The integration of personal computers into the electrical engineering curriculum at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Since 1984, each freshman at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) College of Engineering is required to purchase a personal computer. The authors detail how personal computers have been integrated throughout the entire electrical engineering (EE) undergraduate curriculum at Virginia Tech. Besides detailing the computer packages used, they address the concerns, problems, and benefits which relate to computer integration in the EE program. Such issues include justification of PC utilization versus mainframe/workstation use, familiarization of faculty with available computer packages, and the progression of hardware and software through the seven-year program for students, faculty, and laboratories.<<ETX>>