New York University Shanghai’s engineering program is undergoing major changes that have potential to impact engineering students beyond their time at NYU. The main change occurring is the changing of the name of the major, which, in essence, also signifies the change of the entire major itself. For those of you who don’t know, the major is being changed from Engineering to Engineering Systems. This means that Electrical Engineering students are no longer Electrical Engineering Majors but are now Electrical Engineering Systems majors. This simple addition of the word significantly changes the meaning of the degree. In a statement sent in response to an interview request, Professor Keith Ross, the Dean of Computer Science and Engineering, stated, “Our desire is to create an interdisciplinary engineering program, where students combine electrical and computer engineering with other fields, such as medicine, smart cities, and neuroscience. For this reason, NYU Shanghai and the Tandon School of Engineering have decided to change the names of the two majors to ‘Electrical Engineering Systems’ and ‘Computer Engineering Systems.’” The name change is a source of controversy between students and the NYU Shanghai administration. According to many engineering students, if you want to be an engineer, you must major in engineering. For example, if your passion is computer engineering, your major must be exactly that: computer engineering. The job market is such that only those with the exact major get jobs immediately after graduating. The change of the major to “-Systems” pushes back engineering job opportunities for a few years post-graduation, if they are lucky. In comparison to Computer Engineering, Computer Engineering Systems seems more general, rather than specialized, to a recruiter. The controversy began because NYU Shanghai was pursuing ABET accreditation for its engineering majors. As NYU Shanghai’s engineering program is more rigorous with more requirements than the NYU Tandon’s engineering program, both programs are at risk of losing accreditation. Pursuing accreditation can also be limiting, according to a statement Keith Ross, Dean of Computer Science and Engineering, sent in response to an interview request. “NYU Shanghai, in conjunction with NYU Tandon School of Engineering, recently decided not to pursue ABET accreditation this year. ABET requirements for accreditation is quite constraining, making it nearly impossible to build exciting electrical and computer engineering programs in the context of a 128-credit liberal arts program that requires 16 credits of Mandarin,” said Keith Ross. This article was written by Baaria Chaudhary. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit:gecbsp.ac.in