Impact of Computers on the Orientation of Electrical Engineering Curricula

The relationship between computers and electrical engineering is far different from what it is in other fields because the electrical engineer is not just a user of computers-more importantly, he is their builder and designer. Thus, electrical engineering has a special responsibility to train its students in both the basic and applied aspects of computer science and engineering. To meet this responsibility, electrical engineering curricula must undergo substantive changes. In particular, the emphasis in basic courses should shift from the continuous to the discrete, from analysis to algebra, from circuit theory to digital systems and from signal analysis to formal languages. On the applied side, the student should be provided with courses in data structures, computation structures, computer organization, and information organization and retrieval. An argument is made in favor of a "free curriculum" in which a student is gi" ven a very large measure of freedom in shaping his program of study.