Sacred Heart Offers New 2+2 Computer Engineering Program

Sacred Heart University now has an agreement with all 12 Connecticut community colleges that enables the colleges’ engineering science graduates to transfer their course credits to SHU’s computer engineering program. It’s a 2+2 program: two years of study at a community college, followed by two years at SHU, earns them their bachelor degrees.

Entering SHU as juniors, these students will not lose a single one of their hard-earned credits on their way to their bachelor’s degree in computer engineering. With these degrees, graduates can work in computer engineering, software development and various other related professions.

Computer hardware engineers earn a median salary of $114,600 per year, and software developers earn $105,590 per year, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The demand for computer engineering majors remains high, but tangible skills are a must.

“Employers are ultimately looking for skills. What makes our computer engineering program unique is that we immerse students in diverse projects. From the very beginning of their first year here, they’re doing a lot of hands-on projects. It’s also student-centered. Our engineering lab fosters innovation and entrepreneurship. Our students are truly at the center of the operations,” said Tolga Kaya, director of SHU’s computer engineering program.

The program takes a transdisciplinary approach, in that students study computer engineering from multiple perspectives, including business and ethics. “Students have plenty of transdisciplinary interactions within and outside the campus community through curricular and extra-curricular activities,” Kaya said.

Also of interest to prospective students is the use of drones as the teaching platform, so students learn while playing—an uncommon feature among computer engineering programs.

This 2+2 program caps a broader initiative between SHU and Connecticut’s community colleges that enables graduates of the colleges’ two-year engineering programs to transfer their credits to any of SHU’s engineering and business programs.

Martha Crawford, dean of SHU’s Jack Welch College of Business and Technology, said she is pleased the University was able to “construct a clear ‘on-ramp’ for graduates of two-year engineering programs at any of Connecticut’s community colleges to our engineering and business programs, without losing any time or credits. For example, a community college graduate in engineering technology could come here and graduate two years later with a degree in marketing or management and go into a career in tech sales—or finish a four-year degree in engineering. We are committed to helping students make the most of their education and align with their career paths.”

For more information, visit the computer engineering program website.