Engineer's degree
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- For other degrees, see Academic degree
The Engineer's degree in the United States
In the United States, the bachelor's degree is the standard undergraduate degree awarded to engineering students and is generally the only degree required for licensure. There are, however, several degree options available to graduate students, with the master's degree being most common, followed by the doctorate, and the Degree of Engineer or Engineer's Degree a distant third. The master's degree is typically the first graduate degree earned and may be followed by either an engineer's or doctoral degree, although some universities allow direct entry into the higher programs. The availability of degrees and the specific requirements differ considerably between institutions and between specialties within an institution. Officially, both undergraduate programs and graduate programs at the master's-level may receive ABET-accreditation. In practice, although undergraduate accreditation is common, master's-level accreditation is rare unless an undergraduate program is not available.In many other fields, the master's degree would naturally be followed by a traditional research doctorate (Ph.D.). But in this case, the engineer's degree provides an alternative that has been tailored for professionals rather than academicians. The distinction is similar to that between a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) and a Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.). Some schools, Stanford and CalTech for example, require a thesis. But, the requirements are generally less than those of Ph.D. candidates and more comparable to those of most Master of Science students. Others, like Santa Clara University, do not have a specific research requirement. For this reason, many consider an engineer's degree to be on a level between a master's degree and a doctorate. Nonetheless, it is in fact a terminal degree, much like the Ed.S. degree in education.
In the past, it was not uncommon for a would-be engineer to earn an engineer's degree as their first and only college degree. But since World War II this has fallen out of favor, and it becomes continually more difficult to find a school that offers this option.
Note: A degree with some form of "engineer" in the title is not necessarily an engineer's degree in this sense. Particularly, a "Master of Engineering" (M.Eng.) degree is not an Engineer's degree, nor is any other master's or doctoral degree. Rather, the engineer's degree is in a category of its own.
Common abbreviations of engineering disciplines (U.S. and Canada)
An abbreviation of the discipline is often used to represent an engineer's degree where one might typically use M.S. or Ph.D. Several are potentially ambiguous, especially P.E.
- Chemical Engineer - Ch.E. or Chem.E.
- Petroleum Engineer - P.E.
- Building Engineer - B.E.
- Civil Engineer - C.E.
- Clinical Engineer - C.E.
- Computer Engineer - Cp.E.
- Electrical Engineer - E.E.
- Industrial Engineer - I.E.
- Structural Engineer - S.E
- Software Engineer - S.E. or S.W.E.
- Engineer in Aeronautics and Astronautics - E.A.A.
- Engineer in Computer Science - E.C.S.
- Environmental Engineer - Env.E.
- Geological Engineer - G.E.
- Materials Engineer - Mat.E.
- Mechanical Engineer - Mech.E. or M.E.
- Mechatronic Engineer - M.T.E.
- Naval Engineer - Nav.E.
- Nuclear Engineer - Nucl.E.
- Ocean Engineer - Ocean.E.
- Systems Engineer - Sys.E.
- Biomedical Engineer - B.M.E.
Engineer's degrees in Europe
In countries with significant German influence on higher education, universities specializing in technical studies award their students an engineer's degree instead of a master's degree. In addition to Germany itself, this includes states like Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine. The degree of Engineer may be the first one received (after five years of study), or more often, it may follow a bachelor's degree (usually three years for the bachelor's plus two years for the engineer's). In local language, the degree is called inżynier (Polish), inžinier (Slovak) or inženýr (Czech), the abbreviation is Ir. and is written before the person's name (Ing. is used for engineers without an academic degree, obtained after four years of study without scientific research, see below). In German, the degree is Diplomingenieur and in Finnish, diplomi-insinööri, abbr. DI. The word diplom refers to the thesis written at the end of the studies. (There is also the degree Diplom-Ingenieur (FH) (abbr. Dipl.-Ing (FH)) in Germany, but this is a professional degree in engineering from a German Fachhochschule. It is intermediate in rank between a bachelor's degree and a master's degree and therefore not an engineer's degree in the meaning of this page). In Belgium, the degree is Burgerlijk Ingenieur or Ingénieur Civil (abbrev. Ir.). In Portugal, the degree is Engenheiro (abbrev. Eng.), and in Spain it is called Ingeniero (Ing). In Greece, the degree is Διπλωματούχος Μηχανικός (diplomatouhos mihanikos) and the abbreviation is Διπλ.-Μηχ.. In the Netherlands, the degree is Ingenieur (abbrev. ir.). Also, ing is used in the Netherlands and in Belgium, but this is a non-academic, professional degree, roughly equivalent to the German Dipl.-Ing (FH). In Sweden, the degree is Civilingenjör (both of which regardless of the actual specialty). This retains the 19th century idea that the "actual" engineers were the military ones. In France, the degree is Diplôme d'Ingénieur, while the title is Ingénieur diplômé (ID) but is never used before the holder's name. In Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine, the degree is специалист инженер (specialist inzener), a first degree after 5 years of study.A German-style engineer's degree is considered equivalent to a MSc degree in U.S. or UK and in international context, the holders of the Engineer's degree are authorized to use MSc. However, there has been some debate over whether the Engineers should differentiate themselves from a Master of Science, this degree having become victim of inflation lately. It might also be argued that, because the European high school curriculum covers the topics of the typical U.S. freshman year, the five-year-long engineer's degree is actually the complete equivalent of the U.S. degree.
In the U.K., undergraduate engineering students are usually awarded the Master of Engineering (MEng) degree. This is not really an engineer's degree in the meaning of this page since it is specifically a master's degree and follows a four year course of study. The concept of engineer's degrees as used in the U.S. and the countries discussed above is absent from U.K. higher education.
In France, the Diplôme d'Ingénieur (word for word: Engineer's Degree) can be obtained after five years of engineering studies after the Baccalauréat. Engineering is taught in Ecoles d'Ingénieurs, which are part of the French Grandes écoles famous system. Since the Bologna process, the Diplôme d'Ingénieur is officially considered to be at the level of a European master's degree, though many argue that it is a bit more than a mere master's degree since competitive exams allow only top students to enter the Grandes écoles system. It is often considered as something between MSc and MEng when compared to the U.S. system as it is a blend of strong theoretical knowledge and professional experience.
Abolition of the Engineer's degree in Germany
In Germany, the local engineer's degree (Diplomingenieur, a first degree after 5 years of study) will be abolished by 2010, and will be replaced by postgraduate master's degrees (MSc and MEng). This disputed development is part of the German implementation of the Bologna process. However, this decision is favourable for German Universities of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschulen), since the old Diplom-Ingenieur (FH) will be replaced by the same degrees. Therefore, in contrast to the former situation, a degree from a University of Applied Sciences will be equal in rank to the equivalent degree from a traditional German university.Engineering Qualifications in New Zealand
To be a Professional Engineer in New Zealand, one normally has to hold a university degree in engineering and meet other professional qualifications.A New Zealand engineering degree is usually an undergraduate Bachelor of Engineering (BE) degree gained from an IPENZ-accredited university such as the University of Auckland or the University of Canterbury. Once graduated, the engineer has to meet particular standards of competence in their area of expertise in order to become registered as a Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng). It is necessary to be a CPEng to fulfill the requirements of New Zealand governmental regulations for certain types of work.
Under the Chartered Professional Engineers of New Zealand Act (2002), the Institution of Professional Engineers of New Zealand is the registration authority for assessing and registering engineers who meet the relevant standards of competence. Some engineers may also be a member or fellow of a professional institution in New Zealand. (Represented as MIPENZ, FIPENZ, etc..)
Some common examples of an engineer's postnomial letters could be:
- John Smith. BE(Civil), CPEng.
- Joe Blogg. NZCE, ME, CPEng, MIPENZ.
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