Miami University is dedicated to increasing the disciplinary diversity of its students by attracting more young men and women to our School’s engineering and computing programs. On our Oxford campus, just six years ago, we offered only four undergraduate programs in engineering and computing: manufacturing engineering, systems analysis, paper science and engineering, and engineering management. Since then, we have also developed and implemented new majors in computer science, as well as in mechanical, electrical, computer, chemical and general engineering.  We have also made a significant progress in the area graduate education.

Needless to say, while broadening our offering, we make sure that we do not compromise Miami’s and our School’s focus on high-quality, student-centered education. To the contrary, to an ever-increasing extent, we have worked and will continue to work on making sure that our programs have a unique, Miamian focus on integrating professional education with Miami’s strength in liberal education and emphasize educating the whole person, rather than training narrowly focused technical experts. In our School, over the last several years, we have moved from traditional education, relying on proficiency in specific engineering disciplines and rigid curricula, to a new paradigm of proficiency based on flexible and interdisciplinary curricula. We realize that our graduates should be able to function on multidisciplinary teams, communicate effectively, and engage in lifelong learning. We appreciate that they must understand their professional and ethical responsibilities, as well as the global and societal contexts of their professions.

In our commitment to this kind of broad education we are guided by our mission, which is to serve society by providing high-quality undergraduate and graduate education in the fields of computing and engineering (as well as in the areas of technology and nursing on our regional campuses in Hamilton and Middletown). We are committed to creating an environment for teaching, learning, and scholarship that is intellectually-stimulating, interactive, and innovative and in which our faculty, staff, and students realize their full potential.

In recent years, a new facility was designed to house the transformed School of Engineering and Applied Science. The scope of the project has been to design and build a new facility and redesign and renovate an existing building.  The new facility was completed in the Fall of 2006 and dedicated last April; it houses now the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering and Paper and Chemical Engineering. The existing building renovation started in Fall 2006 with occupancy expected January 2008.  This area will house the Department of Computer Science and Systems Analysis, SEAS administration, and SEAS IT group.  This new facility and attached renovated building will more than double the space allocated to the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

I invite you to visit our school as it continues on its path of excellence in engineering, computing, and nursing education for the 21st century.