Michigan Engineering provides scientific and technological leadership to the people of the world. We seek to improve the quality of life by developing intellectually curious and socially conscious minds, creating collaborative solutions to societal problems, and promoting an inclusive and innovative community of service for the common good.
Objectives
A University of Michigan undergraduate engineering graduate will be prepared to generate value for society through a lifetime of technical and professional creativity. Our graduates will display reasoning skills and proficiency in problem definition, problem-solving and quantitative expertise, a respect for measurement and data and the wisdom of experience. Our graduates will use these skills to achieve the following objectives within a few years of graduation:
- Contribute to technical engineering practice.
- Pursue graduate education in engineering or science, either following a path towards a professional masters degree and practice, or a doctoral degree.
- Pursue careers in business, education, medicine, law or other fields, bringing engineering problem solving skills—honed through practice in problem definition and quantitative problem solving—to bear in those disciplines.
Michigan Engineers will excel in all of these areas of endeavor. They will also be prepared to become successful leaders, managers, entrepreneurs and humanitarians.
Our graduates must understand that solutions, especially for society’s most critical needs, are not just technical in scope but depend on many disciplines working together, and that as engineers their core contribution will include bringing data-driven, quantitative problem solving skills to the table. We also understand that our students have many varied aspirations and that our primary duty is to provide them with a foundational education that they can carry forward into any of the career paths they may follow over the decades of their careers.
To prepare our students for the careers of the 21st century, whether they continue in engineering or pursue other paths after graduation, our undergraduate programs support our students in developing:
- An understanding of the fundamental knowledge in a discipline.
- An ability to recognize and define a problem, and the vision to see a solution.
- An ability to identify, understand, and solve ill-defined problems even in the face of uncertainty and imperfect information.
- Strong quantitative and qualitative problem-solving skills.
- A mindset and skills that support continued learning both during and long after their CoE career.
- Personal attributes of success including the following professional skills:
- Communication
- Creativity
- Empathy
- Entrepreneurial Mindset
- Ethics
- Global & Cultural Awareness
- Grit, Persistence, Resilience
- Leadership
- Lifelong Learning
- Risk – Ability to Accept and Manage
- Systems Thinking – Authentic Problem Solving
- Teamwork
- An understanding of the human, social and environmental dimensions of engineering practice.
- A drive and capability to make a difference by bringing their solutions into production.
- An understanding that Engineering, as a discipline that seeks to improve the common good, should be inclusive and equitable not only in its engineering outcomes but also its participants.
Many of the College’s undergraduate degree programs are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Each such program has statements of educational objectives and outcomes that are based on the College’s mission and on the needs of its constituents. Those constituents include our alumni, students, employers of our students and the graduate schools at which many of our students later study.
Student Outcomes
Graduates of the College’s undergraduate programs will possess an ability to (Engineering Accreditation Commission Student Outcomes):
- Identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.
- Apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors.
- Communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
- Recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
- Function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives.
- Develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.
- Acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.
Curricular Information in the Bulletin
In this edition of the College of Engineering Bulletin, our traditional “Sample Schedule for Required Programs” has been updated to reflect the current undergraduate engineering curriculum and curricular plans in each department and program. It is important to note that the curriculum revision process is an ongoing one; therefore, the program requirements and specific course requirements, especially upper-division courses, listed here should be viewed as works-in-progress. Always confirm your course plan with your academic advisor. Upon entering the College, undeclared students will be assigned an advisor in the Engineering Advising Center. After declaring a degree program, a student’s advising home moves to that program’s Advising Office. Each department’s Program Advising Office and website information has been provided for your assistance in determining specific program changes.