Beyond the fundamentals : why the undergraduate mechanical engineering curriculum needs reform

The addition of a systems engineering concentration through the MIT Mechanical Engineering Alternative (course 2A) curriculum will be shown to have the potential to increase the number of engineering degrees in comparison to non-engineering degrees, to better prepare MIT engineering graduates, and to increase the percentage of graduates that pursue careers in engineering rather than finance and consulting. Original data was collected from Careerbridge and used along with existing information available through the registrar and careers office to provide a quantitative breakdown of the trends in Mechanical Engineering department enrollment, degrees awarded, and skills demanded of graduating alumni. These results are used to suggest that the number of MIT Mechanical Engineering graduates can increase by recognizing the existence of a type of engineer defined as the Systems Engineer. Systems Engineers are currently switching out of engineering into business, finance and consulting, and this can be corrected through a concentration in 2A similar to an existing program called the Gordon Engineering Leadership Program.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Acosta, Arron (Arron Scott)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Warren Seering.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/59889

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/59889