Paper Authors

Abstract

NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract

Session 2793

The Accelerated Engineering Degrees (ACCEND) Program in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Cincinnati

Anant R. Kukreti, Tim C. Keener, Paul L. Bishop, and Stephen T. Kowel College of Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio

Abstract

The College of Engineering at the University of Cincinnati has a long and distinguished history as a leader in engineering education. The College introduced cooperative engineering education in 1906, and has maintained a mandatory cooperative education system ever since. Our undergraduate programs span five academic years and include an average of six co-op quarters for a typical baccalaureate degree and our graduates are highly sought by employers. However, both the American Society of Civil Engineering and the National Academy of Engineering have advocated a Master’s degree as the first professional degree for practicing engineers. With this in mind, in 2002-2003 the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Cincinnati initiated a combined five-year BS and MS degree program in Environmental Engineering (the Accelerated Engineering Degree (ACCEND) Program) with cooperative and research experiences integrated with the education. The BS component of the degree will be in Civil Engineering, and the MS component in Environmental Engineering. This paper presents the general structure of this degree program, its curriculum, and marketing strategy. During the first academic year the degree program has been offered to incoming freshman as an option, whereas simultaneously a structured marketing strategy and distance learning opportunities for students are being developed. The program will be fully launched for the academic year 2003-2004.

I. Introduction

While the baccalaureate degree may have sufficed for most practicing engineers, it is becoming increasingly evident that current technological and societal needs demand a greater level of preparation for the profession. In fact, engineering is the only profession where an undergraduate degree is a sufficient first professional degree. Both the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE Task Committee, 2001; Walesch et al., 2003) and the National Academy of Engineering have advocated a Master’s degree as the first professional degree for practicing engineers. Currently, most graduate engineering degrees are earned by international students who are returning home in ever increasing numbers.

The importance of providing an education that is grounded in the practice of the profession has long been recognized. Many colleges of engineering, however, continue to struggle with the dilemma that faculty are excellent engineering scholars with little or no

Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2003, American Society for Engineering Education

• Citation

• Format
  • APA
  • APA - LaTeX bibitem
  • MLA
  • MLA - LaTeX bibitem
  • Bibtex
  • EndNote - RIS

Kukreti, A. (2003, June), The Accelerated Engineering Degrees (Accend) Program In Civil And Environmental Engineering At University Of Cincinnati Paper presented at 2003 Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee. 10.18260/1-2--11445