Capstone Sequence CEN UG Program CEN Curriculum Sub-committee Manuel Bermudez, Doug Dankel, Karl Gugel, Herman Lam, Mark Schmalz, Eric Schwartz 1

Current State of Capstone Courses 2  CEN students have vastly different capstone design experience  Software track  One senior-design course (CEN 4912), offered in CISE  Not all projects have to work in teams  External advisors (professors, IT managers, etc.)  Software-mostly project, no hardware laboratory equipment available  Hardware track  Two-course sequence (Design 1 EEL 3923, Design 2 EEL 4914)  Must have teams of two students, minimal outside advisors  95% projects use microprocessor; must have analog content  Staff members and TAs for support of both classes/labs

Proposed CEN Capstone Sequence  CEN capstone sequence consists of 2 required courses  CEN Design 1: CEN 3923  Prerequisite to CEN Design 2  Provides training and integration of skills necessary for successful project in CEN Design 2  CEN Design 2: CEN 4924  Capstone design class required for all CEN students  Design projects can range from one extreme (all software) to the other extreme (all hardware), or have both From “What is Computer Engineering” slide: With respect to our program, Computer Engineering falls within a continuum between Computer Science and Electrical Engineering 3

CEN Design 2: CEN 4924  Class for capstone design project  CEN 4024 will have two sections  CEN 4924 Section 1  Directed toward projects with a software emphasis  To be offered in the CISE Department  CEN 4924 Section 2  Directed toward projects with a hardware emphasis  To be offered in the ECE Department, co-listed with EEL opportunity to be part of project working with EE students if appropriate  Common CEN 4924 requirements (both sections)  Must involve knowledge learned from multiple courses  Requires team projects (exceptions approved by instructor)  Requires advisor (current CISE model), with default advisor being instructor  Requires presentations and written final report 4

CEN Design 1: CEN 3923  Prerequisite to CEN 4924  Provides training and integration of skills necessary for successful project in CEN 4924  CEN 3923 will also have two sections  CEN 3923 Section 1  General Design 1 course to prepare CEN students for either CEN 4924 section  CEN 3923 Section 2  For CEN students who plan to perform a senior project with heavy hardware emphasis  CEN 3923 will be co-listed with EEL 3923 and be offered in the ECE department 5

6 Summary and Conclusions CEN 4924 Section 2 co-list with EEL 4924 CEN 3923 Section 1 (new course) A B CEN 4924 Section 1 B C CEN 4924 Section 2 CEN 3923 Section 2 co-list with EEL 3923 A: CEN Software skills B: CEN Hardware skills C: EE skills  Common capstone design experience  Design 1 course prepare students  Design 2 course capstone design project  Flexible specialization  Similar to CEN curriculum, students have flexibility to select projects relevant to their career choice  Implementable:  No significant disruption to existing course offerings  CEN 3923 Section 1 is the only new course