VCU to offer computer engineering degree

By Pamela DiSalvo Lepley

RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia Commonwealth University will add a computer engineering degree program to its roster of engineering and computer science programs beginning with the fall 2003 semester.

The VCU School of Engineering received approval for the computer engineering degree from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), allowing incoming freshmen to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in computer engineering.

“This is a cross-disciplinary program that is one of the fastest growing engineering disciplines,” said Dr. Robert Klenke, director of the computer engineering program.  “Computer engineering is taking over as the second most popular engineering discipline, right behind mechanical engineering.

The computer engineering degree is a merger of the traditional electrical engineering degree with computer science.  Computer engineers design computer hardware for embedded systems and also the software – such as automobile engine controls, aircraft control systems and home-consumer electronics.  “They’re needed anywhere there’s a computer system that talks to something else, or makes something else work,” Klenke said.

School of Engineering officials said the computer engineering degree fills out the undergraduate engineering program at VCU.  The school also offers undergraduate Bachelor of Science degrees in mechanical, electrical, chemical and biomedical engineering and computer science.

The computer engineering program is further enhanced by a cooperative agreement between VCU and Virginia State University to share research facilities and faculty.  The computer engineering program at VSU is primarily oriented in the application of computers in a manufacturing process or in a system environment.  VCU’s computer engineering program emphasizes the optimal design of computer components such as processors, microprocessors and application-specific integrated circuits.

“The two programs are highly complementary, providing an exceptional benefit to students at both universities,” said Dr. Robert Mattauch, dean of the VCU School of Engineering.