The University of Virginia takes pride in its continued development of modern engineering education and research. For more than a century the University has offered regular study in engineering, coinciding with the industrial development of the South and paralleling the rise of the engineering profession itself. Of course, the roots of the profession can be traced to the earliest recorded time, but its major development as a learned profession has occurred since the founding of the University. This growth was anticipated in the founding of the University. As early as 1825 the Rector and Visitors formally indicated that instruction in military and civil architecture would be a part of the education program of the University.
Today there are a total of nine undergraduate and thirty-five masters and doctoral degree programs.
The undergraduate curricula are intended to prepare the students either to enter directly into the professional work force as engineers or applied scientists upon receipt of the Bachelor of Science, or to continue studies at the graduate level. This objective is accomplished by providing each student with a strong foundation in the principles of science and mathematics, the humanities, and the methods of engineering analysis, design, and synthesis. Each of the various curricula include required and elective courses in applied mathematics, computer science, humanities, engineering science, and engineering technology in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, in addition to required and elective courses in the physical sciences and humanities taught in the College of Arts and Sciences. In general, the first two years of each program are devoted to a core of fundamental courses common to all fields of engineering and applied science, and the last two years are devoted to departmental courses, e.g., electrical engineering courses or civil engineering courses. Roughly one fifth of the courses in any program are required or elective courses in the humanities.