Objectives and Stats
The BS Electrical Engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org, under the commission’s General Criteria and Program Criteria for Electrical, Computer, Communications, Telecommunication(s), and Similarly Named Engineering Programs.
Additionally, the program provides a comprehensive background in electrical engineering, while offering significant flexibility in the areas pursued in depth through elective coursework and research projects. This breadth and depth prepare students for any future career path including work in engineering, careers in related mathematically-intensive fields, and further professional or graduate education.
Program Educational Objectives
In support of the mission of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the educational objective of the Electrical Engineering program is to prepare graduates to achieve success in one or more of the following within a few years after graduation:
- Graduate or professional studies—as evidenced by admission to a top-tier program, attainment of advanced degrees, research contributions, or professional recognition.
- Engineering practice—as evidenced by entrepreneurship; employment in industry, government, academia, or nonprofit organizations in engineering; patents; or professional recognition.
- Careers outside of engineering that take advantage of an engineering education—as evidenced by contributions appropriate to the chosen field.
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, Charles Zukowski (caz at columbia.edu).
Student Outcomes
An accredited engineering program must define a set of specific student outcomes that include but are not necessarily limited to items 1-7 listed below. We regularly review the courses in our curriculum to make sure that all these items are covered, and assess whether our students are successfully attaining these goals.
- an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics
- an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors
- an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
- an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
- an ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives
- an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions
- an ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.
EE Program Statistics (As of October 2023)
- Class (projection upon entry into EE)
- Columbia, declared sophomore year
- '15
- 11
- '16
- 14
- '17
- 15
- '18
- 13
- '19
- 12
- '20
- 14
- '21
- 8
- '22
- 13
- '23
- 19
- '24
- 18
- '25
- 21
- Class (projection upon entry into EE)
- Transfer, declared upon arrival
- '15
- 2
- '16
- 2
- '17
- 1
- '18
- 1
- '19
- 0
- '20
- 1
- '21
- 0
- '22
- 1
- '23
- 0
- '24
- 1
- '25
- 0
- Class (projection upon entry into EE)
- Combined plan, arrived for junior year
- '15
- 16
- '16
- 19
- '17
- 10
- '18
- 12
- '19
- 16
- '20
- 19
- '21
- 14
- '22
- 17
- '23
- 16
- '24
- 7
- '25
- 10
- Class (projection upon entry into EE)
- Switched major to EE junior year or later
- '15
- 2
- '16
- 0
- '17
- 2
- '18
- 1
- '19
- 0
- '20
- 0
- '21
- 0
- '22
- 0
- '23
- 0
- '24
- 1
- '25
- 0
- Class (projection upon entry into EE)
- '15
- '16
- '17
- '18
- '19
- '20
- '21
- '22
- '23
- '24
- '25
- Class (projection upon entry into EE)
- Total entering class size
- '15
- 31
- '16
- 35
- '17
- 28
- '18
- 27
- '19
- 28
- '20
- 34
- '21
- 22
- '22
- 31
- '23
- 35
- '24
- 27
- '25
- 31
- Class (projection upon entry into EE)
- '15
- '16
- '17
- '18
- '19
- '20
- '21
- '22
- '23
- '24
- '25
- Class (projection upon entry into EE)
- Graduated with expected class
- '15
- 26
- '16
- 29
- '17
- 19
- '18
- 23
- '19
- 27
- '20
- 32
- '21
- 18
- '22
- 23
- '23
- 32
- '24
- '25
- Class (projection upon entry into EE)
- Graduated early
- '15
- 0
- '16
- 2
- '17
- 0
- '18
- 0
- '19
- 0
- '20
- 0
- '21
- 1
- '22
- 0
- '23
- '24
- '25
- Class (projection upon entry into EE)
- Graduated late due to BS/MS program
- '15
- 0
- '16
- 0
- '17
- 0
- '18
- 0
- '19
- 0
- '20
- 0
- '21
- 0
- '22
- 0
- '23
- '24
- '25
- Class (projection upon entry into EE)
- Graduated late due to leave of absence
- '15
- 2
- '16
- 2
- '17
- 1
- '18
- 0
- '19
- 0
- '20
- 0
- '21
- 1
- '22
- 0
- '23
- 0
- '24
- '25
- Class (projection upon entry into EE)
- Graduated late due to extension
- '15
- 3
- '16
- 1
- '17
- 1
- '18
- 1
- '19
- 0
- '20
- 0
- '21
- 1
- '22
- 2
- '23
- 0
- '24
- '25
- Class (projection upon entry into EE)
- Total graduated with Columbia BSEE
- '15
- 31
- '16
- 34
- '17
- 21
- '18
- 24
- '19
- 27
- '20
- 32
- '21
- 21
- '22
- 25
- '23
- 32
- '24
- '25
- Class (projection upon entry into EE)
- Withdrew from EE Program
- '15
- 0
- '16
- 1
- '17
- 5
- '18
- 0
- '19
- 0
- '20
- 1
- '21
- 1
- '22
- 0
- '23
- 0
- '24
- '25
- Class (projection upon entry into EE)
- Switched major from EE junior year or later
- '15
- 0
- '16
- 0
- '17
- 2
- '18
- 1
- '19
- 0
- '20
- 1
- '21
- 0
- '22
- 3
- '23
- 2
- '24
- '25
- Class (projection upon entry into EE)
- Students still enrolled/ working on degree
- '15
- 0
- '16
- 0
- '17
- 0
- '18
- 2
- '19
- 1
- '20
- 0
- '21
- 0
- '22
- 3
- '23
- 1
- '24
- '25
EE Enrollment and Graduation Numbers by Year
- Sophomores
- 2018
- 9
- 2019
- 10
- 2020
- 18
- 2021
- 16
- 2022
- 21
- 2023
- 11
- Juniors
- 2018
- 30
- 2019
- 23
- 2020
- 25
- 2021
- 32
- 2022
- 24
- 2023
- 31
- Seniors
- 2018
- 30
- 2019
- 36
- 2020
- 23
- 2021
- 30
- 2022
- 32
- 2023
- 23
- Total
- 2018
- 69
- 2019
- 69
- 2020
- 66
- 2021
- 78
- 2022
- 77
- 2023
- 65
- 2018
- 2019
- 2020
- 2021
- 2022
- 2023
- 2018
- 2019
- 2019
- 2020
- 2020
- 2021
- 2021
- 2022
- 2022
- 2023
- 2023
- 2024
- Graduates
- 2018
- 30
- 2019
- 35
- 2020
- 19
- 2021
- 24
- 2022
- 31
- 2023
- 24