Attributes of Engineering Graduates and Their Impact on Curriculum Design

Abstract

A bstract This paper presents the findings of an Engineering Curriculum Task Force of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Arizona State University. The Task Force's charge was to explore changes that would better prepare baccalaureate‐level engineers for the practice of their profession in the next decade. The generic data developed in the process used by the Task Force are given here. For example, a set of ten important attributes deemed desirable for newly graduated engineers and produced by education, is presented. Also, the rankings by industry, alumni, students, and faculty, of the relative importance of each of these ten attributes and the performance of new graduates in each, are given. Generic curriculum features necessary for successful generation of these attributes are discussed. Finally, the results of an alumni survey are presented which show the overwhelming support for a broad‐based undergraduate program by graduates of all degree programs.