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Integration of the Engineering and Liberal Arts – from the AB to the PhD
J. Helble, E. Hansen, and W. LotkoThayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College
Union College Engineering and Liberal Education Symposium
May 10, 2008
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“To prepare the most capable and faithful for the most responsible positions and the most difficult service”
Sylvanus Thayer, Father of West Point and Founder, Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, 1867
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1867: Founded (Thayer Endowment), Overseers Named
1871: Robert Fletcher, 1st Dean and Professor, begins instruction
Engineering Sciences model – no departments of engineering since early 1960s
Full range of Degrees
AB: Bachelor of Arts
7th most popular undergraduate major at Dartmouth
2nd most popular science major (2007)
BE (ABET-accredited degree; 5th year. AB and BE in series, not parallel)
MEM
MS and PhD – in engineering sciences
Thayer School History and Programs
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Distribution of courses
35 course credits for A.B. (3 per term for 12 terms)
First-year Writing;Humanities & Social Science
(8-12)
ForeignLanguage
(3)
Mathematics & Science(6)
Engineering Sciences(9-10)
Free Electives (4-9)minor, second major,
pre-B.E. math & science
B.E. Program(9)
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Interdisciplinary challenge:met with a Systems CoreEngineering core
consists of Design, Lumped Systems, Distributed Systems
Followed by 2nd layer of 2 courses (thermo, mat sci, control, prob sys) and then disciplinary gateway courses
Provides opportunity to be broadly interdisciplinary.
Systems approach – provides core of “what every engineer ought to know” w/in institutional constraints.
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Modified Majors at the AB level
Modified Major
6 ENGS courses combined w/ 4-5 of second approved major
20-40% of ENGS majors modified recent yrs
Most popular?
ENGS with Studio Art
Options
ENGS w/ Econ, Chem, Biology, Comp Sci, Env Studies
Engineering Physics major
under consideration: Biomedical engineering – an alternative path to medical school
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Modified Majors
Newest?
(started this academic year; expect first students in 08-09)
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ERTEL, Allen Edward, (1937 - ) Dartmouth’58 (AB), Thayer School of Engineering ’59
95th-97th Congresses (1977-1983)
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Key Points
Two Bachelor’s Degrees – AB and BE
• 75% of AB students pursue accredited BE as well
• 5th year generally taken for BE
• non-accredited AB provides great flexibility
• series, not parallel paths: breadth plus depth
Systems Core provides flexible interdisciplinary framework
Modified Majors, up to 40% of ABs, permit direct combination of engineering and liberal arts interests without ABET constraints
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MATHEMATICS & SCIENCE (7) Calculus (3) • Physics (2) • Chemistry (1) • Computer science (1)
COMMON CORE (3)Lumped systems • Distributed systems and fields
Design and problem solving
VARIABLE CORE (choose 2)Thermodynamics • Materials science
Control theory • Discrete systems
GATEWAY COURSES (choose 1 from each of 2 categories)Digital electr Solid mech Biotechnology Environ enggAnalog electr Fluid mech Chemical process engg
ENGINEERING / SCIENCE ELECTIVES (3)
B.E. PROGRAM (9)Applied math (1) • Engineering/science (7), Capstone design
project (2)
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Areas of Focus: New Thayer Structure
Thayer: AREAS, established 2/07
• focus for faculty hiring, largely without disciplinary focus
• new upper level and graduate courses – w/o disciplinary emphasis
Energy
Engineering-in-Medicine
Complex Systems*
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“Innovation” – new PhD program track Fall 2008
12/15/04 publication 0611/05 11/15/05
America COMPETES signed into law 8-09-07
Thayer: PhD “innovation track” focusing on innovation in Energy, Eng-in-Medicine. Teach entrepreneurial skills to advanced technologists
Existing PhD coursework stresses breadth as well as depth, emphasis on writing. New program builds on this foundation.
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Why a systems core? Provide early foundation in interdisciplinary thinking. Engineering practice is
interdisciplinary.
Allows students to make a more informed choice about eventual engineering specialty.
Bridge basic science and more specialized engineering courses.
Understanding one kind of system enables understanding of other systems.
Effective use of faculty time and course credits. Avoid teaching the same fundamentals in multiple introductory courses —
good for a small faculty. Efficiently package “old knowledge” so curriculum can include more “new
knowledge”.