Wanted: Eng. D. degrees: Four undergraduate years are not sufficient to produce a practicing engineer

The crisis in engineering education is evident. Four years of undergraduate studies are not sufficient to properly educate and produce a practicing engineer. Every report on engineering education, from the Mann report in 1918 to the NSPE (National Society of Professional Engineers) study in 1976, has recommended that certain subjects be added to the engineering curriculum without recommending that any be deleted. The Wickenden report of 1934 entitled “Investigation of Engineering Education, 1923–1929” recommended that more social science and humanities be added to the engineering curriculum. In 1955, the Grinter report recommended that more basic science be added to the curriculum. Recently, ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) modified accreditation guidelines to ensure that more engineering design is included in the curriculum. In an article by Cranch and Nordby, industrial spokesmen are quoted as stressing the need to add more communication skills, both oral and written, and management skills to the engineering curriculum.