Perceptions Concerning The Inclusion Of Public Policy Materials In Engineering Curriculum

In previous research, we surveyed approximately seventy undergraduate and graduate engineering students in order to understand their perspectives on the inclusion of public policy coursework within their curriculum. We sought to determine whether these students thought that it was of value to gain an understanding of public policy as it related to their discipline. We found that many of these students did value such knowledge. We also found that the more senior students and the students with work experience overwhelmingly valued such material. As a follow-up to this research, we surveyed approximately one hundred engineers in a variety of hiring positions in industry to determine their view on the inclusion of public policy in an engineering curriculum. Among the questions included in the survey, we asked, “Do you believe that engineering students should be exposed to public policy issues as part of their education?” We also addressed a number of other issues, including: 1) How do these engineers define public policy? 2) Should the inclusion of such policy issues be part of a standalone course or integrated into existing courses? 3) Who should teach this material? 4) Could such knowledge help a student advance in their career? and 5) Would you favor hiring students with educational background in public policy? In this paper, we report on the findings of this survey. Of note, we found statistically significant differences based on the engineering discipline and on the job title of the survey participant.