Momentum continues to build behind computer engineering at Cal Poly as the college’s newest department empowers its students while continuing to gain national attention.

Since becoming a department 18 months ago, the College of Engineering’s computer program has risen to the No. 1 program among public and private institutions in U.S. News & World Report’s Best College guidebook.

“We are clear leaders in the field of computer engineering and are setting an example for other colleges and universities in the areas of research, innovation, equity and inclusion,” said College of Engineering Dean Amy S. Fleischer. “Our new department allows us to provide even more support for both our students and faculty as they pursue excellence.”

Once under the umbrella of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Sofware Engineering departments, Computer Engineering now stands on its own, with over 450 students and 20 dedicated faculty members.

Computer Engineering Chair Lynne Slivovsky sat down recently to chat about exciting developments that include curriculum modifications, goals for learning and a big event in May to celebrate the department’s formation.

What makes computer engineering unique?

Our curriculum spans the stack from hardware to software, so our students learn different levels of abstraction, enabling them to make connections between the various components. In other departments, students focus more on either hardware or software, but our students take classes in both, giving them insight into circuits and electronics as well as coding. With an education in computer engineering, our graduates can take their skills into a range of careers, from working with medical devices and autonomous vehicles to pursuing jobs in ethical computer, architecture, embedded systems and networking.

Creating a new department is rare because universities are steeped in tradition and the process of change can be slow, but the benefits outweigh the challenges since we now have agency to better advocate on behalf of our students.

How has the change from a program to a department helped your students?

Our students have a sense that they have a place here. Not only has their identity been validated but the importance of their degree is acknowledged differently than when we were a program.

Because we are now a department, we can also take care of our students in a way we couldn’t before, aiding them with their labs, senior projects and making the transfer experience the best it can be.

To better support transfers, we have removed constraints to allow students to carry over more classes and now are planning to offer an orientation class that would be geared toward them.

And for the first time, we have been able to hire our own staff and students to run and support Computer Engineering, which has proven to be another opportunity to offer more personalized care. 

How has the curriculum evolved over the last year?

In starting a department, we gathered student input through surveys and small groups where we kept hearing about a disengagement with the circuits and electronics sequence that was taught through Electrical Engineering.

Students reported they were having challenges in seeing the link between circuits and computer engineering, so we decided to design a special sequence for CPE students.

In talking to students now, they say they love the circuits sequence, which is a statement you just didn’t hear.

We also have two new requirements – a computer security class that focuses on privacy and ethics, and a race and culture requirement that looks at equity, interconnectedness and gender. Both of those classes are more important than ever before.

In addition, we’ve also made room for more technical electives, so our students have the flexibility to explore a spectrum of courses.

Our curriculum really is innovative for CPE departments across the country; it centers students and gives them autonomy in their educational experience.

How are you supporting student learning as a department?

We are planning to start a tutoring center for CPE, which could be in collaboration with The Noyce School of Applied Computing, but it’s a priority for us regardless.

We also are aiming to expand our mentoring program this year. We hope to pair up more senior students with members of the incoming class while broadening our view of mentoring so we can offer peer support for all CPE alumni.

Mentoring is one of the ways that as a department we can be more attentive to both students and staff, caring for them and each other.

As we work toward conversion to a semester system, our goal is to offer formal concentrations for our students, which would allow them to study more deeply and show expertise in a specific area under a structure that brings validation and verification.

What are your goals for CPE’s physical spaces?

We are looking to refresh and redesign our labs and would love to partner with companies to make that happen.

We want to upgrade our networks lab with new security and networking devices for students, and we hope to create a new space for hardware design, where our more advanced students could work on prototyping, developing and testing.

One of our labs underwent a partial renovation four years ago, so we can take lessons we learned in that process and roll them into the improvement and creation of other labs.

We also are looking to hire a permanent lab technician for Computer Engineering.

How will you celebrate the milestone of becoming a department? 

We are in the planning stages of a two-day event – May 19 and 20 – to commemorate the formation of our department.

On Friday, May 19, our Industrial Advisory Board will meet, and we will host a reception for donors and industry supporters. On the afternoon of Saturday, May 20, alumni, current students, industry supporters, faculty and staff will gather for a family-oriented barbecue and picnic at a local park. Then, later that night, we will host a banquet at Hotel San Luis Obispo which people can buy tickets to attend.

Follow us and look for event updates in January at cpe.calpoly.edu, on Instagram @calpolycpe and on LinkedIn at Cal Poly Computer Engineering.

We look forward to celebrating with all those who have come alongside us on our journey.