It doesn’t take an extensive internet search to discover that engineering has become one of the most rapidly and broadly expanding STEM fields.
Engineering has been on an upswing in recent years, birthing new applications, pursuits and solutions from within and beyond its traditional specialties.
That progress has intertwined with related advances in technologies that impact not only major industries but many areas of modern life.
These trends are reflected by the emergence of new concentration areas in engineering studies and research training in higher education, including in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University.
For example, at ASU’s West Valley campus in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area the Fulton Schools is adding three new undergraduate degree programs that will prepare students to ride the wave of the engineering profession’s increasing opportunities.
The new programs include a Bachelor of Science in engineering science with a focus on microelectronics and a Bachelor of Science in engineering science with a focus on business offered by the new School of Integrated Engineering, part of the Fulton Schools.
There’s also a new Bachelor of Arts in computer science degree program, a joint venture of the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, part of the Fulton Schools, and ASU’s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences.
“Our hope is that this Bachelor of Arts degree in computer science will offer increased flexibility for students who are on a less technical career path and provide additional options for those who live in the West Valley,” says Ross Maciejewski, director of the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence.
Engineering business, industry and cultural enrichment
The engineering science degree programs will aim to give students more accessible pathways to mastering both the knowledge and skills essential to today’s engineering world.
The business-focused program will involve real-world engineering design projects, opportunities for internships and a mix of engineering and business courses to prepare future managers, entrepreneurs and leaders of technology-based businesses. The program will operate in partnership with ASU’s W. P. Carey School of Business.
The microelectronics-focused program prepares students to engage in the rapidly expanding domestic semiconductor design and manufacturing sectors.
Classes in each of the new degree programs start in the fall 2024 semester.
The degree programs are coming on the heels of the opening the School of Integrated Engineering on the ASU West Valley campus and the announcement of the selection of Shawn Jordan as the new school’s interim director.
Jordan says he and other West Valley campus administrators and faculty members, especially those in engineering, want to see the campus help boost the region’s economy by preparing more tech-savvy professionals for roles in local microelectronics, semiconductor and other tech companies.
Those efforts will include establishing relationships and industry
partnerships with companies in the area, Jordan says. Other goals
include developing interdisciplinary degree programs that also gear STEM
education toward building skills that open career opportunities in an
array of other fields and industries, from business management and
entrepreneurship to cultural and artistic endeavors and even fashion.
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