Re-engineering engineering : how Course 2-A is paving the way for interdisciplinary engineering education at MIT

Abstract

In 2004, The National Academy of Engineers (NAE) released a report calling for changes to be made to the current engineering education system in response to the growing need for engineering graduates who would be able to understand engineering problems in a larger context. The present study hopes to gain a better understanding of the growth of flexible engineering education by determining differences in student characteristics and their effect on a student's choice of academic program, identifying the perceptions of the MIT community of flexible and traditional engineering programs and how these perceptions changed over time, and establishing whether or not a correlation exists between students' perceived self-efficacy in engineering and professional abilities and his or her career plans. An online survey was developed and administered to the Course 2 and Course 2-A student body. Significant differences in motivation, opinion of Course 2 and Course 2-A, as well as perceived self-efficacy were found between Course 2 and Course 2-A students.