Lyle School of Engineering
(2010 Undergraduate Catalog)
General Information
The Lyle School of Engineering traces its roots to 1925, when the Technical Club of Dallas, a professional organization of practicing engineers, petitioned SMU to fulfill the need for an engineering school in the Southwest. In response to the club's request, the Lyle School of Engineering began one of the first cooperative education programs in the United States, a program that continues today to put engineering students to work on real technical projects.
Included in the Lyle School of Engineering curricula are programs in civil engineering, computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, environmental engineering, mechanical engineering and management science. In 2000, the Lyle School of Engineering introduced Engineering and Beyond, a variety of programs designed to provide a generous mix of a traditional engineering curriculum and selected leadership coursework. This leadership coursework is designed to train engineering students for futures in management, entrepreneurship and beyond.
Corporate support for the Engineering School has generated a remarkable array of equipment and laboratories. Recent additions include the AT&T Mixed Signals Lab, the Texas Instruments Digital Signal Processing Lab, the Procter and Gamble Biomedical Research Lab, and the Nokia Wireless Communication Lab. Other laboratories include the Laser Micromachining Lab, the Nanoscale Electro-thermal Science Lab and the Enterprise Systems Design Laboratory. In addition, the Lyle School is the home of the Research Center for Advanced Manufacturing and the National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Lasers and Plasmas for Advanced Manufacturing. RCAM provides the intellectual foundation for industry to collaborate with faculty and students to resolve generic, long-range challenges, thereby producing the knowledge base for steady advances in technology and their speedy transition to the marketplace. CLAM addresses a number of research and development issues related to laser/plasma-aided manufacturing processes. The Dallas area's national prominence in high technology and research has been beneficial to the Lyle School of Engineering and its students.
All senior-year engineering students are encouraged to take the first part of the examination for professional engineering licensure in the state of Texas. This is known as the Fundamentals of Engineering Examination and is administered on campus once annually in early April. The Lyle School of Engineering provides a review course to prepare students for the exam. Application forms for the examination may be obtained from the Office of Undergraduate Studies.
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All programs of education and research in engineering are conducted through the Lyle School of Engineering. The school is organized into the following departments:
Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)*
Computer Science and Engineering (CSE)
Electrical Engineering (EE)
Engineering Management, Information and Systems (EMIS)
Mechanical Engineering (ME)
The Lyle School of Engineering offers curricula leading to the Bachelor’s degree in the following programs (the department responsible for each program is indicated in parentheses):
Civil Engineering (CEE)*
Computer Engineering (CSE)
Computer Science (CSE)
Electrical Engineering (EE)
Environmental Engineering (CEE)*
Management Science (EMIS)
Mechanical Engineering (ME)
* CEE courses will be listed as ENCE courses in Access.SMU until spring 2011.
Each curriculum is under the jurisdiction of the faculty of the department in which the program is offered.
The Lyle School of Engineering also offers graduate programs toward the degrees of Master of Science, Doctor of Engineering and Doctor of Philosophy.
The departments are the Lyle School of Engineering's basic operating and budgetary units. Each department is responsible for the development and operation of its laboratories at all levels of activity and for all purposes; for the content, teaching and scheduling of its academic courses; and for the conduct of research programs. The chief administrative officer of each department is the department chair, who reports directly to the dean.
Every effort has been made to include in this publication information that, at the time of preparation for printing, most accurately represents SMU within the context in which it was offered. The provisions of this publication are not, however, to be regarded as an irrevocable contract between the student and SMU. The University reserves the right to change or terminate, at any time and without prior notice, any provision or requirement, including but not limited to, policies, procedures, charges, academic programs and distance-education courses.
More information on the Lyle School of Engineering and its programs is available at
www.engr.smu.edu.
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This program is intended to allow students who enroll as full-time students to include a minimum of three terms of professional work experience during the course of their study. Students must have obtained junior-level class status prior to participating in work experience. Students cannot simultaneously enroll in a full-time load of coursework and participate in a full-time work experience. A "full-time" course of study is defined as 12 or more credit hours per term, and a "full-time" work experience is defined as a minimum of 37.5 hours worked per week. In order to maintain satisfactory academic achievement, students enrolled in a full-time course load shall not work more than a maximum of 20 hours a week. Students who are actively participating in a full-time work experience shall not enroll in more than nine credit hours per term. Zero hours of credit will be awarded for each term of internship. Participation in this program will not jeopardize the full-time status of international students.
Students who wish to participate in this program will need to:
- Receive an internship job offer relating to their major.
- Provide a job description to the Office of Undergraduate Professional Experience Programs.
- Complete the Undergraduate Engineering Internship Program Agreement form.
- Obtain the following approvals: faculty adviser, department chair, director of Undergraduate Professional Experience Programs, International Student Office (for all international students).
Once the necessary approvals are obtained, the student must register for the Undergraduate Internship Program course that is designated by the student's department (CEE 5050, CSE 5050, EE 5050, EMIS 5050, ME 5050).
Upon conclusion of the work assignment, the student must submit a report outlining the activities and duties of the internship within two weeks of the end of the term or at the end of the internship, whichever comes first. The student will submit a copy of the report to the faculty adviser, the International Office (if applicable) and the director of Undergraduate Professional Experience Programs of the Lyle School of Engineering. The director of Undergraduate Professional Experience Programs, in consultation with the student's adviser, will assess the report and recommend a grade of S (Satisfactory) or U (Unsatisfactory) to the associate dean for Academic Affairs within two weeks of receiving the report. The student's work experience will be validated and recognized on the permanent transcript.
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