EDGE

Program Overview

Education at a Distance for Growth and Excellence (UW/EDGE) serves as the distance learning program for the University of Washington's College of Engineering. EDGE is fully accredited as part of the University of Washington's accreditation by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Our primary mission is to meet the lifelong learning needs of practicing engineers by providing access to select on-campus courses. Through EDGE, individuals can earn a master's degree or simply take courses that meet their interests.
EDGE tapes on-campus graduate-level engineering courses and puts them on videotape, cd-rom, and the web. In one of these three methods, you can take an EDGE class from any location at anytime. You can take exams with a proctor from your location and submit your homework by fax or email attachment. The course syllabus, discussion board, homework assignments and class notes are all posted on each course web site, so access to information is simple. You can alternate between EDGE and on-campus classes, as well as go on leave if you need to take off a quarter. Graduate students have six years to complete their program.

EDGE delivers 50-60 courses per year, including representation from nearly every department in the College of Engineering. Most degree-seeking students complete one or two courses per quarter and graduate within four years with one of the following degrees:

In addition to the courses offered through the degree programs, courses from the following departments are available through EDGE:

EDGE Course Descriptions

Students participate in courses through several modes. Courses typically include the following elements:

Course Web Site - This is the starting point for the course, providing access to all course materials and interactive components.

Video - Students have the choice of participating live while class takes place on campus or through several on-demand options. A complete list of options includes:

Class Interaction - Each course includes a threaded discussion board, where students can post questions about the material and receive responses from the professor, the teaching assistant or other students. Many faculty use this tool to pose questions of their own and create discussion about the course content. In addition, students viewing any of the live video options may call into the classroom to participate in real-time.

Course Access - See www.engr.washington.edu/edge/access.html for additional information on ways to access courses through EDGE.

Other Projects/Classes

In addition to the courses and programs it offers directly, EDGE works closely with collaborators to design and deliver other engineering-related distance learning activities. The following are some examples:

Certificate Programs and Courses are offered onsite at Boeing, Everett.

For more Iinformation go to: www.engr.washington.edu/epp/cmc

Construction Engineering - The Departments of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Construction Management are collaborating to offer a new master's degree in Construction Engineering. This 45-credit degree will combine engineering and management topics and apply them to the heavy construction industry. The development of these courses is supported by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. For more information, see http://www.constructionengineering.washington.edu.

TRANSPEED - This program, which focuses on continuing education in Transportation Engineering, seeks to increase its use of web technologies for its courses. EDGE is assisting in the creation of these online resources.

Refresher Course in Mathematics, Probability and Statistics - The EDGE program will be offering a distance learning course that is very useful to incoming engineering graduate students seeking a master's degree. The course reviews and refreshes student knowledge in the areas of mathematics, probability and statistics.

The course is not graded, but may be taken for Continuing Education Units, (CEU's.) There is no text. Instead there will be a printed CoursePak and access to the web site with links to the Video Mini-Lectures. Students in the course will have access to additional help with a Teaching Assistant.

The course has been developed and will be presented by Dr. Kailash (Kal) C. Kapur, a professor of Industrial Engineering at the University of Washington. Dr. Kapur is responsible for teaching and research in the areas of quality engineering, design reliability, industrial experimental design, system optimization and control, and productivity improvement. For more information, click here.

For more information on how EDGE can assist you, please contact us at edgeuw@u.washington.edu or 206/685-2242.