Clemson University’s president caught the room’s awareness at the 12th once-a-year SC Automotive Summit with a unique announcement on Thursday.
President James Clements claimed the college will present a Bachelor of Science in Automotive Engineering method — the 1st undergraduate diploma of its kind in the country, he mentioned. The initial batch of students will start out the system this tumble.
“This is our reaction to what the mobility marketplace would like 20 yrs from now,” mentioned Srikanth Pilla, Clemson University Jenkins Endowed Professor of Automotive Engineering.
The Southeast area is a “hotbed” for engineers and car unique gear manufacturers.
A 2020 report from McKinsey & Firm highlights 10 “clusters” of engineering shaping the future of the field:
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- E-Hailing
- Semiconductors
- Autonomous car or truck sensors
- AI, computing and connectivity
- Electrical vehicles and charging
- Batteries
- AV software and mapping
- Telematics and clever visitors
- Back-stop/cybersecurity
- HMI and voice recognition










Clemson created its new system close to these 10 clusters, Pilla mentioned.
The automotive sector in South Carolina employs a lot more than 72,000 employees and accounts for a $27 billion annual economic impression, in accordance to the S.C. Department of Commerce. The state’s market has quadrupled about the previous 20 years, and this application faucets into a offer of domestic students prepared to affect the market, reported Pilla.
“We are trying to establish a workforce that can get to function on working day one particular of the task just after graduation,” he included.
Clemson responded to the demands of the vehicle industry by making a graduate-degree automotive engineering method in the mid-2000s. The university graduated the nation’s initial Ph.D. pupil in automotive engineering in 2009 and the nation’s initially feminine Ph.D. in automotive engineering in 2012. Lessons uncovered from the M.S. and Ph.D. programs will help in launching the country’s initially genuine B.S. in Automotive Engineering in, reported Pilla.
The program’s framework — a correct multidisciplinary techniques integration degree — will focus on how components of automotive, mechanical, electrical, elements science, computer science, human aspects and more function jointly. The applications and skillsets are precious across multiple sectors, not just the automotive industry, he claimed. The application will consist of 124 credit score hrs. Now, 95% of Clemson’s M.S. and Ph.D. graduates in automotive engineering are functioning in the marketplace.
So, upon graduation, pupils can undertaking into industries other than the auto sector if they opt for, based mostly on the arms-on techniques they will obtain from the completion of the method, Pilla stated.
The 1st two years of the software will consider spot 100% on Clemson’s principal campus, then college students will get a mix of ordeals and classes on equally the most important campus and CU-ICAR — the Clemson University Intercontinental Center for Automotive Analysis in Greenville. A one of a kind senior capstone will major off the program — seniors can function as section of the environment-renowned Deep Orange system, doing the job together with M.S. learners to develop a a person-of-a-variety motor vehicle prototype. The Deep Orange product or service growth course of action starts off with method and ideation of the prototype, then the concept format, systems integration, prototype construct, and closing testing. Students also will also have an opportunity to get the job done on exploration under college associates in point out-of-the-artwork lab room or research facilities at CU-ICAR.
Deep Orange was previously offered only to graduate learners, Clements explained. Now, it will be built-in into this undergraduate curriculum, which will even more elevate Clemson and CU-ICAR as a environment-course automotive engineering campus, he reported.
“This is a large phase in increasing the pipeline of expertise that the automotive industry wants, and we had been uniquely positioned as a result of our place, in the coronary heart of the Southeastern automotive engineering business, to meet up with the demands of the marketplace and for the upcoming,” Clements reported. “Once all over again, we are stepping up to fulfill our wonderful mission to give back again to the point out of South Carolina and build a route for financial prosperity for our communities.”
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