Computing Curriculum Computer Engineering (Ccce) A Model For Computer Engineering Curricula In The Next Decade

In the fall of 1998, the Computer Society of the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE-CS) and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) established the Joint Task Force on Computing Curricula 2001 (CC2001) to undertake a major review of curriculum guidelines for undergraduate programs in computing. The effort was to match the latest developments of computing technologies in the past decade and last through the next decade [1]. The “Computing Curriculum 1991” [2] and other previous efforts of the IEEE-CS and ACM did not distinguish computer science from computer engineering programs. The IEEE-CS and ACM established the Computing Curriculum Computer Engineering (CCCE) Task Force in 2001 to develop a separate volume on computer engineering curricula to complement the CC2001 report. Other task forces also emerged to prepare separate volumes for computer science, information systems, information technology, and software engineering. The work of the CCCE Task Force appears as a report available for review on the web [3]. This report has undergone extensive review, including an NSF-sponsored workshop. By the time of this conference, the final report will have been presented to the IEEE-CS and ACM, and made available for distribution. This paper presents an overview of that report. The Computing Curriculum Computer Engineering (CCCE) Report One must understand the nature of a discipline and its needs before designing a curriculum to produce graduates who can work effectively in that discipline. The CCCE report begins by discussing computer engineering as a discipline, including an overview of how the field of computer engineering has evolved, characteristics of computer engineering graduates, and the corresponding curricular preparation required to practice computer engineering. Computer engineering embodies the science and technology of design, construction, implementation, and maintenance of software and hardware components of modern computing systems and computer-controlled equipment. Computer engineering has traditionally occupied the territory that lies at the interface between computer science and electrical engineering. It evolved over the past three decades as a separate, although intimately related, discipline. Computer engineering is solidly grounded in the theories and principles of computing, mathematics, science, and engineering and it applies these theories and principles to solve Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition Copyright © 2004, Amerian Society for Engineering Education