Engineering Physics
Established in 2016, this ABET accredited Bachelor of Science Degree is designed for students seeking innovative careers in high-tech areas where multiple engineering disciplines merge.
The Engineering Physics curriculum has two tracks from which a student can choose: mechanical engineering or electrical engineering. Graduates are prepared to enter diverse areas such as mechanical controls, digital and analog electronics, instrumentation, robotics and manufacturing process control.
The Engineering Physics (EP) program is the study of the combined disciplines of
physics, engineering and mathematics in order to develop an understanding of the
interrelationships of these three disciplines.
The educational objective is to address the
needs of students seeking innovative careers in high-tech areas where multiple
engineering disciplines merge (e.g. electro-mechanical industries), or nontraditional
engineering disciplines. The majority of graduates of
EP programs have entered industry in such diverse areas as mechanical controls, digital
and analog electronics, nuclear instrumentation, software development and
manufacturing process control.
Others have chosen to attend graduate school in either
engineering or physics programs.
Accreditation
Stephen F. Austin State University’s bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET,
https://www.abet.org.
Transferring to SFA
While many students attend SFA for a majority of their courses, some students take these courses at a community college or university before attending SFA:
- MATH 2412 - Pre-Calculus (or MATH 1314 - Algebra and MATH 1316 - Trig)
- MATH 2413/2415 - Calculus I & II (if available)
- ENGR 1201/2304 - Engineering (if available)
- PHYS 2425/2426 - Physics (if available)
- ENGL 1301/1302 - English
- HIST 1301/1302 - History
- GOVT 2305/2306 - Political Science
- SPCH 1315 - Communications
- ECON 2301 - Economics
- ARTS 1301 - Art Appreciation
- ENGL 2311 - Technical Writing
For alternative courses to those listed above, you can contact one of our faculty advisors.
Contacting Our Faculty Advisors
To learn more about our engineering programs, make an appointment with Dr. Dan Bruton:
Key Differences
The fundamental difference between Engineering Physics and other Engineering degrees is that the Engineering Physics major has more science in the degree. This can allow graduates to be able to solve more complex problems in their future career. Like engineering degrees at other universities, the Engineering Physics degree at SFA is ABET accredited. We find that graduates from the Engineering Physics program with a concentration in Mechanical Engineering have jobs that a Mechanical Engineer would have. Similarly, students who follow the Electrical Engineering concentration have careers that Electrical Engineers would have. ABET accreditation is a key part of obtaining a license as described below.
Additional Information
ABET accreditation assures that programs meet standards to produce graduates ready to enter critical technical fields that are leading the way in innovation and emerging technologies, and anticipating the welfare and safety needs of the public.
“Our Engineering Physics degree is designed for students seeking innovative careers in high-tech areas where multiple engineering disciplines merge.” said Dr. Dan Bruton, Director of Engineering at SFA. “The Engineering Physics curriculum has two tracks from which a student can choose: mechanical engineering or electrical engineering. Graduates are prepared to enter diverse areas such as mechanical controls, digital and analog electronics, instrumentation, robotics and manufacturing process control.”
Sought worldwide, ABET’s voluntary peer-review process is highly respected because it adds critical value to academic programs in the technical disciplines, where quality, precision, and safety are of the utmost importance.
Developed by technical professionals from ABET’s member societies, ABET criteria focus on what students experience and learn. ABET accreditation reviews look at program curricula, faculty, facilities, and institutional support and are conducted by teams of highly skilled professionals from industry, academia, and government, with expertise in the ABET disciplines.
ABET is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). It currently accredits over 3,800 programs at over 750 colleges and universities in 31 countries.
More information about ABET, its member societies, and the accreditation criteria used to evaluate programs can be found at www.abet.org.
Career Opportunities
The majority of graduates of Engineering Physics programs have entered industry. While the type of work is fairly broad, nearly all Engineering Physics graduates carry some form of engineering title (e.g. applications engineer, process engineer, electronics engineer, manufacturing engineer, etc.). Many graduates are involved in electronics design, mechanical design, or even software design while others work in manufacturing concerned with Quality Control and still others are in Research & Development.
Engineering Physics majors would tend to work on forefront ideas in technology and science, in either industry or academia. Areas might include energy (photovoltaics, battery technology, fuel cells, ...), transportation, quantum information science, semiconductors, materials development, biophysics, or medical physics.
A brief list of companies who have hired graduates of Engineering Physics programs includes: John Deere, Caterpillar, Cutler Hammer, Sundstrand, Cummins, IBM, Oshkosh Truck, ASI, Honeywell, Rockwell Collins, Pella, LASX, McCain Foods, Lockheed Martin, MPC, and NASA.
Engineering License
Graduates from our Engineering Physics program can become a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) in Texas after passing the licensing exams and completing the required years of experience. Graduates from an engineering program can be employed without an engineering license. However, there are benefits to obtaining a license after graduation. To be eligible for a professional engineering license, engineers must have achieved certain professional milestones. They must have earned an engineering education, performed certain levels of engineering work experience, and passed specific examinations. Although some of these milestones are quite specific, there are limitless combinations of education, experience, and examinations that the Board can consider acceptable for a license. The Texas Board of Professional Engineers (TBPE) has provided a
table,
basic information, and a
FAQ that outlines the requirements for a license. Note that criminal history record checks are
required by the TBPE for all new engineering license applications.
Engineering
