Frequently Asked Questions
We absolutely intend to be. New engineering programs can apply for ABET accreditation only after the full program has completed one cycle – four years. We will apply for accreditation review in the fifth year and expect to pass! Graduated students would receive retroactive accredited degrees, so we expect everyone to have accredited degrees. One of our faculty members will become an on-site evaluator, and will be our inside link to the whole process. We have been following all ABET guidelines and criteria.
The San Francisco Bay Area is full of opportunities in engineering firms, design companies, governmental and non-governmental institutes, and environmental sustainability organizations. You will receive help to identify local internship opportunities during the summers.
Yes! The fall semester of your junior year is designed flexibly, allowing you to pursue a semester abroad. Check out our "Engineers Abroad" highlight on our department Instagram to hear about our students' experiences!
Maybe. The Engineering major has a lot of requirements in order to meet the ABET accreditation standards, but if you plan early and carefully with your advisor, you should have enough space in your semesters to pursue a minor.
If you have a passion, you will find a stage for it. USF has excellent performing arts, sports, and special interest clubs that you can take part in, including a campus-wide sustainability design competition that happens every fall. You can always start more!
We will have special feedback sessions in which the faculty will ask for your input on many important aspects of the curriculum, and department functions. You will be setting many things up for the benefit of your future classmates.
The Professional Engineer (PE) license requires some years of work experience and exams, which start with the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam. Industry professionals have looked over our curriculum and believe a student will be sufficiently prepared to take the FE at the end of our program.
Yes! The three concentration areas grew out of strengths in existing departments, and you will be sharing many upper division courses with those other students. Plus, you will take core courses and electives open to students across the whole campus.
We believe that truly ethical engineering design comes from an empathetic understanding of the contexts in which engineering problems arise. We will help you gain these skills by providing opportunities to work with community partners from the very first year – people and communities who will present real issues that they will partner with us in order to solve. A solution must truly work for the intended recipient, and social justice will be a measure of whether you have a successful solution or not.
USF Engineering already has an Environmental Engineering and Science Club (EESC), the Organization of Engineering Students (OES), the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), and the Bays Own Boba Association (BOBA). There are additional plans to start additional charters of national organizations such as the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).
More information can be found on our student resources page.