KINGSVILLE (August 27, 2024) — The Frank H. Dotterweich College of Engineering at Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) is now offering a more streamlined undergraduate degree plan that will give civil and architectural engineering students more options and opportunities as upperclassmen.
The core programs of the new degree plans have been reduced to 125 semester credit hours (SCH) — the fastest in South Texas — and focus on knowledge requirements that ensure graduates are job-ready and prepared for the Fundamentals of Engineering exam.
The revised plans allow students to explore the B.S. + Minor and B.S. + Certificate options, which allow students to earn a certificate or minor to support professional growth in a specialized area of their choosing prior to graduation.
“Most schools are at 128 (SH) and we’re at 125, so that’s not a huge cost-savings or a huge time savings,” Civil and Architectural Engineering department chair Dr. Breanna M. Bailey said. “We looked at prerequisites with an eye on soothing graduation bottlenecks. The biggest time savings for students won’t be taking one or two fewer classes, but taking advanced courses sooner. This is particularly true for our architectural engineering students.
“What this represents is that we did our very best to focus on a fine-tuned, industry-ready degree plan that students can walk out of here with,” Bailey added. “They can earn extra credentials if they decide to do so as simply as they’ve ever been able to or they can simply get that degree and get a job. It’s really much more about optimizing that degree plan.”
The following certificates and minors can be earned by all TAMUK students but have been designed to enhance the job-ready skills of B.S. CEEN and B.S. AEEN students:
- Minor in Construction Management
- Certificate in Building Systems Engineering
- Certificate in Geotechnical and Water Resources Engineering
- Certificate in Public Works
- Certificate in Structural Engineering
The listed minor and certificates can be earned by completing one or two additional classes with a B.S. + Minor requiring 128 SCH and a B.S. + Certificate requiring 131 SCH.
“I believe (the new degree plans) are going to help a lot of students to decide on a specialty in their career,” said alumnus Hunter Kutach, a former transfer student who graduated in 2019 with his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and currently works as a project engineer at BGE Inc. in San Antonio. “Those additional courses could expose them to additional manuals that are used, or could have more real world scenarios that could kind of help set that student apart in their career and kind of help them not only in the job market, but kind of give them a leg up on when they're starting work.”
Class loads also will lighten later in the student degree plan, which can be vital during the summer between junior and senior year, where upperclassmen typically have internships that may encourage them to gain a passion for these specific areas.
Should that be the case, students who are passionate about one specialization within civil or architectural engineering are strongly encouraged to earn a certificate or minor that supports their professional growth in this area.
“I believe students with internships or co-op experience will understand which minor or certificate they are interested in pursuing,” said Maria Torres, an alumna who graduated with her bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering in 2021 and is currently employed as an Electrical EIT II learning Project Management at Smith Seckman Reid in Houston. “These different classes also allow companies to present real-world applications to the most appropriate and interested audience. On the other hand, if a student is not interested in a specific area or minor they have the opportunity to explore.”
With the streamlined plans and the option of the “B.S. +” options, Bailey said the TAMUK College of Engineering really allows students to have their degrees tailor made to them.
“This is our ‘B.S. +’ degree plan,” she said. “Yes, we have the basic model, but we have the options to build on it. I think it would be very simple to do two certificates, a minor or all these different things senior year. You can just keep building and playing with it until it fits your goals.”
-TAMUK-
