Abstract
In order to facilitate useful curriculum deliberations and to satisfy accreditation requirements the undergraduate mechanical engineering programme at this university has been categorized into ‘curricular threads' which represent major themes. Each thread begins at the freshman year and continues through the senior year. The curricular threads and their respective contributions to the programme are: engineering design (12.8%), engineering science (21.4%), engineering analysis (12.4%), engineering support (13.1%), hands-on engineering (9.0%), engineering communication (3.2%), engineering social skills (0.9%), and liberal arts (27.1%). These threads provide useful quantitative information for curriculum evaluation. Other engineering departments may identify alternative threads based on their programme contents. Regardless of the threads used, the organization presented here may serve as a template for the evaluation of individual engineering programmes.
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