Integration of the Engineering and Liberal Arts – from the AB to the PhD J. Helble, E. Hansen, and W. Lotko Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College.

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

“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

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

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)

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.

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

Modified Majors

Newest?

(started this academic year; expect first students in 08-09)

ERTEL, Allen Edward, (1937 - ) Dartmouth’58 (AB), Thayer School of Engineering ’59

95th-97th Congresses (1977-1983)

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

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)

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*

“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.

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”.