An Iconoclastic View Of Graduate Education: The 4+1 Program, An Accelerated Route To The Ms Degree
- Conference
- Location
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Honolulu, Hawaii
- Publication Date
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June 24, 2007
- Start Date
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June 24, 2007
- End Date
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June 27, 2007
- ISSN
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2153-5965
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Graduate Studies
- Page Count
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10
- Page Numbers
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12.210.1 - 12.210.10
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--2252
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/2252
- Download Count
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369
Paper Authors
Daniel Walsh California Polytechnic State University
Daniel Walsh is currently Department Chair for Biomedical and General Engineering, and Professor of Materials Engineering at the College of Engineering at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He received his B.S. (Biomedical Engineering) , M.S. (Biomedical Engineering) and Ph.D. (Materials Engineering) degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. Prior to joining Cal Poly, Dr. Walsh was employed by General Dynamics Corporation, as a principal engineer and group leader in the Materials Division.
Stacey Breitenbach California Polytechnic State University
Stacey Breitenbach is currently Assistant Dean for Advising and Student Success Initiatives at the College of Engineering at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. She received her B.S. and M.A. from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Prior to becoming Assistant Dean, she was the Executive Director of the College of Engineering Advising Center.
Robert Crocket California Polytechnic State University
Robert Crockett received his Ph.D. from University of Arizona in Materials Science and Engineering. He holds an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from University of California, Berkeley. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Dr. Crockett is a specialist in technology development and commercialization of advanced materials and manufacturing processes. Prior to joining Cal Poly, he was founder and President of Xeragen, Inc., a San Luis Obispo-based biotechnology startup company. He has also served as an Assistant Professor at Milwaukee School of Engineering and was employed by McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Company, where he was a lead engineer and Principal Investigator on projects to develop technology evolution plans for the Space Station.
Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract
An Iconoclastic View of Graduate Education The 4+1 Program: An Accelerated Route to the MS Degree
Abstract
Graduate engineering education is a key to the maintenance of U.S. competitiveness in the world market. The world has been an extremely dynamic engine during the last fifty years, and we have witnessed a dramatic change in the world order. The change has been evolutionary in many cases, but events in Eastern Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the erstwhile Soviet Union are only slightly less cataclysmic than the events associated with the Second World War. In a world where strength is measured in terms of the financial resource, the technological ability and the intellectual capability of a populace, Japan, China, India and the EEC are poised to make further strides, while the U.S. is slipping when measured by a number of economic and educational indicators
The U.S. and the world face serious challenges - challenges of social, technological, and economic nature. A poorly-kept secret is that engineering capability is crucial to the resolution of these problems! Engineering pervades our environment, it is our personal companion from a few days after we are conceived until we die - it is a life prolonging, life enhancing endeavor. Engineering is certainly the solution to the technical problems civilization faces, it is also the solution to many of the social challenges confronting society on local and global scales.
This paper describes the development and implementation of the 4+1 blended, dual-degree program offered in the College of Engineering. This program destroyed many of the myths which surround graduate education, and provided it as an immediate option to a greater public. This program was designed to fill the needs of students, the needs of society and the needs of industry. Five-year undergraduate degrees, often touted as means to the same end, financially penalize the student and place the school at a competitive disadvantage. The 4+1 provides a win- win situation for all participants, and has been strongly supported by students, faculty and industry. The program has dramatically increased the number of students pursuing advanced degrees at our primarily undergraduate institution.
Introduction
Graduate engineering education is a key to the maintenance of U.S. competitiveness in the world market. The world has been an extremely dynamic engine during the last fifty years, and we have witnessed a dramatic change in the world order. The change has been evolutionary in many cases, but recent events in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, China, India, Japan and the erstwhile Soviet Union are only slightly less cataclysmic than the Second World War. That war set the economic order for the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's. After 1945, the Soviet Union was a nation in ruins, a nation that had lost over 20% of its' population in a conflict fought largely on its' soil. It faced the challenge of an arms race with a United States that had, comparatively, escaped the ravages of war, had emerged as the leader of the free world and had discovered a way to make defense spending spur the economy. Arguably, the collapse of the Union was the result of Soviet participation in an arms race they were destined to loose. Eastern Europe was ravaged by war,
Walsh, D., & Breitenbach, S., & Crocket, R. (2007, June), An Iconoclastic View Of Graduate Education: The 4+1 Program, An Accelerated Route To The Ms Degree Paper presented at 2007 Annual Conference & Exposition, Honolulu, Hawaii. 10.18260/1-2--2252
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