BY JENNIFER MULLEN

Ingenieur. Tekniska. Inzynier.

Students in the College of Engineering and Technology's master's of engineering degree program will need to brush up on their French, Swedish and Polish - as well as some other languages - for a unique new program that allows them to pursue their degree both on campus and at universities across Europe.

"This program provides our students the rare opportunity to study abroad and work toward their degree at the same time," said Dean William Swart, who explained that most overseas programs don't offer the technical courses needed for engineering degree requirements. "Engineers are increasingly required to possess a global perspective, and what better way to achieve that than through hands-on study around the globe?"

In the program, students complete one semester at Old Dominion and two semesters at partner schools in France, Switzerland, Sweden, Ireland, Finland, Germany, Netherlands and Poland. Likewise, international students may choose to spend a semester studying at Old Dominion.

All courses are taught in English, and tuition is free at the partner institutions. Consequently, Old Dominion students pay tuition for a semester here, but only transportation and living expenses while abroad - a clear advantage of the program, according to Swart.

The schools, all part of the International Network for Higher Education in Engineering, each specialize in a particular engineering discipline. At Old Dominion, for instance, students study project management, telecommunications or computer engineering. Specializations at the partner universities include product innovation, supply chain management, biomedical engineering and technical informatics in engineering.

Upon completion, students receive a master's of engineering with a concentration in global engineering from Old Dominion and may receive an additional degree from a partnering institution.

According to Swart, the unique program is the crowning piece to the college's global engineering program - a cluster of undergraduate courses that provide awareness and understanding of global technology, quality assurance standards, and differences in cultural, communication and business practices.

Currently, the college is pursuing approval for a minor in global engineering, which would streamline the time it would take to complete the new master's program. Coupled with the five-year bachelor's-to-master's degree program, the undergraduate minor would count as the master's semester at Old Dominion. Students would then only need to complete two semesters abroad to earn the master's degree.