Undergraduate Systems Engineering

Introduction

The plan of study for the Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering includes five distinct categories of elective course work--science electives, general education electives, humanities electives, technical electives, and application electives. A thoughtful selection of courses will allow you to tailor your plan of study to meet your individual educational interests and professional objectives. This document describes the elective categories and the requirements that must be satisfied by your choice of courses within each category. Also included are brief descriptions of the various approved application sequences and course selections representative of these sequences. If you are uncertain about what would be a good choice of electives for you, faculty and ASEM student advisors can give you more help with your selections.

Elective Categories

Science Electives

At least 6 credit hours of elective courses are required from the physical sciences. Suitable courses for Science Elective I are BIOL 2010, BIOL 2020, CHEM 1620, ECE 2066, MSE 2090, and PHYS 2620. Suitable courses for Science Elective II are 2000, 3000, and 4000 level science or mathematics courses approved for science majors. If appropriate, science electives can be selected which enhance certain application sequences (such as Environmental and Water-Resource Systems). A complete list of appropriate Science Elective II courses is available here.

HSS (Humanities and Social Science)

At least 9 hours of HSS electives are required. Suitable courses are listed in the Undergraduate Student Handbook or can be found in A122 Thornton Hall.

STS Elective

A 3-hour elective from Science, Technology, and Society is required. Suitable courses are STS 2xxx or 3xxx level courses.

Technical Elective

Two 3-hour technical electives are required. A technical elective is any course taught within School of Engineering and Applied Science (exclusive of most STS courses) at the 2xxx-level or higher, including courses in applied mathematics, computer science, and all engineering subjects. The only STS course that qualifies is STS 4510, The Business of New Product Development. TMP 3052, Science and Technology Public Policy also counts as a technical elective. If appropriate, technical electives can be selected which enhance certain application sequences (such as Computer and Information Systems).

Application Electives

At least 9 hours must qualify as applications electives, taken from within a related area of concentration. Further information about concentrations can be found under Systems Engineering Sequences. As an alternative to selecting an approved area, qualified students may choose to design their own areas of concentration. Student-designed concentration areas must be formally approved by the Systems Engineering Undergraduate Studies Committee, by written petition addressed to the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Details of petition and approval process are provided in the final section.

Courses Satisfying More Than One Elective Category

Note that a single elective course may well qualify in more than one of the elective categories. For example, ECON courses are generally acceptable as general education electives and as part of application sequence in Economic Systems. While you cannot count a single course as fulfilling more than one elective requirement simultaneously, you can use this circumstance to develop a deeper concentration in certain applications areas.