WSU Updates Engineering Program, Making Grads More Employable

Posted July 17, 2023

Wichita State University announced Monday it will update the College of Engineering in time for the fall 2023 semester, allowing grads to gain their professional license in-state or elsewhere.

Based on employers’ and alumni feedback, the university’s applied engineering will be classified by the accreditation authority, ABET, in the general engineering category and move to the new 14.0103 Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code, according to the university.

“Feedback provided by both our Industrial Advisory Board and alumni was that our graduates would be more employable and have more career pathway options if they were able to earn their PE licenses,” Dr. Gary Brooking, department chair said. “This is particularly the case for graduates pursuing careers with companies that have traditionally structured engineering policies, such as consulting companies, or going into sustainability and environmental engineering.”

WSU’s College of Engineering has more than 1,500 graduate students.

Meaning, more engineering graduates can receive hands-on experience in places outside of Kansas and more opportunities for growth in the KC metro area engineering sectors.

Furthermore, Kansas City has among the world’s highest ratios of engineers per capita, so this has some resonance beyond Wichita. Kansas City is also a prime for architecture, engineering and construction services.

Kansas State University and the University of Kansas, as well as Missouri universities like the Missouri University of Science and Technology and the University of Missouri-Columbia, have well-regarded engineering programs and are close to the KC metro area.