A Study of Engineering Education: Prepared for the Joint Committee on Engineering Education of the National Engineering Societies (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from A Study of Engineering Education: Prepared for the Joint Committee on Engineering Education of the National Engineering Societies

The present bulletin has been prepared under conditions somewhat different from other publications and bulletins of the Carnegie Foundation. This study of Engineer ing Education arose out of the action of a joint committee on engineering education, representing the principal engineering societies. More than three years ago the Com mittee had gathered a considerable amount of material bearing on the subject, and had come to the opinion that the work could be best carried out by the employment Of some one trained in applied science, who should devote his entire attention to the study, working under the general direction of the Committee and in touch with it. The Carnegie Foundation agreed to appoint such a man and to bear the expense of the study. Professor Charles R. Mann, of the University of Chicago, undertook the work under these conditions, and the report which follows is the outcome of his studies under the general supervision of the Committee. The discussion of Professor Mann's report by the Committee forms the introductory chapter.

It will be understood that the report did not contemplate a study or examination of the engineering schools of the United States, altho a limited number of typical schools were visited and studied by Professor Mann. The point of View from which the study was undertaken was the following: Fifty years ago, when the engineering schools of the United States were inaugurated, they began their work upon a definite teaching plan and one that had at least pedagogic consistency. The course was four years. The first two were spent mainly in the fundamental sciences - chemistry, phy sics, mathematics, and mechanics; the last two years mainly in the applications of these sciences to theoretical and practical problems.

In the half century that has passed this course of study has been overlaid with a great number of special studies intended to enable the student to deal with the con stantly growing applications of science to the industries. While the original teaching plan remains as the basis of the four-year engineering curriculum, the courses given in most schools have been greatly modified in the effort to teach special subjects. As a result, the load upon the student has become continually heavier and bears unequally in different places and in different parts Of the course. In addition there is a wide spread feeling that under this pressure the great body of students fail to gain, on the one hand, a satisfactory grounding in the fundamental sciences; and on the other hand, do not fulfil the expectations of engineers and manufacturers in dealing with the practical problems with which they are confronted on leaving the engineering schools.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.