On this day in 1997, the College of Engineering at Boise State was born. The university first began offering engineering degrees the year prior in 1996 before the College of Technology was split into two separate colleges, giving birth to the first engineering program.
The program housed baccalaureate programs in construction management, instructional and performance technology, civil engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering. In just two short years, the civil, electrical, and mechanical programs became ABET-accredited and the first two engineering buildings were established behind gifts from Micron Technology, the Harry W. Morrison Foundation, and many other generous donors.
Since 2005, the College of Engineering’s enrollment of engineering, construction management, and computer science majors has increased nearly 60 percent, making it the largest in the state of Idaho.
Today, the College of Engineering is home to civil engineering, computer science, construction management, electrical and computer engineering, materials science and engineering, mechanical and biomedical engineering, and organizational performance and workplace learning, and cyber operations and resilience degree programs. The College of Engineering boasts over 450,000 square feet dedicated to classrooms, research labs, innovation studios, and collaboration spaces on and off-campus. In 2019, the Carnegie Foundation re-classified Boise State as a high research activity institution. In the last five years, research expenditures in the College of Engineering have more than doubled to over $14 million.
With even more program expansions in the near future, the college continues to provide undergraduate and graduate students with state-of-the-art facilities for an inclusive, innovative, and integral education with an unshakeable focus on learning.
Source: Boise State College of Engineering Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/boisestateengineering/