Bachelor of Engineering

Bachelor of Engineering (commonly abbreviated as BE or BEng) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at an accredited vocational university in Australia, Canada, China, Egypt, Finland, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, Zimbabwe, the United States and the United Kingdom.Fact|date=March 2008Dubious|date=March 2008 It is a professional degree that involves a requirement for undertaking some engineering work. This is controlled by the national professional engineering society or institute that accredits the universities, usually regulated by law.Fact|date=March 2008

Some institutions award a Bachelor of Science (BSc) or Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) degree to undergraduate students of engineering study. In some cases, Bachelor of Engineering degrees are given to students who take engineering courses as a majority of their course load. However, many universities in Canada only award the Bachelor of Applied Science degree for their accredited undergraduate engineering programs (never the Bachelor of Engineering or Bachelor of Science degrees)Fact|date=March 2008.

A less common variety of the degree is "Baccalaureus in Arte Ingeniaria" (BAI), a Latin name meaning "Bachelor in the Art of Engineering"Fact|date=March 2008. It is awarded by the University of Dublin, Ireland and is more commonly referred to as "Bachelor of Engineering"Fact|date=March 2008.

A Bachelor of Engineering degree will usually be undertaken in one field of engineering, which is sometimes noted in the degree postnominals, as in "BE(Aero)" or "BEng(Elec)". Common fields for the Bachelor of Engineering degree include the following fields:Fact|date=March 2008:
* Space Engineering: These include Aeronautical, Aerospace, Astronautical engineering.
*Automotive engineering
* Biological/Chemical Engineering: Including Biochemical, Biomedical, Biosystems, Biomolecular, and Chemical engineering.
* Construction Engineering: This is a wide-ranging field including building engineering, civil engineering, construction engineering, industrial, manufacturing, mechanical, materials and control engineering,
* Computer and Electrical Engineering: Very diverse field including Computer Engineering, Communication/Communication systems engineering, Information Technology, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Microelectronic Engineering, Microelectronics, Nanotechnology, Mechatronics, Software Engineering, Systems, Wireless and Telecommunications, Photovoltaic and Power Engineering.
*Instrumentation engineering, which is a branch of engineering dealing with measurement.
* Envrionmental Engineering: Includes fields such as Environmental, Geological, Geomatic, Mining, Marine, and Ocean engineering.
* Naval Engineering: Includes Naval Archiecture and Ship construction.
* Nuclear Engineering: Includes nuclear and radiological engineering.

International variations

In Australia, the "Bachelor of Engineering" (BE) is a four-year undergraduate degree course and a professional qualification. It is also available as a six-year sandwich course (where students are required to undertake a period of professional placement as part of the degree) or an eight-year part-time course through some universities. The Institution of Engineers, Australia (Engineers Australia) accredits degree courses and graduates of accredited courses are eligible for membership of the Institution. Bachelor of Engineering graduates may commence work as a graduate professional engineer upon graduation, although some may elect to undertake further study such as a Master's or Doctoral degree. Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) status or the various State registration requirements are usually obtained in later years. Graduates with formal engineering qualifications in Australia are often referred to as Professional Engineers to distinguish them from other professions where the term "Engineer" is used loosely.

In Canada, a degree for studies in an accredited undergraduate engineering program is either named "Bachelor of Engineering" (B. Eng. or B.Ing. in French), or equivalently, "Bachelor of Applied Science". Graduation from an accredited program, which normally involves four years of study, is a required first step to becoming a Professional Engineer. Regulation and accreditation are accomplished through a self governing body named the Association of Professional Engineers, which is given the power to register and discipline engineers, as well as regulate the field of engineering in the individual provinces.

In Germany, the "Bachelor of Engineering" was introduced as part of implementation of the Bologna process. However, this degree is in fact only offered by German Fachhochschule-institutions. German technical universities award a Bachelor of Science in engineering rather than the BEng degree. A German BEng is somewhat unusual since it generally lasts for three and a half years.

The situation is similar in Finland as in Germany. Vocational universities (ammattikorkeakoulu) grant professional Bachelor's degrees ("insinööri (amk)"). The degree does not traditionally prepare for further study, but due to the Bologna process, a completely new degree of "ylempi insinööri (amk)" has been introduced for engineers who wish to continue studying after some work experience. Before 2005, academic universities (see Education in Finland) did not make an administrative distinction between studies on the Bachelor's and Master's level, and the Master's level diplomi-insinööri was the first degree to be received. Due to the Bologna process, an intermediate "Bachelor of Science in Engineering" ("tekniikan kandidaatti") has been introduced. However, even today, academic universities do not consider the AMK degree to be on par with the academic degree, and compensate only half of the credits (90 out of 180 ECTS).

In the Netherlands the "Bachelor of Engineering" was also introduced as part of implementation of the bologna process, the same as in Germany. The degree is only offered by Dutch Hogeschool-institutions and is equivalent to the Dutch engineer's degree "ingenieur" (ing.). A Dutch BEng involves a rigorous study of four years and is only awarded in the field of aeronautical engineering, mechanical engineering, software engineering, or electrical engineering. Completion of a Dutch engineer's study in the field biochemical engineering, biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, environmental engineering, material engineering is however awarded with a Bachelor of Applied Science degree. Dutch technical universities award a Bachelor of Science in engineering (BScEng) instead of the BEng degree.

In Pakistan, the Bachelor of Engineering is a degree awarded by many Universities.Bachelor of Engineering degree is awarded to a student who has completed four years course in engineering which consists of eight semeters. The entry to engineering is 2 years schooling. Students are required to appear in an entry test and final evaluation is made by calaculating their Intermediate Marks and entry test marks. Students having three years diploma of Associate Engineering can also appear for entry test. The rest of procedure is same. Some of universities require minimum of 20% and others require 30% marks in intermediate to validate admission.Due to recent growth in Telecommunication market of the country, students are more interested to become a Telecommunication Engineer. Pakistan Engineering Council awards certificates to those students who complete their engineering studies.

In India, the Bachelor of Engineering ( B.E ) is a degree awarded by many universities. Bachelor of Engineering degree is awarded to a student who has completed four years course ( eight semesters ) in engineering.The entry to B.E is 10+2 years of schooling or completion of Pre University course( PUC ). Diploma holders in engineering are also eligible for entry into B.E.Diploma holders of engineering enter degree course, by lateral entry which gives some concessions in study of subjects. The B.E degree is awarded by the university in field of engineering in which student has studied for four years.Some of the universities in India award BTech ie;Bachelor of Technology instead of B.E for same engineering course.

ee also

*Bachelor's degree
*Bachelor of Applied Science
*Engineer's degree
*Vocational university
*Master of Engineering ( M.E )