st-century engineering education that incorporates the following:
- A broad and interdisciplinary engineering degree with a systems focus
- A foundation for career development and meeting the technological changes of the future
- An engineering faculty that represents multiple disciplines and cuts across the traditional engineering fields
- Q: What Topics do the core (ENGR) courses cover?
A:
Our faculty and our industrial advisory board carefully selected the courses and topics in the ECU Engineering core since they represent the essential undergraduate topics for a 21st century engineer. This spectrum of courses also closely reflects the content included by the National Council of Engineering Examiners in the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) General Engineering Exam. The FE exam is the first step to obtaining a Professional Engineer (PE) license.
As the table below shows, the ECU Engineering core provides an interdisciplinary mixture of topics which reflect key subjects from a number of engineering discipline areas such as mechanical, electrical, civil, chemical, biological, and industrial engineering. Consequently, we believe this group of courses provides the most critical BS level content for 21st century engineering.
ECU General Engineering Core (40 credit hours) Mechanical Engineering Electrical Engineering Civil Engineering Industrial Engineering Chemical Engineering Biomedical Engineering ENGR 1012 Engineering Graphics X X X ENGR 1014 Introduction to Engineering X X X X X X ENGR 2022 Statics X X X X ENGR 2050 Computer Applications in Engineering X X X X X X ENGR 2070 Materials and Processes X X ENGR 3004 Dynamics X X ENGR 3012 Thermal & Fluid Systems X X X X ENGR 3014 Circuit Analysis X X X X X X ENGR 3024 Mechanics of Materials X X X ENGR 3050 Sensors, Measurement, and Controls X X X ENGR 3400 Engineering Economics X X ENGR 3300 Engineering Project Management X ENGR 4000 Quality System Design X ENGR 4010, 4020 Senior Capstone Project X X X X X X Percentage of ECU core found in
traditional Engineering disciplines77% 47% 70% 67% 44% 58% Based on the core course content, ECU Engineers are able to apply the engineering knowledge from multiple disciplines to solve a variety of problems. The general practitioner in medicine is a close parallel to the ECU general engineer. General practitioners in medicine are trained to analyze and solve a range of medical problems. They also know when the skills of specialists are needed. Similarly, ECU engineers can analyze and solve a wide range of engineering problems. Equally important, they have the expertise to identify the problem and the solution needed when specialized technical knowledge is required.
- Q: How does a BS in Engineering at ECU differ from traditional engineering disciplines?
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A: Traditional engineering disciplines produce engineers who have narrowly defined skills directed at a on a specific technology area or limited part of a system. ECU engineers possess a broader engineering perspective compared to the specific disciplines and focus more on understanding how to apply this knowledge to solve problems and to improve entire technology system as opposed to individual components or elements. For example, consider an ECU engineer with a concentration in mechanical engineering compared to a traditional mechanical engineering degree. The ECU engineer has required courses in statistics (6 hours), project management, and engineering economics which provide a solid preparation for work place skills. The traditional mechanical engineer typically does not have these courses but may have taken full semester courses in areas such as vibration analysis. The ECU engineer covers vibrations but in the context of machine design and differential equations.
- Q: What kind of careers opportunities are there for ECU Engineers?
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A: The technical knowledge acquired and the analytical thought processes developed in the engineering curriculum supports a wide variety of career options. ECU engineers will be employed in positions ranging from engineering project managers to project designers, design engineers, and technical supervisors or group leaders in consulting, research, or production.
Since the program also emphasizes people and business skills, graduates fill positions as project managers, sales engineers, technical service engineers, and in a range of leadership positions requiring both technical knowledge and the ability to deal effectively with teams of people and complex projects. Entrepreneurial career paths are also possible including consulting engineering firms and new product or service start ups.
The ECU engineering program also provides a foundation for advanced graduate degrees in a range of engineering fields, the practice of law, particularly patent law, biomedical engineering, or medical school.
- Q: What are the admissions requirements?
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A: Our program is inclusive and has a mission element to serve North Carolina students and employers. Therefore we employ a multi element admissions model which considers SAT scores, high school GPA, position in class, grades in science and mathematics courses and other factors. In general, the most important success factors are personal responsibility and a commitment to succeed. In general, ECU engineering students typically have SAT scores of approximately 1100, are in the upper 30% of their graduating class, and have an un weighted high school grade point average above 3.0.
- Q: Do I need a computer?
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A: Yes, students are required to have a laptop computer capable of running the engineering analysis software that will be integrated into the program courses. Specific details will be provided to you upon program admission and are located on the ECU Academic Computing Environment (ACE) web site.
- Q: Are transfer students admitted?
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A: Yes, it is important to contact the Department of Engineering academic advisor for transfer details on particular cases. In general, we have agreements with many North Carolina community colleges involving a range of "pre-engineering" programs and courses.
- Q: How many General Engineering programs are there in the US?
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A: ABET, the engineering program accrediting organization, lists over 35 accredited general engineering programs. This group of universities comprises a distinguished and diverse list of innovative and dynamic institutions including:
- Stevens Institute of Technology
- Mercer University
- Michigan Tech
- Dartmouth
- Harvey Mudd College
- Baylor University
- Colorado School of Mines