The Profession of Engineering and Computer Science

Engineering, including Computer Science, is often described as “design under constraint.” Engineers and computer scientists design objects, from simple components to devices, to complex systems and structures that eventually bring about an improvement in our quality of life. Successful designs must, however, comply with many, sometimes conflicting, demands of a technical, political, social, economic, and ethical nature.

Student contemplating an engineering or computer science career will need a solid background in mathematics and the physical sciences. As engineering subdisciplines proliferate, however, and interdisciplinary approaches become more common, the modern engineer may also need grounding in other scientific fields, especially the biological sciences.

The Grove School of Engineering at City College provides a broad-based general education as well as professional training. It also prepares students for life-long learning. As scientific and engineering knowledge roughly doubles every 10 years, today’s engineering student can no longer expect to learn all that he or she will ever need to know simply by completing a bachelor’s degree program. Each of the eight degree programs offered by the Grove School of Engineering emphasizes in its curriculum the acquisition of learning skills necessary for the future engineer to continue learning throughout his or her professional career.