Monday, June 18, 2001

Engineering graduates are among the most sought after applicants for jobs in high-tech and other industries, not only in the United States, but worldwide. For residents geographically bound to the Cape Fear region, UNC Wilmington and NC State University are surveying interest in a four-year engineering degree that would be offered on the UNCW campus.

The proposal is for a calculus-based engineering degree in a specific discipline, said Dr. Ken Diehl, director of UNCW’s Two-Plus-Two Pre-engineering Program. Currently, Two-Plus-Two allows students to complete the first two years of an engineering curriculum at UNCW and finish the degree at NCSU, N.C. A&T University or UNC Charlotte. The Two-Plus-Two would form the first two years of the four-year degree program.

“The non-engineering courses would be taken at UNCW. The engineering courses would be offered through NC State via Internet distance education video-conferencing technology to the UNCW campus,” said Diehl. “The program would be modeled after a similar program started at UNC Asheville.”

Surveys will be mailed to local businesses for their input on the engineering discipline that would be most in demand for this area, Diehl said.

“The inability to offer a degree program in more than one discipline is a drawback in this proposal,” said Diehl. “Implementing a new engineering school would be cost-prohibitive for most universities; therefore, not only would the program provide an opportunity for area residents to obtain a four-year engineering degree, the proposal would be a good use of state resources.”

Diehl added area businesses would also benefit from the proposed program. “Engineering students must complete a ‘capstone’ design course, which calls upon knowledge gained from their prior course work,” said Diehl. “While students at NCSU’s College of Engineering have laboratories in which to complete their projects, students enrolled in the proposed degree might complete a project with a local company. An industry wanting to design a better mousetrap could serve as a laboratory for a student in the UNCW-based four-year engineering degree.”

In addition to the survey to be mailed to area businesses, prospective students and other interested parties can complete a survey via the World Wide Web at www.uncwil.edu/preeng/bse.html.

For more information, contact Ken Diehl at 910/962-4075.