Indiana University will offer degrees in intelligent systems engineering beginning in the 2016-17 academic year, following the approval of the university’s proposal by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. The new engineering program, the first on the IU Bloomington campus, will be housed within the School of Informatics and Computing and will offer bachelor’s and Ph.D. degrees, with a proposal for a master’s degree expected to be developed soon after the program’s launch. The program, approved by IU trustees in April, is an integral part of the Bicentennial Strategic Plan for Indiana University, which calls for the university to support a culture of building and making.
It was created in response to a need for additional trained engineers in southwest central Indiana to support major employers such as Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center, Cook Group and Cummins Inc. and to help attract new industry to the region. The university also expects the new program to open the door for increased collaboration with Purdue and other universities in the state that already offer engineering, which will benefit students and industry in Indiana. With the establishment of these degree programs, IU Bloomington joins its peers in the 62-member Association of American Universities.
