Welcome from the Engineering Chair

Welcome to the Web site of Arizona State University’s Department of Engineering at the Polytechnic campus.

I am pleased to introduce our engineering and computing programs, designed to provide an immersive experience-based education for success in a high technology-oriented world. We create engineers and computing professionals that are sought after by employers, with broad engineering and technical knowledge, and communications, critical thinking, teamwork and computing skills.

If you are considering one of our programs, I would like you to think about what will make you unique or stand out when you graduate from college and your resume is stacked up against hundreds of others. In a highly competitive environment, you can stand out if you have unique experiences and/or skills and knowledge that are distinctive.

Several key features make our programs unique. We have found that most people learn better when they are engaged in their own learning. Most of our learning takes place in engineering studios and immersive computing labs, not lecture halls, where we work on increasingly realistic projects. Engineering students work on a project every semester. When you graduate you will have a portfolio of at least seven different engineering projects you have completed.

Students also have the flexibility to choose many different options and may even participate in the design of their curriculum. You can build a unique multidisciplinary skill set and knowledge base. Students in the engineering program study a broad engineering foundation in their first two years before they select their focus areas of study. This gives students time to decide what specialized skills and knowledge they want to develop. Engineering students choose up to two focus areas of study, and one of the focus areas does not need to be engineering. This enables you to follow your passion. Dream it and do it!

Students may also choose one of our computing degrees that prepares them for careers in a number of industry areas including digital design applications, distributed Web-based systems, or embedded systems.

We are introducing a new focus area in robotics engineering in fall 2009. There are very few such undergraduate opportunities in the U.S. Robotics engineering is a highly interdisciplinary area that combines many fields of engineering with computing. We are also developing new focus areas that we hope to announce soon.

I encourage you to contact me if you are a student considering joining one of our programs, a concerned parent, or a company that would like to work with our students.

Dr. Chell Roberts
Chair, Department of Engineering
ASU's Polytechnic campus