Progress with BA in engineering (ELITE) at the University of Arizona

Summary form only given as follows. At the University of Arizona, we are offering a new program that allows talented students to combine engineering as well as liberal arts, leading to a Bachelor of Arts in Engineering (ELITE). A student in this program is required to choose a focus area within engineering and a complementary area in any one of the different colleges at Arizona. It is important to recognize that the complementary area must be thematically related to the student\´s engineering focus. This helps the student integrate multiple disciplines, and come to grips with alternative viewpoints. It is clear that each student follows a customized plan of study that best reflects his/her interests. One of the challenges in implementing the ELITE program is the need for students to form cohorts. In more traditional programs, students follow essentially similar plans of study, taking the same set of core disciplinary courses. In a multi-disciplinary program like ELITE, it is difficult to form such cohorts. However, we do require all students to participate in an innovative seminar series in which various nontraditional applications of engineering are discussed. Some of the seminars that have been offered include "Ancient Engineering", "Engineering in the Entertainment Industry" and "Music and Technology" etc. These seminars not only bring provide the student a broad exposure to the applications of engineering, but also help create a sense of attachment with the program. In our presentation, we cover the design and delivery of some of the seminars that have already been offered as part of the ELITE program.