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Computer Engineering

This is an archived copy of the 2020-2021 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.iastate.edu.

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www.ece.iastate.edu

Administered by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

For the undergraduate curriculum in computer engineering leading to the degree Bachelor of Science. The Computer Engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org.

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECpE) at Iowa State University provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to learn electrical and computer engineering fundamentals, study applications of the most recent advances in state-of-the-art technologies, and to prepare for the practice of computer engineering. The student-faculty interaction necessary to realize this opportunity occurs within an environment that is motivated by the principle that excellence in undergraduate education is enhanced by an integrated commitment to successful, long-term research and outreach programs.

The computer engineering curriculum offers focus areas in software systems, embedded systems, networking, information security, computer architecture, and VLSI.

Students also may take elective courses in control systems, electromagnetics, microelectronics, VLSI, power systems, and communications and signal processing.

The program objectives for the computer engineering programs describe accomplishments that graduates are expected to attain within five years after graduation. Graduates will have applied their expertise to contemporary problem solving, be engaged professionally, have continued to learn and adapt, and have contributed to their organizations through leadership and teamwork. More specifically, the objectives for expertise, engagement, learning, leadership and teamwork are defined below for each program.

The objectives of the computer engineering program at Iowa State University are:

  • Graduates, within five years of graduation, should demonstrate peer-recognized expertise together with the ability to articulate that expertise and use it for contemporary problem solving in the analysis, design, and evaluation of computer and software systems, including system integration and implementation.
  • Graduates, within five years of graduation, should demonstrate engagement in the engineering profession, locally and globally, by contributing to the ethical, competent, and creative practice of engineering or other professional careers.
  • Graduates, within five years of graduation, should demonstrate sustained learning and adapting to a constantly changing field through graduate work, professional development, and self study.
  • Graduates, within five years of graduation, should demonstrate leadership and initiative to ethically advance professional and organizational goals, facilitate the achievements of others, and obtain substantive results.
  • Graduates, within five years of graduation, should demonstrate a commitment to teamwork while working with others of diverse cultural and interdisciplinary backgrounds.

As a complement to the instructional activity, the ECpE department provides opportunities for each student to have experience with broadening activities. Through the cooperative education and internship program, students have the opportunity to gain practical industry experience. Students have the opportunity to participate in advanced research activities, and through international exchange programs, students learn about engineering practices in other parts of the world. Well-qualified juniors and seniors in computer engineering who are interested in graduate study may apply for concurrent enrollment in the Graduate College to simultaneously pursue both the Bachelor of Science and Master of Science, the Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration, or the Bachelor of Science and Master of Engineering degrees.