A Planning Project to Redesign the Delivery of Fundamentals in a Flexible Electrical and Computer Engineering Curriculum

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This project is planning to develop new methods for selecting the content and delivering core components in the highly flexible curriculum of the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) department at Carnegie Mellon University. With the help of students, faculty, alumni and industry representatives, a number of "use cases" will be created that illustrate how their curriculum can provide the foundation for productive careers in specific fields, with an emphasis on social impact. The project aims to develop a balance between flexibility and fundamentals within the broad discipline of ECE, and create means to help students better understand the role of fundamentals in a wide variety of careers that have significant impact on society. The content of ECE curricula will be analyzed using graphical tools to evaluate alternatives for structuring an effective four-year ECE curriculum that offers a solid foundation in the fundamentals with the flexibility to pursue opportunities identified by our use cases. The one-year study will lead to a new structure for the core courses, and a set of tools for continuing evaluation and improvement of the curriculum. Intellectual Merit This project will develop two innovations for curriculum design. The "use case" approach to curriculum design creates clear connections between elements of an ECE curriculum and profession options. It complements the decomposition of the curriculum into traditional technical areas that are not well understood by students, and will guide the selection of fundamental material that can serve best multiple ends. The graphical analysis of the elements of the ECE curriculum provides novel metrics for evaluating alternative organizations of the curriculum. Broader Impacts The novel methods and tools for identifying and delivering fundamental material in an ECE curriculum will be made available to other universities through the project web site. The development of use cases for our curriculum will also attract a broader, more diverse set of students who seek careers with high social impact into electrical and computer engineering. The use cases will also be available on the web site in an attractive way that encourages even high school guidance counselors to explore with high school students the possibilities for careers based on an ECE education.