Program Description

Overview

The curriculum in General Engineering provides a comprehensive program in basic sciences, engineering sciences, and engineering design. The program was developed to give a broad background in mechanics and structures, control systems, and decision-making that is supportive of a systems approach to engineering. It is enriched by the use of computer-aided engineering tools and course experiences involving a design-build-test-evaluate ("closed-loop") cycle that echoes the real world. This learning begins at the freshman year and culminates in an internship- like, senior-level project course sequence (GE 494 + GE 495 ) in which student teams solve real-world problems posed by external sponsors.

The curriculum also incorporates specialized study in an approved Secondary Field of Concentration of Concentration of choice that provides virtually unlimited opportunity and flexibility to tailor the curriculum to one's interests. The College of Engineering's various Options and Minors may be incorporated into the curriculum through the Secondary Field of Concentration and GE 494/495 and other electives.

Through the capstone project course GE 494 and a senior seminar GE 490 , the curriculum teaches the life skills necessary for success in the professional world. Overall, this curriculum prepares students for graduate study and positions of managerial and technical leadership in careers in the private and public sectors.

The curriculum requires 131 hours for graduation:

131-hour Curriculum (Freshmen Entering Fall 2006 and after)

Students who entered the curriculum prior to Fall 2006 must consult the IESE Chief Advisor. 

Flexibility

The combination of a strong theoretical background, special knowledge in specific areas, and broad skill in problem solving gives the graduate in general engineering a sound but flexible base for a career. The student can move into practice or advanced study in almost any branch of the engineering profession. With equal ease, the student can prepare for further study in management.

Secondary Fields of Concentration have been organized in to areas such as engineering management, engineering marketing, robotics and control systems, environmental quality, and computer science. Other customized combinations are possible in such areas as education, biology, law, and biomedicine. Thus, general engineering is an ideal choice, both for the student who prefers engineering in combination with other fields and the young man or woman who enjoys carrying out engineering projects broader than those of the more traditional fields of engineering.

For the student who enters the five-year program leading to degrees in both engineering and liberal arts, general engineering is an efficient medium. In this balanced curriculum the flexibility to choose electives presents an ideal means of combining the liberal arts and the technical disciplines.

Career Possibilities

The engineer is sought after as a project leader and, on a general scale, as an executive interpreting technical considerations to other engineers or to management. Graduates in general engineering are sought by a variety of companies, both large and small. As engineers they have been successful in manufacturing, the chemical and process industries, public utilities, and a wide range of government agencies.

General engineers fill positions ranging from administrators to project designers, supervisors, and group leaders in research or production. They serve also as sales engineers, technical service representatives, directors of public relations units, and in other posts of leadership requiring both technical knowledge and the ability to deal effectively with people.

General engineering provides the technical background and training for any number of officers and directors of corporations in such diverse fields as product design and manufacture, management consulting, structural design, and real estate. Some general engineers are successful in establishing their own firms as consulting engineers, manufacturers, or suppliers of computer equipment and software. A number enter the practice of law, particularly patent law, as members of established firms or on their own. A few have become judges. All find technical knowledge acquired and the analytical thought processes developed while pursuing the general engineering curriculum to be extremely helpful.

Some general engineers use their training in the field of education, teaching courses in engineering and related subjects and doing research.

General engineers join accounting firms, sometimes supplementing their engineering training with a master of business administration degree. Some graduates use their engineering education as a springboard to medicine. Graduates have gone on to become medical doctors or to specialize in bioengineering fields.

In such positions, a knowledge of economics, history, psychology, accounting, industrial management, marketing, professional expression, diplomatic history and government service, labor relations, and personnel relations all are valuable. In general engineering the student can choose a significant number of courses from the humanities and engineering-related fields while developing a sound basic competence in engineering theory and practice. Some of the more popular Secondary Field of Concentration of Concentrations are discussed in greater detail in the following section.

Salaries and advancement usually are attractive for general engineers, comparing favorably with or surpassing the salaries of graduates of equal ability in any of the standard disciplines. In a recent survey it was noted that general engineering graduates five years out of the university had almost doubled their starting salaries, and had made significant advances in their careers.