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7 Nontraditional Gracluate Programs The concern has occasionally been expressed that engineering gradu- ate programs-are too theoretical, too much concerned with research and not enough with design. In particular, the view is held by some that the typical new Ph.D. has not had an educational experience that is readily adapted to industry's needs. The criticisms con be reduced to two: {1J The Ph.D. graduate is too analytical, too abstract, and too inclined to believe that a solution is not a worthy one sinless it is mathematically elegant. j2) The prolonged period of hard work required to develop expert competence in a specialized area results in an unwillingness to abandon that hard-won position to work in a differ- ent area, an area that may happen to be of interest to the engineer' employer. The response of some institutions has been to design educational programs that meet criticism {1) by requiring a "design" emphasis, or {2) by eliminating the research dissertation. Programs resulting ire the degree "Doctor of Engineering" {D.Engr.) are typical of the former, and programs awarding the degree "Engineer" are typical of the latter. A matter of some concern is the organizational framework in which advanced "professional" degrees are to be embedded. In the eyes of some, graduate engineering programs cannot develop a proper profes- sional flavor sinless they are under the separate jurisdiction of the engi- neering school and, therefore, are free of control of a c~mpuswide graduate school. However, in a survey of Diversities that offer the Doctor of Engineering or the Engineer degree or both, few respondents 93
94 ENGINEERING GRADUATE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH made a point of thistle most universities with these degrees apparently administer them through the graduate school. In a 1972 survey, Lawrence N. Canjar found that most engineering schools did not consider the matter of separate jurisdiction for engi- neering graduate degrees to be important. He stated, "It was hoped that . . . jurisdiction over professional curricula and professional degrees might be used to separate out the professional from the purely aca- demic programs, but the questionnaire indicated that 90% of the insti- tutions responding felt secure in the operations of their graduate programs."55 L. E. Grinter, in a 1975 article, offered five criteria that could be used to define a professional school of engineering, but the article did not even mention separate jurisdiction over the graduate degrees.56 The impression created is that the particular organizational structure is not a major factor governing the nature of the degree. The Doctor of Engineenng According to the March 1983 issue of Engineering Education, enti- tled Engmeenng College Research and Graduate Study, 16 U. S. univer- sities offer the degree Doctor of Engineering.47 Nearly all the schools offering this degree state that the D.Engr. dissertation differs from that of the Ph.D. in that it is more applications- or design-oriented than directed toward the development of basic knowledge. In the words of one Diversity catalog: "The principal criteria of achievement in the dissertation are originality and creativity in the application of engineer- ing tools to solve a significant and specifically defined problem." In some cases, schools offering the Doctor of Engineering degree encourage some management or other nonengineering work in the total program. This is especially the case with Texas Angel, where D.Engr. students are required to take seven courses in management, ethics, and legal relationships in addition to the usual graduate-level engineering courses. The University of Kansas has a similar arrange- ment: D.Engr. students are required to select from courses in the areas of finance, marketing, organizational theory, and technology and soci- ety. Other schools may not actually require students to take such courses, but may encourage them to develop a minor from courses in law, business, economics, psychology, and political science. In pro- grams that include a business minor, whether required or optional, the avowed intent is to prepare industrial leaders. According to one univer- sity, "Through this program we are attempting to turn out leaders, men and women who will start their professional careers as engineers, but
NONTMDITIONAL GRADUATE PROGRAMS 95 who will be prepared to move into management and eventually into the upper ranks of industrial organizations." The question of a required internship inevitably arises in connection with Doctor of Engineering programs. The rationale for an internship usually is that it gives the student an opportunity to apply his or her training to a practical problem, and provides exposure to a realistic industrial setting. It would appear that the practice of requiring an internship has been borrowed from medical schools. But it seems to have been overlooked that an internship typically is not a requirement for the M.D. degree, but takes place after the degree has been awarded. In medical education a period of service as a "resident" is also generally required before full certification is granted. Together, the internship and residency consti- tute a period of beginning medical practice, supervised by clinical fac- ulty who are themselves professional practitioners. Most of those who favor internships for engineers generally believe that the internship should not come at the end of the formal academic program. It is argued that a year in an internship sandwiched between two periods of academic study has greater ultimate value to a young engineer than-does the combination of a straight academic program followed by the first year on the job. The experience on the job is believed to give a special meaning and force to the following period of formal study. No doubt this is true, but it has also been argued that a young engineer will learn more during the first year of a job that is known to be the beginning of a lifetime career than would typically be the case in a year of internship, which is ~ a temporary job and may merely be looked upon as fulfillment of an academic requirement. Both sides of this issue have adherents, and it does not appear to be possible to settle the matter definitively. Even though several schools have gone to considerable lengths to develop Doctor of Engineering programs, the number of students who select them has been small. Since the time and effort required of the student are essentially the same as for the Ph.D., most students appar- ently prefer the better-known degree. Some have questioned whether the need exists for a "professional" doctor's degree separate from the Ph.D. After all, they say, over the years thousands of Ph.D. engineers have succeeded very well in profes- sionai roles for which the "research" doctorate is supposedly ill-suited. A comment from one university sums up a view that is often heard: "The Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees are adminis- tered through the Graduate School, but we have a considerable degree
96 ENGINEERING GRADUATE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH of flexibility as to the professional practice versus the research empha- sis in the content of these degree programs. As a result, we believe our Master's and Doctor's degrees may be tailored to suit the professional practice interests of both the graduate students and engineering employers." The Engineer Degree The former practice of awarding the Engineer degree on the basis of a certain number of years of experience, plus a thesis, has nearly disap- peared, and the usage of the degree as an intermediate one between the master's and doctor's degrees has taken its place. MIT, Stanford, and the University of Southern California award significant numbers of Engineer degrees each year, and a total of 21 institutions indicated, according to the 1983 issue of Engineering CoRege Research and Gra~lu- ate Study, that they offer the Engineer degree or equivalent.47 The gen- eral view of this degree is as stated by one university: "An intermediate degree is necessary for those who desire to proceed beyond the M.S. but are not interested In the 'researchy' nature of the Ph.D. Stanford remains with the Engineer degree as the intermediate one for historical reasons and because the package seems to be a coherent and reasonable one." The University of Califomia at Los Angeles [UCLA) has a rather unusual arrangement regarding the Engineer degree. Its literature states: "The Ph.D. and Engineer Degree programs will be administered interchangeably in the sense that a student in the Ph.D. program can exit with an Engineer degree or even pick up the Engineer degree on the way to the Ph.D. degree, and similarly, a student in the Engineer degree program can continue for the Ph.D. after receiving the Engineer degree." UCLA established its Engineer degree in 1976 in response to urging from industry that a special degree program was needed to pro- vide a period of study more advanced than the master's but less exten- sive than the doctorate. By 1982, 135 individuals had received the degree. However, about 90 percent of these had continued on to the Ph.D., so the program apparently had not served its intended function as a terminal degree sought for its own sake. A delicate question surrounds the Engineer degree: Is it sometimes used as a consolation price for those who flunk their doctoral exams? Most schools answer this question in the negative, although a few admit that the degree sometimes is awarded to those not considered fully qualified for a Ph.D. degree. However, this is certainly also the case with master's degrees, but one practically never hears of the mas
NONTRADITIONAL GRADUATE PROGRAMS 97 ter's degree, at least in engineering, referred to as a consolation prize. In view of the fact that Engineer degree programs seem to be increasing, perhaps the question will come up less often. This will be especially true if industry in a major way begins to seek the degree for its own sake, which does not yet seem to be the case. Finding and Recommendation Experimentation with new degree programs is a necessary activity in engineering education, and flexibility in existing programs is to be encouraged. However, quality of all programs should be continuously monitored to ensure that the technical competence of persons earning advanced engineering degrees is maintained at a high level.
