Aspiring engineering students will soon have another option for study at George Mason University's Volgenau School of Engineering. Beginning in January 2015, the school will offer a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering (BSME).
Randy Redden hopes to advance his career by earning a degree from the new program. Redden, who works full time, has an associate's degree and has college credits from his time in the U.S. Marine Corps. He says he hopes to "be attending if at all possible by the fall, or by the very latest, the spring semester."
"The new program is designed to provide graduates with the technical skills and competencies to analyze and design both mechanical and thermal systems, and to gain an in-depth experience in one of these two areas," says Oscar Barton Jr., the program's director.
The curriculum has an exceptional framework―students solve problems as a pathway to analysis. This problem-based learning provides the context for critical thinking and discovery, and helps develop needed skills in communication, presentation and writing. The program builds toward a major design experience in the senior year, with a series of more challenging design projects at the end of the freshman through junior years.
Barton further explains that the "key to the program's success is its alignment with the National Academy of Engineering's Grand Challenge Scholars Program (GCSP), thereby offering a unique educational experience in the Commonwealth of Virginia." The program has five elements―undergraduate research experience, interdisciplinary curriculum, entrepreneurship, global dimension and learning through service―to enhance the educational engineering experience.
"We expect current undergraduate students at Mason with undeclared majors, transfer students from the Virginia Community College System and high school students who are interested in engineering to form the initial cohort of students," said Volgenau School dean Kenneth Ball. "Through a dual admission compact between Mason and Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), students at NOVA who have an ultimate goal of completing a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering here at the Volgenau School are given dual enrollment status and coordinated academic advising to promote a seamless transition."
"As our new BSME program gains momentum, we expect it will be attractive to groups that are underrepresented in STEM fields," says Ball. "With a focus on solving the major problems facing society through the Grand Challenge Scholars Program, a career in engineering has broader appeal. For example, enrollment in GCSPs at other universities is about 50 percent women, well above the corresponding participation rates in traditional engineering programs." Efforts to work with historically black colleges and universities in the commonwealth to enhance this opportunity are also being discussed at Mason.
Bryan Gillespy, who is preparing to start a new career, is interested earning his BS in mechanical engineering because it is a logical extension of his current career. He works in law enforcement technologies and conducts a great deal of field testing. "I have taken a huge interest in the development of these technologies," says Gillespy, "and would like to pursue a career in developing these as an engineer."
Mechanical engineers work in industries that include, but are not limited to, aerospace, automotive, biomedical and biopharmaceutical, construction, computer and cyber, energy, industrial, materials, robotics and manufacturing. They provide innovative solutions for contemporary problems and address other problems that may occur in the future.
For more information, please contact Barton at obarton2@gmu.edu or 703-993-4160. Interested students can view the degree requirements online.
A version of this story by Martha Bushong appeared on Mason's News Desk on August 4, 2014.
Write to Preston Williams at pwilli20@gmu.edu