| Engineer's Degree |
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An engineer's degree can be a Postgraduate Academic Degree which is intermediate in rank between a Master's Degree and a Doctorate (US engineer's degree), or it's a postgraduate or first degree, equivalent to a master's degree. (European engineer's degrees) THE ENGINEER'S DEGREE IN THE UNITED STATES In the United States , bachelor's (B.S.), master's (M.S. and M.S.E.) and doctorates are given in engineering fields. (Not all universities with Engineering and technical departments award them, however.) The requirements (for a masters) differ considerably, depending on which University awarded the degree, but they are usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate course of one or two years in duration longer than the normal master's degree. A Thesis of a quality higher than that acceptable for a master's degree is also generally required, although it usually does not have to be about original research, as would be required for a doctoral dissertation; there is often no thesis defense. Unlike other fields where the master's degree is a standard step for those who are on the way to a doctorate, for those who get an engineer's degree it is usually their final academic degree; it is usually used for higher qualification employment, and not as a prelude to doctoral studies. ''Note'': A degree with some form of "engineer" in the name is not necessarily an Engineer's degree. For instance, a "Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering" (B.S.E.E.) is ''not'' an Engineer's degree; similarly with the "Master's in Biomedical Engineering" (M.S.Bm.E.), which is also not an Engineer's degree. Abbreviations of Engineering Disciplines (Canada & US) The following list gives the most common ones that offer bachelor's, master's and doctorates:
ENGINEER'S DEGREES IN EUROPE In countries the higher technical education of which has been touched by German influence, universities specializing in technical studies award their students an Engineer's degree instead of a Master's Degree . In addition to Germany , these countries include states like Austria , Belarus , Belgium , Bulgaria , Czech Republic , Finland , Greece , Hungary , the Netherlands , Poland , Portugal , Romania , Russia , Serbia , Slovakia , Spain , Sweden , Switzerland and Ukraine . The degree of Engineer may be the first one received (after five years of study), or more often it follows a Bachelor's Degree (usually three years for Bachelor's plus two years for Engineer's). In local language, the degree is called ''inżynier'' ( Polish ), ''inžinier'' ( Slovak ) or ''inženýr'' ( Czech ), the abbreviation is ''Ing.'' and is written before the person's name. In German the degree is ''Diplomingenieur'' and in Finnish , ''diplomi-insinööri'', abbr. ''DI''. The word ''diplom'' refers to the thesis written at the end of the studies. (There is also the degree ''Diplom-Ingenieur (FH)'' (abbr. ''Dipl.-Ing (FH)'') in Germany, but this is a professional degree in engineering from a German '' Fachhochschule ''. It is in addition intermediate in rank between a Bachelor's Degree and a Master's Degree and therefore no engineer's degree in the meaning of this page). In Belgium the degree is ''Burgerlijk Ingenieur'' or ''Ingénieur Civil'' (abbrev. ''ir.''). In Portugal the degree is ''Engenheiro'' (abbrev. ''Eng.''), and in Spain is called ''Ingeniero'' (''Ing''). In Greece the degree is ''Διπλωματούχος Μηχανικός'' (diplomatouhos mihanikos) and the abbreviation is ''Διπλ.-Μηχ.''. In the Netherlands the degree is ''Ingenieur'' (abbrev. ''ir.''). Also, ''ing'' is used in the Netherlands, but this is a non-academic, professional degree, roughly equivalent to the German ''Dipl.-Ing (FH)''. In Sweden the degree is ''Civilingenjör'' (both regardless of the actual specialty). This retains the 19th century idea that the "actual" engineers were the military ones. In France the degree is ''Diplôme d'Ingénieur'', the title is ''Ingénieur diplômé'' (''ID'') but is never used before the holder's name. In Belarus , Russia and Ukraine the degree is ''специалист инженер'' (specialist inzener), a first degree after 5 years of study. A German-style engineer's degree is considered equivalent to a MSc. degree in U.S. or UK and in international context, the holders of the Engineer's degree are authorized to use MSc. However, there has been some debate over whether the Engineers should differentiate themselves from Masters of Science, this degree having become victim of inflation lately. It might be argued that, because the European high school curriculum covers the topics of the typical U.S. freshman year, the five-year-long Engineer's degree is actually complete equivalent of the U.S. degree. In the UK , undergraduate engineering students are usually awarded the Master Of Engineering (MEng) degree. This is ''not'' really an engineer's degree in the meaning of this page since it is specifically a Master's degree and follows a four year course of study. The concept of Engineer's degrees as used in the U.S. and the countries discussed above is absent from UK Higher Education . In . Engineering is taught in ''Ecoles d'Ingénieurs'' which are part of the French Grandes écoles famous system. Since the Bologna Process , the ''Diplôme d'Ingénieur'' is officially considered as at the European Masters level, though many argue that it is a bit more than a mere Masters since competetive exams allows only top students to enter the Grandes écoles system. It is often considered as something between MSc and MEng when compared to the U.S. system as it is a blend of strong theorical knowledge and professionnal experience. But as for the German system, considering that the final year of ''Lycée'' (French High School) overlaps the U.S. freshman year, the ''Diplôme d'Ingénieur'' could be held actually as a complete equivalent of the U.S. Engineer's Degree. Abolition of the Engineer's degree in Germany In Germany, the local engineer's degree (''Diplomingenieur'', a first degree after 5 years of study.) will be abolished by 2010, and will be replaced by postgraduate master's degrees (MSc and MEng). This disputed development is part of the German implementation of the Bologna Process . However, this decision is favourable for German ''Universities of Applied Sciences'' (''Fachhochschulen''), since the old ''Diplom-Ingenieur (FH)'' will be replaced by the same degrees. Therefore, in contrast to the former situation, a degree from a University of Applied Sciences will be equal in rank to the equivalent degree from a traditional German university. ENGINEERING QUALIFICATIONS IN NEW ZEALAND To be a Professional Engineer in New Zealand, one normally has to hold an Engineering university degree and other professional qualifications. A New Zealand Engineering degree is usually an undergraduate Bachelor of Engineering (BE) degree gained from an IPENZ accredited university such as the University Of Auckland or the University Of Canterbury . Once graduated the engineer has to meet particular standards of competence in their area of expertise in order to become registered as a Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng). It is necessary to be a CPEng to fulfil the requirements of New Zealand Government regulations for certain types of work. Under the Chartered Professional Engineers of New Zealand Act (2002), the Institution Of Professional Engineers Of New Zealand is the Registration Authority for assessing and then registering engineers who meet the relevant standards of competence. Some Engineers may also be a member or fellow of a Professional institution in New Zealand. (Represented as MIPENZ, FIPENZ, etc..) Some common examples of an engineer's postnomial letters could be:
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