International Experience Requirements for Engineering Students

A note to put things in historical context. Prior to 1995 the engineering programs were excused from the General Education Section 4 requirements, as it was felt that our curriculums did not provide sufficient flexibility for students to be away for a term. In 1995 we undertook a major curriculum review under the leadership of then Dean of Engineering Richard Kenyon. One of our major conclusions was that engineering was becoming more and more a global enterprise, so the engineering programs voted to voluntarily assume the Section 4 requirements.

Our motivation and goals for requiring some sort of international experience are as follows:

 Why do we value an international experience for our engineering students?

  • Engineering is increasingly a global profession. Organizations and companies that hire engineers increasingly have customers, suppliers, parts of their operation, or partners abroad.
  • Engineering graduates who understand and interact well with other cultures will be sought after by global companies and those companies developing global ties.
  • Engineers who have a global perspective are generally better able to provide leadership in the organizations they serve.
  • Engineers proficient in two or more languages can operate much more effectively in the international arena than those knowing only English.

 What should our students gain from their international experience?

  • Understanding and appreciating cultures outside the US.
  • Learning a foreign language (if possible).
  • Being able to work effectively with people from cultures outside the US.

Linguistic and Cultural Competency" requirements 

The Core Components Curriculum requires Two (2) courses in Linguistic and Cultural Competency. 

This category includes courses in any discipline covering:

  1. Term Abroad courses that deal with a cultural tradition outside the US
  2. Cross-cultural comparison and theories about cultural complexity
  3. One or more cultural traditions outside of the US
  4. One or more cultural traditions in the United States from historically unrepresented populations
  5. A sequence of two courses in a foreign language at level 102 or higher.

The Linguistic and Cultural Competency requirement as published is tied to academic credit. The engineering program requirements are slightly modified, as given below.

Engineering students are able to satisfy option 1 of The Linguistic and Cultural Competency requirements with any of the following:
  • Terms abroad or exchanges. (3 courses)
  • International design projects (formerly IVDS). (2 courses)
  • International internships. (at least 8 weeks) (may or may not carry course credit)
  • Mini-term abroad. (1 additional cognate course is required for mini-terms without pre-trip seminars)
  • International summer programs. (with approval from the Dean of Undergraduate Education. (may or may not carry course credit)
  • A sequence of two courses in a foreign language at level 102 or higher.
  • Two courses in any of the following areas:
Engineering students are eligible for options 2-5, but they are discouraged from using them to satisfy the LCC requirements

The catalog copy for the International Programs section under Engineering reads:

Academic Register Copy: Engineering has become a global profession. As a graduate you will likely find yourself working on an international team in a global company, working for an organization with international clients, or being dispatched to international locations to negotiate or oversee work. Thus it is critically important that you understand the nuances of other cultures, and the proper way to communicate. One of the best ways to accomplish this is through an international experience as a student. Therefore, engineering students, except under extraordinary conditions (as approved by the student's academic advisor and department chair), are expected to meet the Linguistic and Cultural Competency requirements of the Core Components Curriculum by participating in some type of international experience. For engineering students, possible experiences include: 1) terms abroad, 2) international internships in industry, 3) mini-terms abroad, 4) collaborative international design projects, and 5) summer international experiences. For more information on these programs, please visit our website at http://engineering.union.edu/eta/, or email Professor Jewell, Director of International Programs for Engineering and Computer Science, at jewellt@union.edu.