2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The College is a small liberal-arts college in City, State, USA. The College dates to 1830 and currently has 1500 students. In 2012, the faculty approved a new Engineering Physics Major. In this paper, the authors present the back story that lead to the creation of the new major, the articulation with the liberal arts, the design of the curriculum, the difficulties faced in implementation, the student outcomes and benefits to the College, and the goals and plans for the future.

The articulation of engineering with the liberal arts was considered from two perspectives. The first is the obvious benefit of a liberal arts education to the engineering student. While advances in knowledge and technology are creating excitement in science and engineering education, tomorrow’s engineer must also be able to write and communicate well; consider ethics and social responsibilities; understand business; and live and work in teams as a global citizen. They must be able to think critically and problem-solve.

Perhaps more interesting is how Engineering as a discipline can contribute to and be a part of the liberal arts. Modern Engineering is the application of scientific knowledge to creatively design new devices and processes that benefit society. Engineering is, in fact, one-part science, one-part art, and one-part creative design. In other words, Engineers must create while understanding the fundamental science that constrains their creations. Those engineers who merely tinker and fabricate and try to build something often fail because they do not recognize the need for both fundamental science and imagination in their designs. Helping the faculty of the College see Engineering from these perspectives made the new major more palatable.

The major could more properly deemed Engineering Mechanics with its focus on the core courses found in Mechanical and Civil Engineering programs (Statics, Dynamics, Solids, and Fluids). Since 2015, thirty-six students have graduated. Roughly one third have gone directly to graduate school while the remainder have gone directly to work in technical fields. One third have been women and fifty percent have been student athletes.
Going forward, The College plans to grow the major while maintaining a strong commitment to the liberal arts.