Thirty-five years of optics education at Rose-Hulman: from optical sciences to optical engineering – 3 cycles of ABET accreditation

Abstract

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology has 35 years of graduating optical scientists and engineers. The change from the Applied Optics degree program to the Optical Engineering degree program occurred in 2003, which paved the way for ABET accreditation. The past and present program reinforces the idea that we are educating our students in optics applications to deal with real-world problems and practice the profession of optical engineers. The RHIT program has been at the forefront of developing project-based learning since its inception in 1983. Since the name changed, the optical engineering program (OE) has completed three cycles of ABET accreditation. We are continuously improving our OE curriculum to meet the current and future needs of the industry and cutting-edge research. To lead the ABET review, Rose-Hulman initiated the dialogue with SPIE to be the lead society for optical engineering in 2004. This paper will discuss several steps taken to develop a world-class OE program with state-of-the-art laboratory facilities for undergraduate optical engineering education.