Do arts classes targeted to engineering students minimize learning?
In higher education, the humanities have often been overshadowed by other academic faculties – an English degree, for example, may be seen as inferior to engineering, at least in terms of practical applicability. However, recent changes to engineering degree requirements emphasize the value the arts contribute to engineering degrees.
The Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board is responsible for accrediting undergraduate engineering programs at all Canadian post-secondary institutions. There are 272 accredited engineering programs at 43 institutions across Canada.
The Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board is currently adapting the guidelines for teaching so that undergraduate engineering students will have to develop according to a list of 12 specific “graduate attributes.” To meet the criteria, at the time of graduation engineering students are required to possess attributes that could be classified as soft skills, such as an understanding of “impact on society,” “life-long learning,” and “communication,” in addition to more quantifiable attributes such as “design,” “use of engineering tools,” “problem analysis,” and others. The aim is for students to be academically well rounded.
Sofie Lachapelle, Associate Professor and Graduate Coordinator in the Department of History at University of Guelph, teaches Science and Technology in a Global Context (HIST*1250) that is mandatory for engineers and an elective for everyone else. A large percentage of the class consists of engineering students.
“I think it’s a really good idea that engineering students in Canada are asked to reflect on the impact of technology on society, and familiarize themselves with the methodologies of the humanities and social sciences,” Lachapelle said.
Tamarra Lewis, a third-year Water Resources Engineering student, and Global Engineering representative in “Engineers without Borders,” sees the value in adopting a multidisciplinary mindset.
“In our degree, we are required to take 15 per cent arts courses and 85 per cent math and science. But at the end of the day, we are building and innovating all of our math and science knowledge for humans. So, shouldn’t we know more about humanity? I think so. I think it is so important to have the social and environmental background when we graduate so we are prepared to work within cities and communities,” Lewis said.
Including the humanities as an integral component of an engineering degree is important, but the ways in which engineering students engage with the arts may be worth re-assessing. In an article published in the Globe and Mail, “Who needs the humanities? Engineers,” Michael Ross, a recent graduate from the University of Alberta with a master’s in structural engineering, claims that engineering students are missing out on the benefits of the arts when they take courses geared specifically towards them, such as “English for Engineers.”
Course offerings are often limited, since they must operate according to exam and assignment frequencies to match with engineering courses. In addition, engineering students miss out on the opportunity to learn with students in other faculties. “Instead, engineering students should have no choice but to mingle with students from across campus in order to gain an appreciation both for the arts and those who study them,” Ross wrote.
“It is important we work with humanities students so we can share knowledge both ways. We have a lot to teach humanities students, and they have a lot to teach us,” Lewis said.