UCSD’s Jacobs School of Engineering reported a record total enrollment of 8,923 students for the Fall Quarter 2015, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
The 49-percent increase of undergraduate engineering majors over the past 10 years has prompted more faculty employment for the Jacobs School as well as growth of student engineering organizations.
Jacobs School of Engineering Dean Albert Pisano explained how the increased enrollment rates result in a disproportionate student-faculty ratio.
“Over the next five years, we would like to see a gradual decline in enrollment so that we can reduce the student-faculty ratio to 20-1,” Pisano told The San Diego Union-Tribune. “Right now, it is 31-1.”
Nineteen new faculty members were employed in 2014 and another 16 are scheduled to be hired this school year.
According to the Jacobs School, undergraduate enrollment dropped from 6,849 students in Fall Quarter 2014 to 6,677 students in Fall Quarter 2015. However, the number of master’s and doctoral students grew by 116 students.
Jacobs School representatives associated this annually consistent growth with an increased interest in solving problems using engineering skills.
“Many students want to use engineering and computer science majors as a way to help people, humanity and the world,” Jacobs School told the UCSD Guardian in a statement. “Engineering majors offer students the ability to gain problem-solving skills, teamwork experience and technical expertise that empower them to address some of the most crucial issues facing humanity.”
Specifically, computer science and engineering major enrollment increased most significantly at UCSD. Its ranking escalated from the sixth most popular major in 2004 to the third most popular in 2014 after biology and economics. The electrical and computer engineering major followed closely with an increase from seventh to fourth most popular.
UCSD’s official enrollment for the Fall Quarter 2015 also broke records at 33,735 students, of whom approximately 27 percent are engineering majors.
Triton Engineering Student Council President James Natanauan attributed the expansion to the recent growth in the recognition of UCSD’s engineering school.
“The Jacobs name is more prestigious now,” Natanauan told the Guardian. “We have participated in many engineering competitions that have increased our visibility to prospective students.”
In response to the expansion of engineering interests, TESC supports 25 member organizations including the Triton Rocket Club, which works to be the first university team to send a rocket into space and the new Triton 3-D Printing Club, which hosted its first annual Make-A-Thon competition this past May. Other organizations include the National Society of Black Engineers and Women in Computing.
Natanauan added that the community of engineering students created at UCSD focuses on achieving success as a group.
“UCSD’s engineering program is different than other universities’ [programs],” Natanauan said. “The Jacobs School is competitive, but when you look to your left and right, those are the people that are going to help you succeed, not the people you need to compete against.”
