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Contact: Julie Navejar
kajam03@tamuk.edu or 361-593-2590

Architectural engineering degree, department reorganization approved

KINGSVILLE (August 3, 2005) — The new bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering at Texas A&M University-Kingsville has been given final approval and will be up and running in a few weeks.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board officially approved the new program and a change in departmental design within the Frank H. Dotterweich College of Engineering to accommodate the new program.

The current environmental and civil engineering department will split. Environmental will remain on its own, while civil will pair with architectural under Dr. Hector Estrada, associate professor. Effective Sept. 1, Estrada will be chair of the newly formed department and Dr. Kim Jones, associate professor, will remain as chair of environmental engineering.

“The approval of the bachelor of science degree in architectural engineering is another milestone for this university and the Frank H. Dotterweich College of Engineering in particular,” said Dr. Rumaldo Z. Juárez, A&M-Kingsville president.

Estrada said there would be at least 10 students enrolled in the new program when it begins in a few weeks. Students interested in the program before it received its final approval were placed in the civil engineering program, but now that approval has been received, they will be transferred out of civil and into architectural.

“We have another five students who were waiting for final approval before making a decision,” Estrada said. “Our goal for the first semester was 10 students so we achieved that goal basically by word of mouth.”

Now that the program has been approved, Estrada said, they could do promotion of the new degree and attract more students.

Estrada said he plans to hire one visiting professor for the fall semester and then add three new full-time faculty members over the next two to three years as the program progresses.

The new architectural engineering degree brings the total baccalaureate degree programs in engineering to seven, as it joins chemical, computer science, electrical, civil, mechanical and industrial technology.

The mission of the bachelor’s degree program in architectural engineering is to prepare students to assume the necessary design experience in the building industry to become registered engineers with a specialization in Building Architectural Engineering, and to instill in them the importance of lifelong learning, including pursuing advanced studies leading to graduate degrees.

The program will develop engineering graduates with a broad understanding of the problem-solving and design skills necessary to operate in the interdisciplinary arena of architectural engineering. It also will provide candidates with the knowledge and skills of mathematics, science and engineering necessary to pursue graduate studies.

In order to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering, students must complete 131 semester credit hours in general education, plus required prescribed elective and elective courses. Seventy-seven hours of required courses will include architectural engineering, general engineering, mathematics and science. Students will choose six hours for prescribed elective courses from structural engineering, construction engineering and project management or services engineering courses.

Students also will be encouraged to seek optional non-academic credit summer internships with architectural firms or corporations.

During their last semester, students may take the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam, which is the first step towards becoming a licensed professional engineer.

After earning a bachelor’s degree, graduates become professional engineers by completing the required work experience and state licensing examinations.

Currently, there is only one baccalaureate program in architectural engineering in Texas. It is offered at the University of Texas at Austin and is accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET.)

The estimated cost for the first five years of the new program is $951,600. Funding will be provided by formula funding years three through five of the program with additional funding provided by the Higher Education Assistance Fund, the Texas Engineering Experiment Station extramural funding and the reallocation of existing funds.

For more information on the new program, call 361-593-2266.

This page last updated 5 August, 2005