Work in progress — Military troops to engineers

As part of a seven-university, NSF-sponsored initiative aimed at engaging U.S. military veterans in engineering, San Diego State University is conducting a comprehensive review of the U.S. military technical training in engineering and related fields. The specific objective is to determine ways to shorten the time to degree for military veterans entering engineering majors. To that end, a systematic examination of the student learning outcomes in military training courses as compared to courses in the engineering undergraduate degree plan is currently underway. This comparative review has required in-depth analysis of both the military education and the potential obstacles that veterans bring to an engineering degree program. Because they require a known series of courses in a specific field, the framework of military professions - as Military Occupational Specialties (Marines, Army), Naval Rates, and Air Force Specialty Codes - provides the best guidance in determining potential articulation pathways.