How can students learn so much?

According to a diverse group of civil engineers who met to discuss the future of the profession, by the year 2025 a civil engineer will be:

Entrusted by society to create a sustainable world and enhance the global quality of life. Civil engineers serve competently, collaboratively, and ethically as master: planners, designers, constructors… stewards of the natural environment… innovators… managers of risk and uncertainty caused by natural events and other threats, and leaders in decisions shaping public environmental and infrastructure policy.

Wow! That’s a really tough charge. The statement is a great rallying cry for the importance and prestige of civil engineers, but can one realistically master so many subjects? In 2008, an ASCE committee was tasked with determining the Body of Knowledge (BOK) necessary to meet these ideals.

The resulting document spells out 24 different areas for prospective professionals to study. Subjects like math, mechanics, and technical specialization are common to most traditional degree programs. However, the committee suggested many new topics that weren’t even on the radar when I was in school. 10 Sustainability – Analyze systems of engineered works for sustainable performance; 17 – Public Policy – Apply process techniques to simple problems related to civil engineering works; and 19 – Analyze engineering works and services in order to function at a basic level in a global context.

Collectively, the new Body of Knowledge asks engineers to, “master more mathematics, natural sciences, and engineering science fundamentals; maintain technical breadth; acquire broader exposure to the humanities and social sciences; and achieve greater specialization.”

Colleges already struggle to integrate practical tools and procedures used by industry into the curriculum. How do you fit all of these new subject areas into a degree program? For one, engineering students should get used to the idea of going on to pursue a master’s degree. More on the job training and exploratory learning is also suggested. However, the authors of the Body of Knowledge purposefully want to raise the bar. More responsibility is placed on students and young engineers to actively seek education in these competencies.

The problem is that you really can't fit all the required knowledge / learning into today's 4-year curriculum. The National Academy of Engineering did a study a few years ago and concluded that it is no longer possible to fit everything that is necessary into a traditional 4-year engineering degree. This is further complicated when you realize that a "traditional 4-year" engineering curriculum in 1960 was 145 hours and is now, on average, 128 hours. As life and engineering got more complicated, and the required knowledge grew, the number of hours available was reduced (by the legislative funding process). The solution is additional education - a master's degree or other, equivalent, formal education process. This is, of course, followed by practical experience, because some of what is in the BOK must be learned on the job. But, some of it must be learned through the educational process, as well. We need more education, and more focused on-the-job education.

Excerpt from http://bit.ly/Nnpk6