ECE as a pre-professional undergraduate program

Rapid changes and broadening scope in electrical and computer engineering (ECE) combine with other pressures to make BS degree-level preparation for the future increasingly difficult. The proposed solution is a pre-professional degree, focusing on broad educational outcomes and featuring nontraditional learning experiences, leading to a variety of graduate school career tracks. It is argued that this approach is potentially a productive way in which to address declining interest in engineering by its traditional students, as well as marginal increases in interest by women and minorities. The pre-professional degree is the logical result of the forces on undergraduate ECE education, and it can address the challenges of preparing students for leadership and success, not just survival, in a future in which the only constant will be change. Representative educational objectives and program outcomes for such a pre-professional program are presented.