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Bachelor of Science in Systems Science and Engineering
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Ashley Davis, BS in Systems Science & Engineering, Washington University, 2008, will be a PhD student in Industrial Engineering & Management Sciences at Northwestern University as of this fall.
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This program educates students in the engineering and science of systems. Graduates are expected to have mathematical competence and knowledge of systems analysis, control, and design methods, numerical methods, differential equations, dynamic systems theory, automatic control theory, system stability, estimation, optimization, modeling, identification, simulation, and basic computer programming. You will have an engineering outlook and engineer’s competence of your own and be able to interact fully with other engineers. You also will possess sufficient proficiency in computer use to design algorithms for simulation, estimation, control, and optimization.
The engineering departments of high-technology industries are staffed by large numbers of engineers with this type of expertise. However, graduates are by no means restricted to careers in traditional industry or in high-technology industries. Within the outlined framework, a salient feature of the program is its flexibility and interdisciplinary nature. It is possible for you to orient study toward preparation for systems science and engineering work in large complex systems such as transportation or power or communications networks or in societal systems such as the economy, ecology, the cities, or biological systems. You may wish to prepare for work along theoretical or professional lines. There is ample room in the program structure to accommodate all these interests and to make your preparation at the BS level ideally suited for your future plans and interests. This professional degree is accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).
Educational Objectives of the BSSSE Degree Program
A. Graduates will be technically competent in systems engineering including control engineering and operations research. They will have the ability to model, analyze, design, simulate and optimize engineering and socioeconomic systems by applying basic principles and methodology of advanced mathematics, natural science, and engineering sciences. They will be able to use modern engineering techniques, skills, and tools, particularly recognizing the role that computer programs play in systems engineering. They will be able to identify, formulate, and solve novel engineering problems that are subject to realistic constraints from the overall system’s point of view.
B. Graduates will be able to apply the knowledge and skills from a broad education with sensitivity to the global, societal, and environmental issues.
C. Graduates will be prepared for professional practice in engineering as well as for graduate research programs. They will have an understanding of ethical, social, and professional responsibility; recognize the need for, and have the ability to engage in, life-long learning; and have the ability to function and communicate effectively, both individually and within multi-disciplinary teams.
Where can a degree in systems take you?
1. To a high-tech company such as Boeing working as a systems engineer on a team responsible for coordinating different subsystems of an airplane and eventually becoming a technical manager overseeing a large project such as the 787 Dreamliner. Typically such projects have two managers: a project manager, in charge of budgeting, manpower allocation and scheduling, and a technical manager, in charge of coordinating engineers, making sure that different subsystems will fit nicely with each other so that the whole system works as intended. See the responsibilities of a systems engineer as delineated by its professional organization, INCOSE, here.
2. To a large defense contractor such as Lockheed Martin working as a control engineer on a team responsible for the flight control system of a fighter plane and eventually becoming a project manager for a fighter such as the F-35 Lightning II.
3. To a large consumer product company such as Procter and Gamble working as an operations research specialist and eventually becoming the operations manager of one of its factories, overseeing all operations from the procurement of raw materials, to the manufacturing of products and the delivery of finished products to its warehouses.
4. To the MBA (Master of Business Administration) program at Washington University and then to a leading company such as Anheuser-Busch making financial recommendations to the company and eventually becoming the CFO (Chief Financial Officer) of the company, managing its financial risks and planning.
5. To a master’s program in systems at a leading university such as UC Berkeley and to a university-operated lab such as the MIT Lincoln Lab, developing techniques for detecting and intercepting missiles in the stratosphere for the US Missile Defense Agency. You eventually become the CTO (Chief Technology Officer) of the Lab, overseeing new product development.
6. To a PhD program in systems at a preeminent university such as MIT and then to a leading university such as the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign working as a professor and doing cutting-edge research in systems biology and computational biology.
7. To the MD-PhD program at the Washington University Medical School and to Johns Hopkins University for more training, and then to the Stanford Medical School, developing new diagnostic systems using medical imaging and eventually becoming a professor at the school.
8. To a PhD program in economics at a leading university such as the University of Chicago and then to a Federal Reserve Bank running econometric models for the bank and eventually becoming the president of the Federal Reserve Bank.
BSSSE Degree Requirements
The course sequence designed to achieve the type of education delineated above requires at least 120 units, satisfies the residency and other applicable requirements of Washington University and the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and meets the following program requirements:
- Common Studies program of the School of Engineering & Applied Science. This includes courses in engineering, mathematics, physics, chemistry, humanities, social sciences, and technical writing. The required chemistry sequence is Chem 111A-151.
- Required courses in systems science and engineering:
- ESE 105 or 251, Introduction to Electrical & Systems Engineering (3 units)
- ESE 309, Matrix Algebra (3 units), or Math 429, Linear Algebra (3 units)
- ESE 317, Engineering Mathematics (4 units)
- ESE 326, Probability and Statistics for Engineering (3 units)
- ESE 351, Signals and Systems (3 units)
- ESE 403, Operations Research (3 units)
- ESE 411, Numerical Methods (3 units)
- ESE 441, Control Systems (3 units)
- ESE 448, Systems Engineering Laboratory (3 units)
- ESE 499, Systems Design Project (3 units)
- Two of the following five computer science courses:
- CSE 131, Computer Science I (4 units)
- CSE 241, Algorithms and Data Structures (3 units)
- CSE 132, Computer Science II (4 units)
- CSE 126, Introduction to Computer Programming (4 units)
- CSE 200, Engineering and Scientific Computing (3 units)
Students are encouraged to take CSE 131, Computer Science I (4 units), and CSE 241, Algorithms and Data Structures (3 units). The other possible sequences are CSE 126 - CSE 241 and CSE 200 - CSE126.
Students interested in a Minor in Computer Science are recommended to take CSE 131, Computer Science I (4 units), CSE 132, Computer Science II (4 units), CSE 241, Algorithms and Data Structures (3 units), CSE 332S, Object-oriented Software Development Laboratory (3 units) and CSE 436S, Software Engineering Workshop (3 units).
- One of the following three laboratory courses:
- ESE 447 Robotics Laboratory (3 units)
- ESE 449 Digital Process Control Laboratory (3 units)
- ESE 488 Signals and Systems Laboratory (3 units)
- Twelve units in elective courses in systems science and engineering: ESE 400 through 429; ESE 440 through 459; ESE 470 through 489; ESE 497; 500 through 529; ESE 540 through 559. Up to 3 units of the following business courses may be part of the 12 units of SSE electives: OSCM 356, Operations Management; OSCM 458, Operations Planning & Control; OMM 576, Foundations of Supply Chain Management; OMM 577, Information Tech & Supply Chain Management.
- Twelve units in engineering concentration outside of systems science and engineering. These units must all be taken in one of the following engineering areas: Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical Engineering (ESE 102; ESE 230 through 239; ESE 260 through 290; ESE 330 through 339; ESE 360 through 390; ESE 430 through 439; ESE 460 through 469; ESE 490 through 496; ESE 498; 530 through 539; ESE 560 through 589), or Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Of the twelve units, nine units must be at the level 200 or higher. Sequences for concentrations in economics, mathematics, physics, premedicine, and other fields can be arranged with special departmental approval in exceptional cases to meet your specific needs. When a non-engineering discipline is chosen as the outside concentration, the student needs to pay special attention to the next requirement, which is required of all students, and make sure that enough engineering contents are obtained from the other courses. The use of basic required courses to fulfill the requirement for an outside concentration requires special approval from the department.
- The entire course sequence for the BSSSE containing engineering topics of at least 45 units. Note that each engineering course is assigned engineering topic units
- Limitations. No more than 6 units of the combined units of ESE 400 (independent study) and ESE 497 (undergraduate research) may be applied toward the SSE elective requirement (Item 5) of the BSSSE degree. The balance of the combined units, it there are any left, are allowed as free electives to satisfy the requirement on the total number of units.
- The courses taken to satisfy the following BSSSE degree requirements must be taken for a letter grade and not on a pass/fail basis: Item 2 (required ESE courses), Item 4 (elective laboratory course) and Item 5 (elective ESE courses).
The program requirements for the B.S. in Systems Science and Engineering allow a double major with another department. Changes in the program to accommodate such double majors may be made with the approval of the department. See a sample program for the B.S. in Systems Science and Engineering.
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