ABSTRACT
The program would infuse exemplary and substantive engineering content throughout a sequence of core courses rooted in the liberal arts. A series of studies and task force reports, for example has suggested that the most effective way to diversify engineering enrolments is to broaden the coursework, address the social/political contexts of engineering practice, and explicate the implications of technology for society, especially in the years of undergraduate study. Some have suggested that the under-representation of women in engineering, especially in computer science, is because they find the work too challenging. The method is to build on the content and form of instruction in engineering program but dramatically transform both content and form to achieve the goals of a liberal arts program – ‘critical thinking’ is the key phrase in this regard – while attending to the fundamentals of the traditional engineering course of study.
