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College of Charleston planning new electrical engineering program

Staff Report //June 22, 2020//

College of Charleston planning new electrical engineering program

Staff Report //June 22, 2020//

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The College of Charleston is planning to add a new Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering to its engineering department.

The new program, which is pending approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, would focus on teaching students how to analyze, design and implement electrical systems within the context of Lowcountry industry, according to a news release.

“Our faculty worked closely with industry partners to develop the curriculum of this program, and our entire region and state will be the beneficiary of their hard work and foresight,” College of Charleston President Andrew T. Hsu said. 

The College of Charleston met with regional industries to design the electrical engineering program to support the Lowcountry.

“An industry task force made up of engineers and leaders from Boeing, Bosch, Mercedes-Benz Vans, Hill-Rom, Sapience Automation, AmplifiedAg and Capgemini identified a growing unmet need for electrical engineers who understand electrical test and measurement systems and the complex distributed electrical control systems used in vehicle systems and other industries,” said Sebastian van Delden, interim dean of the School of Sciences and Mathematics.

The electrical engineering program is intended to serve as a pipeline to the job market and to be an option for local students who cannot afford to move to pursue the program. 

The college expects to enroll its first students in the new program for the fall 2021 semester.

The College has also signed a memorandum of agreement with Clemson University to allow graduates of the College of Charleston’s systems engineering program to enroll in the Master of Engineering in electrical engineering program at Clemson University’s Zucker Family Graduate Education Center.  

Physics and Astronomy chair Narayanan Kuthirummal said, “This new partnership will help to produce more highly qualified systems engineers in the Lowcountry.”

CofC created the systems engineering program in 2019 and will enroll its first students for the fall 2020 semester. According to the news release, CofC is the first university in South Carolina to offer a bachelor of science degree in systems engineering.

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