CUI is in final preparations to launch a BS in engineering with an emphasis on entrepreneurship beginning Fall 2021. The degree is intended to prepare students for a variety of engineering fields or for graduate study in a related field.
“We’ve been exploring engineering for a long time,” says Peter Senkbeil, vice president and special assistant to the president. “We expanded chemistry, added physics and added computer science majors, so we have the basic building blocks to undergird an engineering major, along with mathematics.”
The new program aims to turn out well-rounded engineers for which CUI’s extensive market research showed a need. David Housholder, special services contractor with CUI, is doing reconnaissance and establishing connections for the program. He knocked on doors and visited many local Orange County industries to find out what companies are looking for in the engineering graduates they hire.
“The answer has been universal,” Housholder says. “They say, ‘Send us engineers who can work well with a team, lead presentations that motivate people with public speaking, do technical writing that the clients can understand, and operate with a good ethical/moral backbone.’”
CUI is uniquely positioned to provide engineers with the liberal arts background that the local industry is seeking
Students will work collaboratively in project-based teams, and do public speaking to push them to communicate their technical knowledge and write effectively for engineers and non-engineers.
The degree program also offers a distinctly Christian approach to engineering. Professor John Kenney helped write a statement of Christian perspective on engineering built on biblical foundations and asking questions such as, How do we do engineering in a way that fulfills our calling to love and serve our neighbor?
A final-year internship will cap the program curriculum. Orange County is arguably a global center for engineering activity, which will open many doors for potential employment.
Provost Scott Ashmon notes, “CUI is uniquely positioned to provide engineers with the liberal arts background that the local industry is seeking.”