Addressing globalization in Civil Engineering at the United States Coast Guard Academy

The United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) graduates between twenty and forty officers each year with an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering. It is imperative that graduates of the program are prepared to serve as both officers and civil engineers in an increasingly global society. This paper summarizes current efforts and future opportunities to infuse global issues and cultural awareness into the curriculum. Initiatives are presented in the context of requirements to graduate students in four years with an ABET accredited civil engineering degree and ready to serve as officers in the United States Coast Guard. Among the ideas and initiatives discussed are international projects, use of global case studies and issues, leveraging experiences of international students and faculty, culture and language courses, participation in international conferences and societies, inclusion of guest speakers with international experience, and the pursuit of study abroad opportunities. With a greater infusion of global and cultural issues into the curriculum, Coast Guard civil engineering graduates will be better prepared to meet the challenges they will face as officers and practicing professional engineers in the twenty first century.