An integrated approach for electrical engineering laboratories

The Department of Electrical Engineering at Auburn University has implemented a new curriculum, which features replacement of the previous 10 (quarter-based) core laboratories with 6 new core labs. These new labs differ in four significant ways. First, content of each new lab course is decoupled from specific lecture courses, a marked departure from the previous approach. Second, the laboratory studies are designed to give students experience across several EE subdisciplines in an integrated manner. Third, the new labs have much greater integrated design requirements, which better prepare students for their two-quarter capstone senior design project, and fourth, the new core labs provide a platform for students to improve their oral and written communications, study some professional ethics issues, and learn how to work effectively in both independent and team settings. In this paper, the authors describe the general philosophies and overall design of the new integrated laboratories, and present some student and faculty experiences (both positive and negative).