Engineering Science

Engineering Science (ES) is an interdisciplinary, undergraduate engineering degree program. Students select an engineering science major in order to pursue interests in technical areas which lie at the interstices of traditional engineering disciplines or combine elements of engineering and science not currently possible through other degree programs. This degree program prepares students for careers in engineering or graduate study in fields for which there are no established undergraduate degree programs at the University of Virginia, including applied mathematics, engineering physics, materials science, nanomedicine and nanotechnology, mechatronics, and global engineering. The ES degree program recognizes that technology and society are evolving at such a rapid pace that a new discipline could emerge as an established career field before it is institutionalized as a degree offering. This program also affirms the unique role of the engineering scientist in the technology path from innovation to societal impact. In addition to the availability of this degree program on-grounds, Engineering Science is available across the Commonwealth of Virginia to engineering transfer students from the Virginia Community College System, through the Engineers PRODUCED in Virginia initiative.

Engineering Science students, in collaboration with their advisors, define a plan of study (POS).  The POS identifies the curricular track, the primary technical minor, the secondary technical minor, and an area of concentration (AOC).

The primary minor must satisfy the specific requirements of an approved technical minor in the School of Engineering and Applied Science and must consist of at least six courses; the secondary minor must be selected from approved SEAS technical minors or from the natural science or mathematics minors within the College of Arts and Sciences. The courses required for specific minors are as listed by the relevant department in SEAS or CLAS. AOC courses are chosen to define clearly the major field of study and include advanced project courses in the fourth year.

The advanced project courses, which may be used as a basis for the senior thesis, are designed to provide a research or engineering design experience, which unifies the three main components making up the plan of study.  In all cases, both an advisor and the ES Program Director must approve the specific plan of study in order to guarantee that all degree requirements are being met.

The flexibility offered by the Engineering Science degree program makes it an attractive degree for the following reasons:

1. Engineering Science provides a rigorous technical curriculum, integrating engineering, natural science, and mathematics. It is especially suited for students interested in graduate study and/or basic research and development. In addition, it provides a path for preparation for professional training in law, business or medicine.

2. As an interdisciplinary engineering program, Engineering Science prepares students for a career in an emerging field of engineering, in a field at the interstices of two existing engineering disciplines, or in a discipline for which there is presently no undergraduate degree offering at the University of Virginia.

3.    In some cases, an interdisciplinary engineering track will be developed and approved by SEAS faculty that will become a prescribed set of courses.  Successful completion of such a set of courses will result in a notation on the student’s transcript, akin to the notation for a minor. For example, The Materials Science and Engineering program in Engineering Science provides excellent preparation for either graduate school or for a materials engineering position in industry (see MSE program). 

4.    Engineering Science offers sufficient flexibility to allow study abroad, research-for-credit courses, and internships.