Mar 28, 2024  
2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Engineering, B.S.


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Dr. Kurt G. Paterson, Department Head
Phone: (540) 568-6241
Email: paterskg@jmu.edu
Location: Health & Human Services Building, Room 3234
Website: http://www.jmu.edu/engineering

Professors
K. Paterson, B. Striebig

Associate Professors
K. Gipson, S. Harper, S. Holland, S. Morton, J. Nagel, R. Nagel, A. Ogundipe, R. Prins

Assistant Professors
E. Barrella, J. Henriques, C. Miller, H. McLeod

Mission 

Through an engineering curriculum grounded in effective instructional practices, we nurture an engaged educational community of conscientious and adaptable learners who develop solutions for the betterment of society.

Objectives

The JMU Engineering program provides an eight-semester project-driven platform for students to contribute engineering work for sustainable societies. We seek engineers who are eager to:

  • understand the needs of people and communities, effectively communicate with project partners, and provide leadership for diverse teams,
  • make beneficial solutions for society and the planet using innovation, design thinking, engineering analyses, and an understanding of complexities involved in real projects.
  • function effectively in the work environment with integrity and professionalism, and
  • demonstrate a commitment to professional development through self-motivated learning, career advancement, or advanced studies.

The Bachelor of Science in Engineering is a single cross disciplinary engineering degree that integrates many traditional engineering disciplines with course work in business, project management, engineering, design and liberal arts. The foci of the program are sustainability, engineering design and project delivery.

Engineering for a sustainable world is, in short, a body of knowledge and set of holistic analytical design skills that contribute to the development of products, processes, services and infrastructure that simultaneously protect the environment, conserve resources and meet human needs at an acceptable financial cost. By reframing traditional engineering practice, sustainability provides a way of moving toward the development of sustainable societies, where human quality of life is advanced with a minimum impact on finite resources and the environment. Traditional approaches to engineering, such as mechanical, electrical or chemical are not offered in this program.

Rather, this modern, project-based, engineering curriculum spans many areas of engineering to create adaptable engineers with practical know-how.

The curriculum is ABET accredited and prepares students for the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) pre-licensure examination. Graduates will be prepared to succeed in the engineering workforce or in advanced engineering degree programs by accumulating a professional portfolio of engineering project experiences throughout the curriculum.

Career Opportunities

Upon graduation, alumni will be prepared for a wide range of opportunities in the engineering workforce or in graduate school. Typical fields of engineering that students will be prepared to enter include sustainable design, process design, product design, process engineering, project management and systems engineering. Other industry options include product service system design, technical sales, management training and technical marketing.

A wide range of graduate school options include master’s and doctoral programs in civil engineering, environmental engineering, industrial engineering, materials engineering, mechanical engineering and systems engineering. Other post-graduation options include business school, law school, AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, military service, entrepreneurship (starting a small business), applied science fields, international experiences, medical school and careers in politics/public policy.

Some examples of the industries that hire engineers include, among others, design and build companies, aeronautic firms, automobile manufacturers, colleges and universities, computer service and software firms, consulting firms, energy systems firms, federal contractors, federal, state and local governments (e.g., NASA, EPA, NIST, DOD, DOE), non-profit agencies, manufacturing firms, inspection agencies, mining and petroleum firms, pharmaceutical and medical research companies, research and development laboratories, telecommunication companies, and waste management and recycling firms.

Admission to the Major

The B.S. in engineering admits a limited number of students each year. To be eligible to apply for admission, students must have completed the following:

All courses (or approved equivalents) required for the engineering major with a grade of “C” or higher:

Any of the preceding courses may only be repeated once to be considered for admission.

No more than 85 students (including transfer students with qualifying transcripts) will be admitted to the major at the junior-level. If more than 85 students meet the above standards, enrollment will be limited to the top 85 students. For on-campus students, the admission criterion will be grade point average (GPA) in the five ENGR courses (ENGR 112 ENGR 212 ENGR 221 ENGR 231 ENGR 232 ). In the event of a tie, GPA in the lower division MATH, CHEM and PHYS courses required for the engineering major (listed in #1) will be used as a tie-breaker. The student coordinator will work with the engineering Academic Unit Head to assess the relative merit of transfer students. Students who are not among the top 85 in their cohort may elect to wait one year and be considered with the next cohort, if they so choose, though the same selection criteria applies.

Progressing in the Major

Once admitted to the engineering program, students must maintain an in-major and cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher.

Once admitted, any course required as part of the engineering major may only be repeated once.

Required courses


  • General Education  41 Credit Hours 1
  • Quantitative requirement 3 Credit Hours 2
  • Scientific Literacy requirement 3 Credit Hours 2
  • Major requirements (listed below) and electives 80 Credit Hours

Total: 127 Credit Hours


Additional Information


Students must complete a total of nine hours of approved electives, including at least six hours of technical electives. Students may not use courses required for the engineering major to fulfill elective requirements.

  • Technical Electives: Must include at least three credit hours of ENGR 440 – ENGR 479. Up to three credit hours of technical electives may be from ENGR 480  or ENGR 498 
  • Free electives: May include up to three credit hours of any other 300 or 400 level courses at JMU (both ENGR and nonENGR courses are eligible). This may include courses that qualify as technical electives but were not used to meet the technical elective requirement.  

Footnotes


1 The General Education  program contains a set of requirements each student must fulfill. The number of credit hours necessary to fulfill these requirements may vary.
2 In addition to course work taken to fulfill General Education  requirement.

Recommended Schedule for Majors


First Year


Total: 14 Credit Hours

Total: 14 Credit Hours

Second Year


Third Year


Fourth Year


Fall Semester


Total: 18 Credit Hours

Spring Semester


Total: 16 Credit Hours

Footnotes


1 Also fulfills General Education  requirement for Cluster Three, Group 1 

2 Also fulfills General Education  requirement for Cluster Three, Group 2 

3 Fulfills General Education  requirement for Cluster One .

4 Engineering students are required to take either BIO 222  or GEOL 210  to meet engineering requirements as well as Cluster Three, Group 3  requirements.

Bachelor of Science in Engineering with a Minor in General Business


This program prepares the student for entry-level engineering management and project management positions. The student is prepared to plan, organize, direct and control engineering projects, programs and/or facilities. Also, the program provides a foundation for graduate study in engineering management.

A grade point average of 2.0 in the business minor is required for graduation. This program of instruction also will require a total of 126 credit hours. The engineering major with business minor program is coupled and must be completed together; if a student does not receive a degree in engineering, the business minor will not be awarded. Additionally, there is a limit of 27 College of Business  credit hours that can be taken, which includes the ENGR 221  and ENGR 322  courses.

Required courses


  • General Education  41 Credit Hours 1
  • Quantitative requirement 4 Credit Hours 2
  • Scientific Literacy requirement 3-4 Credit Hours 2
  • General business minor 21 Credit Hours
  • Major requirements (listed below) and electives 75 Credit Hours

Total: 143-144 Credit Hours


Footnotes


1 The General Education  program contains a set of requirements each student must fulfill. The number of credit hours necessary to fulfill these requirements may vary.
2 In addition to course work taken to fulfill General Education  requirement.

Recommended Schedule for Majors


First Year


Second Year


Third Year


Fourth Year


Footnotes


1 Also fulfills General Education  requirement for Cluster Three, Group 1 

2 Also fulfills General Education  requirement for Cluster Three, Group 2 

3 Fulfills General Education  requirement for Cluster One 

4 Engineering students are required to take either BIO 222  or GEOL 210  to meet engineering requirements as well as Cluster Three, Group 3 .

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