About the Program

Although most engineering degrees are highly specialized, engineers typically work in highly interdisciplinary settings and in an increasingly global environment. The Polytechnic Engineering program offers an interdisciplinary engineering education to meet the needs of a global workplace. Students in this program work on realistic design projects every semester in state-of-the-art engineering studios where they learn to innovate and apply engineering principles. Graduates from the program have the foundation of technical and professional skills needed to succeed in whichever engineering field they choose.

An important outcome of the program design process has been the development of core values that reflect the department’s mission, vision, and competitive position. Our core values are engaged-learning, agility, and a focus on the individual.

The program is built around the concept of learning through engagement, or learning by doing. Classrooms are defined not as lecture halls but as engineering studios. Courses are delivered not as lengthy exercises in theory but as integrated opportunities to apply knowledge in real-world projects. The anticipated outcome of the program is the agile engineer, a lifelong learner with a comprehensive set of skills appropriate to the needs of today and tomorrow. Agility also characterizes the program itself: streamlined, purposeful and flexible in adapting to changes in pedagogy, knowledge or the needs of its stakeholders. The program gains agility through a unique ability to cross or eradicate traditional boundaries between engineering disciplines, enhancing innovation through the synergistic combination of previously bounded boxes of knowledge. Lastly, the engineering program generates opportunities for engineering faculty to focus on the individual student. Each person is valued for his/her unique skills. We measure our success by the quality of each individual’s education and our effectiveness and responsiveness in meeting his/her individual learning needs.

Consistent with these program values and in consultation with industry and student constituents, we have developed program outcomes and objectives that describe students’ capabilities at graduation and three to five years after graduation.

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The objectives of the Polytechnic Engineering program describe the career and professional accomplishments that the program prepares graduates to achieve during the first several years following graduation.  These are:

• Graduates will successfully transition into a broad range of career options, including industry, government, and graduate engineering and professional education.
• Graduates will be agile engineers: lifelong learners with a comprehensive set of skills appropriate to the needs of the dynamic global economy.
• Graduates will be capable of leadership in engineering and non-engineering settings.
• Graduates will have the skills and knowledge necessary to attain their desired levels of financial security, entrepreneurial success, and post-baccalaureate education while being well-rounded human beings who participate in a rich spectrum of human activities.

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Program Outcomes

The outcomes of the Polytechnic Engineering program describe student abilities at the time of graduation from the program.  Each outcome includes four developmental levels that describe nominal student progress in achieving the associated ability. There are eight outcomes:

• Design
• Engineering Practice
• Critical Thinking and Decision Making
• Professionalism
• Perspective
• Problem Solving
• Communication
• Technical Competence

The outcomes and associated developmental levels are available in PDF format.

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