The Computer Systems Engineering undergraduate program of study emphasizes the application of engineering concepts, techniques and methods to the development of systems founded in hardware-software integration. Unlike the traditional focus of computer engineering, computer system engineers will have a greater understanding of computer software development and how to use computers to automate, monitor and control various systems. The job market needs of a computer systems engineering graduate include telecommunications, computer-human interactions (example: speech recognition), decision-making (example industries: financial, health care), and networking, where the engineer is needed to increase the efficiency and overall effectiveness of computer systems.
The University of Georgia Computer Systems Engineering undergraduate program seeks to prepare graduates for careers that bridge engineering and computer science to design technical solutions to a wide variety of multi-disciplinary problems. Graduates will possess the skills to work in teams in both contributor and leadership roles. They will be motivated to assume responsibility to serve society and behave ethically, engage in life-long learning and both broaden and deepen their expertise.
Mission Statement |Educational Objectives | Curriculum | Culture and Character of Program
Objectives by Academic Year | Curriculum Framework | Potential Tracks
Educational Objectives
The University of Georgia BSCSE Program Educational Objectives prepare graduates who, after five years of their professional career, have:
- Established themselves in positions of management and leadership in their profession and their community in fields that require integration of hardware and software.
- Have developed expertise in creating design solutions at the interface between hardware and software.
- Developed an awareness of safety and security constraints as well as ethical responsibility.
- Continued their education through professional licensure, certification or pursuit of a graduate degree.
Computer Systems Engineering Curriculum
The Computer Systems Engineering BS curriculum is a four-year, 130 credit hour degree program. The degree program was designed to provide graduates with:
- A general education that develops the student’s knowledge of and skills in the basic sciences, social sciences, humanities and the arts and the student’s ability to apply this knowledge in order to understand the impact engineering has on society,
- Quantitative skills needed to measure, estimate, model and simulate solutions to engineering problems,
- Problem solving skills requiring a range of technical specialties that are consistent with the industrial needs of the State and Region (including telecommunication, software engineering, decision support systems, real time systems),
- Opportunities to successfully demonstrate higher order thinking skills including quantitative and qualitative analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information, problem solving and creativity, and
- Faculty-student experiences that enable both to better serve society and to appreciate the need to participate in experiences that develop the students professionally.
Culture and Character of the Program
What is the culture and what are the competences needed or desired in a computer systems engineer?
A computer systems engineer must understand:
- the human dimension of engineering activities
- the reality of the global market
- how to analyze technical problems
- how to manage resources, the natural science, math and technology
- machine to machine and machine to human interface
- how to deal with abstractness
- a variety of operating systems
- the applied and theoretical side of technology
- computer languages and software
- how to use a systems approach to problem-solving
- how to be team oriented
- the design process
Specific Objectives by Academic Year
Year 1 Objectives
- Develop the student’s awareness and understanding of interconnections between different knowledge domains
- Provide a fundamental foundation for courses in the engineering sciences and computer science, and upper division engineering,
- Develop skills in critical thinking:
- multiple solutions to a problem,
- drawing inferences,
- integrating information,
- distinguishing between fact and opinion,
- estimating potential outcomes,
- synthesizing
- Understanding the need to be a contributing member of a team
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Year 2 Objectives
- Successfully mesh with objectives of the first year curriculum and provides breadth of knowledge in a number of engineering subjects.
- student’s awareness and understanding of interconnections of different knowledge domains
- further develop skills in critical thinking
- Strengthen students’ knowledge of mathematics
- Initiate core level courses in computer science, “general” engineering and computer systems engineering
- Analysis and synthesis
- Integration of general education; breadth of knowledge in subjects to help student understand the impact of engineering
- To become a more contributing member of a team
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Years 3 and 4 Objectives
- Focus along tracks, areas of emphasis, etc.
- Develop knowledge of and design skills in “general engineering” courses
- Develop knowledge of and design skills in core computer systems engineering specialties
- Ability to create computer programs for solving engineering problems
- Develop effective skills in the scientific method; design and conduct experiments
- To increase contributions on multidisciplinary team
- To communicate and express ideas coherently, professionally and effectively
- To understand the impact of engineering on society
- Analysis and synthesis
- Integration of general education; breadth of knowledge in subjects to help student understand impact of engineering
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Curriculum Framework
General Categories of Skills, Knowledge and Processes Required to Meet Education Objectives
First year
- Basic programming
- Basic constructs of computing
- Software development
- Engineering Core
- Systems approach to problem solving
- Systems philosophy and awareness (foundation for integrating information from different disciplines)
- Utilization of projects focusing on integrating knowledge from high school
- Project and team driven
- Systems approach to problem solving
- Engineering visualization and technical communication
- University general education
- English composition
- Basic sciences
- Chemistry (the theory of technological processes; awareness for environmental issues)
- Mathematics (quantitative discipline that builds foundations for engineering science)
- Physics (fundamentals to engineering science courses)
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Second Year
- Programming
- Systems programming
- Data structures
- Engineering core
- Statics
- Electrical circuits
- Theory of design
- Systems engineering
- Systematic assembly and matching of parts in the context of the lifetime use of the system
- Electronics course sequences
- University general education
- Initiate requirements
- World language, culture and arts requirements or
- Social sciences
- Initiate requirements
- Mathematics (quantitative discipline that builds foundations for engineering science)
- Project course
- A spring semester course that requires students to engage in cross-disciplinary team service-learning oriented projects that support the theory and application of engineering science courses, etc.
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Third and Fourth Years
- Engineering core
- Electrical/Electronics Sequence
- Digital Electronics
- Linear Systems
- Control Systems
- Instrumentation
- Electrical/Electronics Sequence
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Potential Tracks
Software Engineering
- Software Engineering
- Database Systems
- Compilers
- Programming Languages
- Theory and Design of Interactive Systems
- Methods of Software Quality Assurance
- Concepts of Embedded and Real Time Systems
Computer Hardware Systems
- Design of Digital Systems Design
- Design of Very Large Scale Integrated Systems
- Fundamentals of Logic Design
- Concepts of Embedded and Real Time Systems
- Network Optimizations
Telecommunications and Wireless Systems
- Digital Signal Processing
- Digital Systems Design
- Design of Very Large Scale Integrated Systems
- Design of Wireless Communication Systems
- Interface Design of Wireless Systems
- Network Optimization
Mechatronics
- Principles of Automation and Programming
- Control Theory/Feedback Control
- Computer Vision
- Optimization
- Stability of Mechatronic Systems
Biological Systems
- Imaging
- Signal Processing of organisms
- Algorithms for Computational Biology
- Interfacing of biological systems and computers
Graphics and Visualization
- Computer Graphics
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Algorithms
The UGA BSCSE Program Educational Objectives prepare graduates who, after five years of their professional career have:
1. Established themselves in positions of management and leadership in their profession and their community in fields that require integration of hardware and software.
2. Have developed expertise in creating design solutions at the interface between hardware and software.
3. Developed an awareness of safety and security constraints as well as ethical responsibility.
4. Continued their education through professional licensure, certification or pursuit of a graduate degree.
