ENGINEERS IN THE FOREST

HU is offering a dual mathematics and electrical engineering degree with the University of North Dakota

In the United States alone, the number of electrical, electronics and communications engineering bachelor’s degrees awarded each year increased almost 27% from the 2013-2014 academic year to the 2018-2019 academic year.1 Sadly, none of those degrees came from Huntington University. Although we have a long history of graduates who excel in mathematics and science, in the past, the time was not right for us to offer a direct engineering pathway for undergraduates.

“When we talk to students, engineering is one of the top areas that students are interested in,” said Dr. Jeff Lehman2, associate dean of the sciences. “And for many years, we’ve not been able to offer engineering.”

Until now.

A parallel dual-degree program, the result of a cooperation between Huntington University and the University of North Dakota (UND), enables students to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics at HU and a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from UND through the University of North Dakota’s College of Engineering and Mines online program.

The dual degree connects the strengths of the two schools and increases opportunities for students who want to attend Huntington University while earning a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.

From HU, students will gain an in-person liberal arts and mathematics education built on a Christ- centered foundation. Students will simultaneously benefit from UND’s more than 30 years of experience with a distance-based electrical engineering program. The UND electrical engineering program is ABET accredited.

UND currently enrolls approximately 500 students in the electrical engineering program, with nearly one-third of students earning their degree online.

The combination of college degrees in mathematics and electrical engineering can be a benefit on graduate school or job applications. When engineering graduates have a mathematics degree, new job opportunities open up in actuarial science, mathematical modeling and computer information systems.

Regardless of their specialization, engineers are often problem anticipators and problem solvers. In addition to possessing technical skills, the best engineers see the big picture and understand the connections between components. An HU liberal arts education encourages students to see a fuller perspective, one that gives them a scope of knowledge that empowers their engineering skills and sets them apart.

“You’re going to get the best of both worlds,” said Lehman.

Although their engineering professors will be off-site, students in this dual-degree program will have direct access to a local engineering advisory board. The engineers on the advisory board will serve as a network of support for students, providing mentorship and connecting them with local practical learning experiences such as internships. An engineering advisor will also serve as an on-campus lab supervisor and help students with projects.

In addition, students will work through the dualdegree program as a cohort and will have access to an on-campus electronics lab set aside specifically for the program. Students will purchase electronics kits complete with all the materials they need for the semester and will be able to work on coursework in the lab around all the additional supplies they could need to test and prototype.

“You’ll be with your cohort of students taking classes,” said Lehman. “You’ll be sitting in a lab or a regular classroom with a regular scheduled time working through those materials.”

Ultimately, students in the program will enjoy the community atmosphere that HU is famous for providing while studying the two academic areas — mathematics and electrical engineering — that will propel them into their chosen career.

Enrollment for the fall 2022 semester remains open. To learn more about the electrical engineering dual-degree program, go to huntington.edu/Engineering.

Scan this QR code to watch Dr. Jeff Lehman unbox the first electronics kit students will use!

1National Center for Education Statistics, 2021

2Quotes in this article taken from “Huntington University Introduces Electrical Engineering Program,” Huntington University YouTube channel, 16 February 2022