HomeDual Degrees, Joint Degrees, Minors
A variety of popular inter-disciplinary programs and other degree options also exist for students in either of the majors offered by the ESE Department.
Joint Degree Program
Management and Technology Program
The Management and Technology program combines an engineering BAS or BSE degree with a BS Econ degree from the Wharton School. Students who select the BAS (Individualized Major) for the technical portion of the M&T program will be associated with the Systems Engineering department; the broad "whole system" view taken by the Systems Engineering faculty is a close match to the broad interests of most M&T students.
A BAS/M&T student who wishes to associate with and be advised by a faculty member from another engineering department should request a change with the Undergraduate Curriculum Chair for Systems Engineering.
Dual Majors
Students may also elect to pursue dual majors within the School of Engineering and Applied Science - for example, in Electrical Engineering and Bioengineering or Electrical Engineering and Material Science and Engineering. For details on these or other programs, please see your academic advisor or the Undergraduate Curriculum Chair in the ESE Department and/or your Operating Procedures Manual.
Dual Major Program in Bioengineering & Electrical Engineering (BE/EE)
The School of Engineering and Applied Science has introduced a new dual major program leading towards the Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree in both Bioengineering and Electrical Engineering. Although each of these disciplines is a major professional field in its own right, joining the two programs into a single career objective offers a number of advantages and is a natural pairing of professional fields for the following reasons:
- Bioengineering is the application of engineering principles to the solution of both fundamental and applied problems in medicine and biology. A significant fraction of bioengineering applications, such as biomedical imaging, and design of diagnostic and therapeutic equipment, and instrumentation have an electrical engineering background and sophisticated knowledge of electronic system design methods as major requirements;
- Biological organisms are essentially electrochemical devices, requiring strong backgrounds in both chemical and electrical science for quantitative understanding of their operation and modeling;
- A large fraction of today's bioengineering academic and research programs grew out of electrical engineering and were pioneered by electrical engineers; indeed, the oldest and largest professional bioengineering society, the Engineering in Biology and Medicine Society, is a division of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.
- The growth of healthcare as the largest component of the US. GNP, as evidenced by the current debate on healthcare, will require the growth and expansion of bioengineering technology in the future, increasing the need and jobs for bio-electrical engineers. Professionals combining these backgrounds will have a significant advantage obtaining leadership positions in these fields;
- While many entry level jobs for engineers with Bachelor's degrees exist, many of today's graduates go on to advanced study leading to Master's or Doctor's degrees. A background in both bio and electrical engineering will considerable expand the number and types of these programs for which a student is eligible.
The SEAS dual major will require approximately one-half year more than either degree program alone. However, because it is intended as an elite program, it is designed so that qualified students can complete both majors within the normal four years by taking slightly heavier course loads in certain semesters, and/or by summer school work.
If you are interested in obtaining further details about this unique and novel program, please contact either Dr. Ken R. Foster in Bioengineering (kfoster@seas.upenn.edu or 215-898-8534).
Minors
Degree minors may be obtained in each of the majors offered by the Department of Electrical & Systems Engineering..
Computer and Telecommunications Engineering Minor. Six courses from the Engineering category of the Computer and Telecommunications Engineering curriculum. See: CTE Curricula are required. These six c.u's from the Engineering category have to be apportioned as follows: two CIS courses, two EE c.u's, and two TCOM c.u's. No 100-level classes may be used towards the minor.
Electrical Engineering Minor. Six courses from the Engineering category of the Electrical Engineering curriculum. No 100-level classes may be used towards the minor. See: EE Curricula.
Systems Engineering Minor. A minor in Systems Engineering consists of any six courses from the following list:
- ESE 210 (Modeling of Dynamic Systems)
- ESE 215/205 (Electrical Circuits and Systems)
- ESE 252 (Transportation Engineering)
- ESE 301 or STAT 430 (Probability)
- ESE 302 or STAT 431 (Statistics)
- ESE 303 (Analysis & Simulation of Stochastic Systems)
- ESE 308 (Agent-Based Modelling)
- ESE 325 (Signals and Systems)
- ESE 350 (Embedded Systems, Microcontroller Laboratory)
- ESE 351 (Logistics, Manufacturing, and Transportation)
- ESE 360/CBE 375 (Introduction to Environmental Systems)
- ESE 400 (Engineering Economics)
- ESE 404 (Introduction to Networks and Protocols)
- ESE 406 (Control of Systems)
- ESE 408 (Communication Systems)
- ESE 444 (Project Management)
- ESE 452 (Transportation Systems Engineering)
- TCOM 502 (Advanced Networking Protocols)
- TCOM 503 (Waves, Fibers, and Antennas in Communications)
EE majors may pursue a minor in CTE so long as no more than 2 c.u.'s are double-counted in both. The same is true for CTE majors interested in an EE minor.