The Accelerated Engineering Degrees (Accend) Program In Civil And Environmental Engineering At University Of Cincinnati

The College of Engineering at the University of Cincinnati has a long and distinguished history as a leader in engineering education. The College introduced cooperative engineering education in 1906, and has maintained a mandatory cooperative education system ever since. Our undergraduate programs span five academic years and include an average of six co-op quarters for a typical baccalaureate degree and our graduates are highly sought by employers. However, both the American Society of Civil Engineering and the National Academy of Engineering have advocated a Master’s degree as the first professional degree for practicing engineers. With this in mind, in 2002-2003 the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Cincinnati initiated a combined five-year BS and MS degree program in Environmental Engineering (the Accelerated Engineering Degree (ACCEND) Program) with cooperative and research experiences integrated with the education. The BS component of the degree will be in Civil Engineering, and the MS component in Environmental Engineering. This paper presents the general structure of this degree program, its curriculum, and marketing strategy. During the first academic year the degree program has been offered to incoming freshman as an option, whereas simultaneously a structured marketing strategy and distance learning opportunities for students are being developed. The program will be fully launched for the academic year 2003-2004.