Degrees of ME

Degree Program Options Abound for Baylor Engineering Students

November 14, 2015

Regardless of the field, most engineers have a love of understanding how things work and often ensuring that they do. It could be the delicate intricacies behind a complicated machine or the coordination of tiny electrons in a computer system. That mindset even pays dividends in the formulation of academic curriculum. Baylor University’s general engineering program is a prime example of such. Baylor’s original engineering program has “morphed through the years as the needs and circumstances have changed,” according to Benjamin S. Kelley, PhD, director of the Division of General Engineering.

The Bachelor of Science in engineering degree (BSE) is one of three engineering degrees offered through Baylor’s School of Engineering and Computer Science, along with mechanical engineering and electrical and computer engineering.

“There are a lot of students who want to come to Baylor who say, ‘What if I don’t want mechanical engineering or electrical engineering, but I want to be an engineer from Baylor?” Kelley said. “If they have identified which other area or field they’d like to pursue, this gives them the opportunity to pursue it at the concentration level.”

Dr. Benjamin S. Kelley
Dr. Benjamin S. Kelley

The BSE curriculum is designed to provide a strong foundation in general education, mathematics and basic sciences, and fundamental engineering subjects. Additionally, the program offers the flexibility to develop specialties different from the mechanical engineering and electrical and computer engineering programs.

The general engineering degree is a core engineering degree with the option to select one of four unique concentrations: biomedical, environmental, geo/petro and humanitarian engineering.

“We tried to pick (areas) that fit Baylor and that we actually can manage,” Kelley said. “The biomedical concentration is a great fit because we have faculty doing biomedical research, and we offer specific biomedical engineering classes. The same thing with humanitarian engineering; it just fits Baylor so well.”

Students in the general engineering program are expected to go broader into engineering studies than those in mechanical or electrical and computer.

“The trade off is that we go less into the specific major; therefore, we call it a concentration,” Kelley said. “There’s a higher expectation on the student to perform well because they are taking the path less taken.”

Kelley said general engineering students are more focused on what they want to do after graduation. Small classes and a close working relationship with demanding faculty are major strengths of the flexible engineering degree track.

“Realizing they are here at Baylor getting a concentration, not a major, they want to be competitive with graduates from other universities that might have majors in those areas,” he said. “They’re going to have to perform at a high level, so we have a pretty high expectation there.”

Students in the biomedical concentration take extra biology and chemistry courses as well as specific biomedical engineering classes in addition to general engineering courses.

“For example,” Kelley said, “they take a course in biomaterials that deals with the material science of all those materials that might be implanted into the body. They take a course on image formation, which could be from ultra-sounds to PET scans to MRI and the digital signal processing behind that.”

Kelley said biomedical students planning to enter the medical device industry continue to medical school or graduate school.

Meanwhile, humanitarian engineering does not specify the additional engineering courses required. These students are geared toward a career in mission work. “They’re likely to be in the water business or energy business because that’s where challenges lay as they try to improve the lives of people in developing countries,” Kelley said.

The environmental and geo/petro concentrations have very similar aspects, both relying heavily on Baylor’s geology and environmental science departments. These concentrations prepare students for careers in environmental fields and/or the oil and gas industry.

The general engineering program will continue to add more concentrations in the future with an engineering fellows — similar to Baylor’s Business Fellows program — and pre-med engineering concentrations right around the corner.

“We used to think general pre-med students could do biomedical engineering,” Kelley said. “They can, but not without a lot of extra courses.”

Kelley also said they are looking at a technical entrepreneurship concentration in partnership with Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business and an engineering education concentration in partnership with Baylor’s School of Education.

“We don’t offer everything, nor will we ever suppose to offer fields we can’t manage,” Kelley said. “But we feel we can do a good job with these, and we have these two or three others we hope to bring on in the next round.”