Academics

Objectives


Program Educational Objectives


The educational objectives of the Electrical Engineering program, in support of the mission of the school, are to:

  1. Produce graduates with a strong foundation in the basic sciences and mathematics that will enable them to identify and solve electrical engineering problems
  2. Provide students with a solid foundation in electrical engineering that prepares them for lifelong careers and professional growth in fields of their choice
  3. Provide our students with the basic skills to communicate effectively and to develop the ability to function as members of multidisciplinary teams
  4. Provide our students with a broad-based education so that they can appreciate diversity of opinion, better understand ethical issues, and develop a perspective of our profession
  5. Provide our students with a relevant engineering design experience that is integrated across the four year curriculum; through those experiences develop in our students an understanding of the relationship between theory and practice

Our department periodically reviews these objectives and as part of this review process, encourages comments from all interested parties: current students, alumni, prospective students, faculty, teaching assistants, those who hire or admit our graduates to other programs, members of related professional organizations, and colleagues from other educational institutions. Please send comments to our ABET coordinator, Xiaodong Wang (wangx at ee.columbia.edu).

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Program Educational Outcomes


An accredited engineering program must define a set of specific program outcomes that relate to its educational objectives, including at least the items a-k listed below. We regularly review the courses in our curriculum to make sure that all these items are covered, and try to measure whether our students are successfully attaining the following goals:

  1. An ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering
  2. An ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data
  3. An ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability
  4. An ability to function on multidisciplinary teams
  5. An ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
  6. An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
  7. An ability to communicate effectively
  8. the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context
  9. A recognition of the need and ability to engage in lifelong learning
  10. A knowledge of contemporary issues
  11. An ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice

Our department periodically reviews these outcomes and as part of this review process, encourages comments from all interested parties: current students, alumni, prospective students, faculty, teaching assistants, those who hire or admit our graduates to other programs, members of related professional organizations, and colleagues from other educational institutions. In particular, we are currently evaluating whether we should add any additional outcomes. Please send comments to our ABET coordinator, Xiaodong Wang (wangx at ee.columbia.edu).

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Program Upgrades


As part of our accreditation process, we constantly measure the success of many aspects of our Electrical Engineering program, e.g., by monitoring:

Every year we review this input and target aspects of our program for modification and improvement. This process was initially proposed as shown on our ABET 2000 page, and has expanded somewhat in recent years with respect to measurements. These are examples of some of our most important recent initiatives:

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