College to Add New Major in Electrical Engineering

The College of Charleston is expanding its offerings for engineering majors. Pending approval by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), CofC will soon begin offering a program for a new bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering.

The new program will focus on educating students with the ability to analyze, design and implement electrical systems within the context of Lowcountry industry applications and needs.

“This is truly a historic day for an institution known for its history,” says College of Charleston President Andrew T. Hsu. “The electrical engineering program is an important addition to the academic offerings of the College of Charleston. 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. I want to especially acknowledge the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education for approving the program, our collaboration with The Citadel’s engineering program, and, most important, the guidance and leadership of Interim Provost Frances C. Welch, Associate Provost Mark Del Mastro, School of Sciences and Mathematics Interim Dean Sebastian van Delden and Department of Physics and Astronomy Chair Narayanan Kuthirummal.”

The new electrical engineering program is expected to serve as a pipeline to the immediate job market and to provide a more affordable engineering education to local students who do not have the resources to relocate in pursuit of their engineering aspirations. The electrical engineering program will enroll its first majors for the fall 2021 semester.

The College of Charleston held a series of meetings with regional industries to design an impactful electrical engineering program that supports the Lowcountry and beyond.

“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,” says School of Sciences and Mathematics Interim Dean Sebastian van Delden.

The College has also joined in a partnership with Clemson University to help in the further education of engineering majors. The two schools signed a memorandum of agreement that articulates a pathway for graduates of the College of Charleston’s Systems Engineering program to matriculate into the Master of Engineering in Electrical Engineering program at Clemson University’s Zucker Family Graduate Education Center.

“Our collaboration with Clemson University’s Zucker Family Graduate Education Center on systems engineering is very exciting,” says Physics and Astronomy Chair Narayanan Kuthirummal. “This new partnership will help to produce more highly qualified systems engineers in the Lowcountry.”

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

Featured image by Mike Ledford