www.csupomona.edu/engineering
Mahyar Amouzegar, Dean
Cordelia Ontiveros, Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Student Services
Behnam Bahr, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies
Engineering is a dynamic profession that provides the expertise to meet the technical challenges facing the nation. Cal Poly Pomona’s College of Engineering has a well-earned reputation of helping to meet these challenges by preparing engineers and engineering technologists who, upon graduation, are prepared to contribute to industry and are also ready for graduate studies. The emphasis on a strong theoretical background coordinated with early and significant laboratory experiences continues to make the college a leader in engineering education. In consultation with its many constituencies, the College of Engineering has adopted the following as its principal educational objectives:
- Preparation of graduates for immediate entry into the engineering profession, technically well-prepared in analysis and design, and understanding their professional responsibilities for contemporary and future human welfare
- Preparation of graduates as practicing engineers who communicate effectively, work collaboratively, learn independently and act ethically
- Adoption by graduates of life long learning, including formal advanced studies, as necessary for continued effectiveness in the profession
The College of Engineering provides study opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students in eleven disciplines, offering programs leading to Bachelor of Science degrees in:
Aerospace Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Industrial Engineering
Manufacturing Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Engineering Technology
Construction Engineering Technology
Electronics and Computer Engineering Technology
The programs each require 198 units for the Bachelor of Science degree.
In addition, the college offers individualized programs leading to the Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, Engineering Management, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Engineering.
All undergraduate engineering programs are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET. The programs in Engineering Technology are accredited by the Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET. The address, phone number, and URL of ABET are:
ABET, Inc.
111 Market Place, Suite 1050
Baltimore, MD 21202
(410) 347-7700
www.abet.org |
Each engineering curriculum is designed to give the student both an understanding of the fundamental principles of engineering as an applied science and the practical expertise to apply these principles to actual situations. In keeping with professional expectations, each engineering program incorporates these curricular areas into the educational experience: mathematics and basic sciences; engineering sciences and engineering design; and humanities and social sciences.
It is important to distinguish between Engineering and Engineering Technology. Engineering Technology is that part of the technological field that requires the application of scientific and engineering knowledge and methods combined with technical skills in support of engineering activities; it lies in the occupational spectrum between the craftsman and the engineer. The engineering technologist is more specialized than the engineer, focusing on a technical specialty within an engineering discipline. Compared to the engineering curricula, there is less emphasis on basic science and mathematics and engineering science and more emphasis on skills and knowledge of existing technology related to design support; production; and equipment selection, modification, and service. Studies for a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Technology include coursework in mathematics and basic sciences; technical sciences, specialties, and electives; and social sciences/humanities and communication.
As a result of Cal Poly Pomona’s “learn by doing” environment, graduates of the college continue to be in great demand by industry in southern California, helping Cal Poly Pomona fulfill its mission of service to the people of California. Cal Poly Pomona’s engineering curricula demand that students take computer programming and engineering orientation courses in the freshman year, and that mathematics, basic science, and general education courses begin concurrently. Throughout their educational programs students become adept at using both the university’s computing facilities and the College’s computer-aided engineering laboratory facilities as part of their regular coursework. Specific features of the curricula reflect the input of the college’s Industry Action Councils, composed of over 200 leaders in local industry. Many of the engineering science and engineering design courses have laboratory components. Study of the ethical issues that confront those in the practice of engineering and the need for professional registration are an important part of the curriculum. In addition, many students pass the Fundamentals of Engineering Examination (FE) before they graduate.
Departments host chapters of national professional societies and/or honor societies appropriate to their disciplines. Honor societies include Tau Beta Pi (engineering), Tau Alpha Pi (technology), Sigma Gamma Tau (aerospace), Omega Chi Epsilon (chemical), Chi Epsilon (civil), Eta Kappa Nu (electrical), Alpha Pi Mu (industrial), and Pi Tau Sigma (mechanical). In addition, chapters of the following cross-disciplinary organizations are active: Society of Women Engineers; National Society of Black Engineers; and Society of Hispanics in Science and Engineering.
A Partnership in Engineering Education
Recognizing that the professional education of students is a partnership of faculty, staff, administrators and students, the college has identified the responsibilities and obligations needed for this partnership to succeed. All students of the college obtain a copy of the college’s policies and procedures from the website. The site is not meant as a substitute for the personal advising of students by faculty, but helps promote an understanding of the fundamental operating tenets on which engineering education at Cal Poly Pomona is based.
All students, faculty, and staff of the College of Engineering should know and understand both the academic policies of the college and the academic policies of the University as explained in the University Catalog. In many cases, the policies of the College of Engineering are rather strict interpretations of University policy, in keeping with the high standards that the faculty, students and the engineering profession as a whole expect of themselves.
Students in the college are expected to bring to this partnership:
- a willingness to learn and demonstrate their mastery of the subject material,
- an appropriate attitude regarding the seriousness of their studies, and
- an appreciation of the value of their education.
Throughout their academic careers in the college, they should acquire not only the expertise that can be learned in a classroom, but also an esteem for the profession, a maturity of manner, a respect for colleagues, and a credo to guide both personal and professional behavior. These qualities are what make a graduate of the Cal Poly Pomona’s College of Engineering desirable.
Faculty bring to the partnership the experiences of having been students themselves and then having practiced in the profession, acquiring the expertise that only practice can perfect, and an eagerness to enthusiastically share this expertise with students. The faculty is committed to seeing students succeed. Excellence in the teaching/learning enterprise is the primary goal of the faculty. It is the faculty of the College of Engineering that is primarily responsible for developing and maintaining an environment supportive of learning for each student and for encouraging each student to reach for and achieve the highest goals possible. Faculty members provide valuable academic advising, maintain the announced office hours, teach the stated content of each course, share their personal professional experiences and evaluate student performance fairly and consistently.
Additionally, the College of Engineering expects its students to display the intent and motivation to graduate and to achieve their stated degree objectives as optimally as possible. Operationally, the college has the same goals and offers the most intensive undergraduate curricula in the university as optimally as possible. It is only with the students, faculty and staff working hard together in the partnership, and with mutual respect, that the common goal of excellence in preparation for the engineering profession can be achieved.
Preparation For The Engineering Culture
Professional engineering practice has evolved through a millennia-long technological tradition and, as is true of other professions, now consists of a set of standardized characteristics and modes of behavior; it is a culture in an anthropological sense. This “Engineering Culture” has as its particular responsibility not only the maintenance and development of technical knowledge for the larger society, but also the codes of conduct and practice for the application of that knowledge within the larger society. It has its own language, its own operating principles, its own beliefs and its own credos, all of which are extensions of those of the larger society. The members of this culture assume the responsibility for the welfare of the larger society in technological matters, and are characterized by their advanced and unique analytical and constructive abilities.
The College of Engineering at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona has as its primary mission the preparation of students for entry into the engineering culture. The College recognizes the credo of the professional engineer and, as part thereof, that society’s safety and well-being demand that engineering professionals practice their craft with diligence. As educators, the faculty knows that professional diligence mirrors personal diligence. Accordingly, the faculty of the College of Engineering, while subscribing to the academic policies of the university, also feels dutybound to expect their students and themselves to answer to the set of high academic standards corresponding to those of the engineering culture.
Hence, for students within the College of Engineering to successfully complete the curriculum efficiently, with pride and with maturity, they must not only have mastered technical knowledge and skills, but must also have been diligent in attending to the details of their individual progress through the program. Students must satisfy the bureaucratic details of their own program in a timely, well-planned manner. Students have the responsibility for their own progress and are expected to serve as their own primary advocates. Furthermore, engineering students are expected to be mature enough to accept and to deal with the consequences of their own actions and inactions.
Student Advocacy
The Dean’s Office in the College of Engineering provides student advocacy services to students who are experiencing extraordinary personal challenges, have unusual situations requiring administrative intervention, or are facing serious dilemmas in their academic careers. Students should seek the help of this office only after discussing the situation with their faculty advisors. Student advocates are available to listen and talk with students, to provide feedback of value, to guide the student to other on-campus services available to them, and, in rare cases, to advocate on behalf of the student with faculty and administrators if appropriate. Student advocacy services are provided
- to assist students in honestly evaluating and facing their situations;
- to help students establish a realistic plan to achieve graduation, or consider new career directions; and
- to help students mature in accepting personal responsibility for their actions and inactions. Faculty advisors retain principal responsibility for academic advising; the college’s student advocacy services supplement the faculty advising system.
Center for Lighting Education and Applied Research (C.L.E.A.R.)
R. Frank Smith, Director
The Cal Poly Pomona Illumination Education Program prepares entry level professionals to apply the principles of lighting efficiency and effectiveness to the diverse field of Illumination Engineering and Design. An integral part of the program is maintaining an applied research and development interface between the lighting industry and the University faculty, students, and physical facilities. The goal of the Center for Lighting Education and Applied Research (C.L.E.A.R.) is to significantly enhance the quantity and quality of professional expertise in the field of lighting that would allow individuals to develop and demonstrate implementable lighting technology.
Engineering Institute
Mahyar Amouzegar, Director
The Engineering Institute works on new development for furthering innovations in the College of Engineering programs.
MEP Maximizing Engineering Potential
The MEP program at Cal Poly Pomona, established in 1983, is a retention and academic enhancement program for students in Engineering and Computer Science. The purpose of the program is to increase the number and diversity of students who graduate in these technical disciplines, including those from historically under-represented groups. This purpose is accomplished by implementing four specific support strategies:
- Building a collaborative learning community among students with similar career goals.
- Constructing the bridges necessary to establish a mentor-protege relationship between faculty and students.
- Expecting excellent performance.
- Maintaining effective linkages with the university community and the industrial community.
The Cal Poly Pomona MEP program is the largest in California and has a high retention rate. The program has specific service components designed to support students’ successful pursuit of an academic program, their achievement of a timely graduation as well as assist them with their personal concerns. These service components include:
Admission and Matriculation |
Academic Advising |
Summer Program |
Counseling |
Orientation Courses |
Student Organizations |
Academic Excellence Workshops |
Scholarships/Incentive Grants |
Study Centers |
Summer Jobs/Part-time Work |
Building Community |
Professional Development |
MEP is supported by the College of Engineering, the California State University, the National Science Foundation (NSF), NASA, and by Industry through the MEP Industry Advisory Board, a group representing more than 20 major corporations.
Academic Excellence Workshops
Academic Excellence Workshops, administered through MEP, supplement certain foundation courses in chemistry, mathematics, physics, and engineering and are open by invitation only. Participants in MEP and SEES in the College of Science receive priority consideration. The Workshop program promotes technical excellence in the subject area while also developing communications skills and building an academic community under the guidance of a trained facilitator. An invitation to participate should be regarded as an honor and a unique opportunity.
College of Engineering Minors
Students in consultation with the coordinator of the minor are to develop a program of study to meet undergraduate minor requirements. A “Request for Award of Minor” form will be completed towards the completion of the minor course work and indicated on a student’s permanent record (transcript) upon achieving at least a 2.0 for all minor work completed. This form is available in departments which offer minors. The form must be turned in to the Registrar’s Office for proper processing. Minors cannot be awarded subsequent to the granting of a bachelor’s degree. All minors, consist of 24 or more quarter units, 12 of which must be upper division units.
Departments, Majors, Minors and Degrees
Graduate Studies
Master of Science in Engineering
Master of Science in Civil Engineering
Master of Science in Electrical Engineering
Master of Science in Engineering Management
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Aerospace Engineering
Ali R. Ahmadi, Chair
Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering
Chemical and Materials Engineering
Vilupanur Ravi, Chair
Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Francelina A. Neto, Chair
Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, subplans in
General Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, and Geospatial Engineering
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Saeed Sean Monemi, Chair
Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering
Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering
Engineering Technology
Massoud Moussavi, Chair
Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology
Bachelor of Science in Construction Engineering Technology
Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Computer Engineering Technology
Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Abdul B. Sadat, Chair
Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering
Bachelor of Science in Manufacturing Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Angela Shih, Chair
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Energy Engineering Minor
John R. Biddle, Coordinator, Energy Engineering Committee
Illumination Engineering Minor
R. Frank Smith, Coordinator, Illumination Engineering Committee
Materials Engineering Minor
Vilupanur A. Ravi, Coordinator, Materials Engineering Committee
Ocean Engineering Minor
__________, Coordinator, Ocean Engineering Committee