Changing the charge of engineering education - preparing students for the global work place through an integrated international dual degree curriculum

Reacting to the work force demands of Rhode Island companies whose innovation processes have moved from the local to the global level, and whose around-the clock business transactions increasingly require a multilingual management and workforce, the University of Rhode Island created a pioneering five year dual degree program which allows students to simultaneously pursue a B.S. in an engineering discipline and a B.A. in Chinese, French, German or Spanish. The 4^th year offers a mandatory year-long immersion abroad, the first semester spent studying at one of URI´s technical partner universities, the second by applying the theoretical and linguistic skills acquired in the classrooms at home and abroad by interning for a company in China, France, Germany or Spain. Graduates of this program are in high demand with companies who are dependent on the ability of global interconnected teams from the U.S., Asia, and Europe to work together smoothly and efficiently in order to keep up every-day operations and to stay ahead of competitors.