The Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA

A proposal for:

The Interdisciplinary Business & Engineering Program (IBEP)

By Eric Luttmann Schreyer Honors College 16 21 Atherton Hall University Park, PA 16802 Ewl5165@psu.edu (215) 913-8611 To the office of: Robert N. Pangborn Executive Vice President and Provost 201 Old Main, University Park, PA 16802

Penn State Interdisciplinary Business & Engineering Program

Need: The following ideas emerged due to the enrollment control policies that Penn State University places on majors in the College of Engineering and the Smeal College of Business. Because of these limits, students at the university do not have the option of studying in both colleges simultaneously with regard to either double majoring or access to minors. Program Goal: To provide a comprehensive undergraduate education for students at Penn State between both business and engineering in order to distinguish Penn State University as a forerunner in the development of leaders for a global marketplace largely driven by technology. Program Description: As stated in the opening letter, the Penn State Interdisciplinary Business & Engineering Program (IBEP) will be offered through the Schreyer Honors College and will involve a separate section as part of the application to the university. A partnership would be formed between the Smeal College of Business, The College of Engineering and Schreyer in similar fashion to the melding of the College of Liberal Arts and Schreyer in the Paterno Fellows Program. In his blog about the Schreyer Honors College, Dean Brady states the Paterno Fellows program, Will invigorate undergraduate education in Liberal Arts for hundreds of students and offer significant benefits to Schreyer students with Liberal Arts majors (Engage.SHC). Rather than enhancing a liberal arts education, the program will enhance an engineering or business education by allowing a dual major. Specificity to Honors students and highly qualified applicants will be necessary due to a rigorous schedule and the obligation to keep numbers from defying enrollment controls. Having a limit of 50 students enrolled at any one time seems appropriate. Format: Students will choose majors that complement each other based on practicality. To make this decision and maintain progress in the dual major program, the students would meet with advisors

specific to the interdisciplinary program. Once practical combinations are chosen, a customized academic plan will be formatted to fit the needs of the student. While focus is on two separate disciplines, the program will culminate in a single degree specific to Penn States Interdisciplinary Business and Engineering Program. The degree would need to recognize AACSB and ABET accreditation. In a survey taken of 32 random Schreyer freshmen studying either business or engineering, the average scholar came to Penn State with 28 transferring credits. Since all Penn State majors include 45 General Education requirements, the combination of the overlap reduces ones total credits to graduate with a dual major by 73 credits. While Smeals majors generally are 120 total credits and engineering majors are 130, this leaves 175-180 credits that can be completed with 17.5-18 credits a semester over a five year plan. If the scholar chose to complete the program in four years, this would mean taking 21-22.5 credits a semester. Schreyer Student Interest: Due to the results below, it is apparent that interest in such a program is strong in current scholars. In a random sample of first year Schreyer scholars studying in the School of Engineering or Smeal College of Business, 72 % said they would double major between the curriculums if possible.

84% of Schreyer Scholars surveyed would minor in cross-disciplinary colleges between either Smeal or the College of Engineering.

Vision: In accordance with Penn States Priority for Excellence to advance academic excellence, Schreyers vision is to be a leading force in honors education nationwide and produce individuals who will have important influence in the world. This type of program will help to reach these goals. An interdisciplinary business and engineering program will let students pursue academic excellence during their time as an undergraduate. In the current model, the two disciplines can be combined with minors offered through the School of Engineering Design, Technology, and Professional Programs, or the college of Liberal Arts. However, as the New York Times states a minor is mainly to diversify your educational portfolio (Slatalla). The fact that an integrated education is confined to supplementing a major with a minor seems to limit ones educational opportunities. Although an M.B.A. will provide the business skills to prepare an engineering background for leadership positions, a comprehensive undergraduate education will give a student the ability to fuse thorough expertise in supply-chain practices, market awareness and product feasibility with a top notch engineering and technical skill set. In a marketplace driven by concurrent engineering design teams and team based problem solving, these individuals will be able to seamlessly communicate in order to create an efficient and productive workplace. Another possibility of the program is to give graduates the background necessary to transition into executive positions involving marketing, finance or accounting after working as an engineer. While at Penn State University for an undergraduate education, students desire the ability to have access to both of these internationally recognized colleges. This combination should be accessible to students with proven competency to balance both mindsets and represent Penn States name as innovative leaders in the world.

Sources Brady, Christian, Dr. "Announcing the Paterno Liberal Arts Undergraduate Fellows Program." Web log post. Schreyer Honors College. N.p., 5 Mar. 2008. Web. 18 Apr. 2013. "Michigan Engineering." Undergraduate Degree Options. Michigan University, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2013. Slatalla, Michelle. "What's Your Minor." New York Times. N.p., 20 Apr. 2008. Web. 9 Apr. 2013. "IBE's Basic Concept." Lehigh University. Lehigh University: Integrated Engineering and Business, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2013.