Computer engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Abstract

How do undergraduate students in engineering conceive of themselves as professionals? How can a course on engineering ethics affect the development of an undergraduate student's professional identity? In this project, students responded to questions about the characteristics and responsibilities of professional engineers. The results indicate that students learn about professionalism primarily from relatives and co-workers who are engineers, and rarely from technical engineering courses. Even before they study engineering ethics, students put honesty and integrity on par with technical competence as an essential characteristic of engineers. In the course, students benefit from cases of actual incidents and from classroom activities that encourage diverse perspectives on moral problems. By analyzing cases in groups and by hearing different perspectives, students build self-confidence in moral reasoning. By the end of the course, some students understand professional responsibility not only as liability for blame but in a capacious sense as stewardship for society.

Computing Curricula: The History And Current Status Of 4 Year Computing Programs

“…Over time, the department changed its name from the Department of Electrical Engineering to Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the computer program was renamed to Computer Engineering. 19 This is quite typical of the progression in many universities over the next three decades. Accreditation first fell under the electrical engineering umbrella, but by 1990 a separate computer engineering accreditation was becoming an option for US institutions.…”