College to accept Engineering minors

In keeping with the University's focus on interdisciplinary study, the School of Arts and Sciences announced recently that it will allow its students to take minors in Engineering. University President Judith Rodin and Provost Stanley Chodorow have sought to increase cooperation across school boundaries with the 21st Century Plan for undergraduate academics. And School of Engineering and Applied Science Dean Gregory Farrington lauded the decision. "Hooray for SAS," Farrington said, explaining that his school has been eager for the College to recognize the minors for several years. The new minors will enable College of Arts and Sciences students to explore any facet of engineering, from bioengineering and biotechnology to computer science. Farrington said he believes most minors will concentrate in the area of computer and information science because of the infusion of computers into all aspects of daily life. Computer and Information Systems Chairperson Mitchell Marcus said many College students have expressed interest in an Engineering minor. "During the last academic year over 220 students from outside of the engineering school took one of our introductory courses," Marcus said. He added that he believes the role of information science and technology will be increasingly important to society. "As society changes, students who are liberally educated will want to understand these issues," Marcus said. But College Dean Robert Rescorla said he does not expect many students to pursue Engineering minors, due to the time commitment required to fulfill the requirements. The minors require anywhere from five to eight courses. Interim SAS Dean Walter Wales said he thought only a limited number of student would take advantage of the new minors, adding that College students tend to minor in subjects that relate to their majors. "If you major in Physics, Engineering seems something obvious. But [if one majors in] English it is not obvious and there are a lot more English than Physics majors," added Wales, a Physics professor. Students had mixed reactions to the new minors. College junior Marjorie Soifer said she believes students may shy away from the new minors because of the large amount of background knowledge needed to understand engineering. But Kartik Shah, an Engineering sophomore, disagreed. "I think it's a great idea," he said, "A lot of graduate programs look for people with analytical skills and problems in engineering helps students gain this experience." The Engineering minors are among several new interdisciplinary minors which have been discussed in recent months. The Curriculum Committee is expected to approve an American Public Policy minor -- combining classes from the Political Science Department and the Wharton School -- in February. And Political Science Chairperson Henry Teune said he is interested in establishing an International Public Policy joint minor with Wharton to study management and development in third-world countries. Teune also expressed interest in a joint minor with the Annenberg School for Communication. Three other joint minors have been proposed, including two involving law and one covering film. Rescorla said he has some apprehension about the recent surge in the number of minors, explaining that there are "a lot of things to oversee and administrate." But he added that a wide selection of minors is important because minors allow students to concentrate on their interests without absorbing as much time as a major.