A Combined Curriculum in Aerospace and Ocean Engineering: 38 Years Later

At the 1973 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference, Profs. Schetz, Marchman, and Inger presented the case for a combined curriculum in aerospace and ocean engineering (Schetz, Marchman, & Inger, 1973). Their paper summarized the justification for this combination, program implementation, and preliminary feedback from students and employers. The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon the program evolution that has occurred in the 38 years since the initial creation of this merged department. The present paper describes the current state of teaching and research in the combined Aerospace and Ocean Engineering department and provides both student and employer feedback on the dual program offerings.