Students in the Department of Electrical, Computer, Software, and Systems Engineering (ECSSE) work on — and even develop — the technologies that make air and space flight possible. From navigation and control systems to the electroluminescent dimming of the windows in a 787 airliner, these technologies involve embedded computers like those found in mobile phone and flight control systems.

There is always something new being developed in this area, and students get to work with the latest systems in electronics and the digital world.

The ECSSE Department has four undergraduate programs: Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and Software Engineering. Each of these programs involves a high degree of systems thinking: understanding how the individual parts of a complex system fit together to make a working whole. Students don’t just work just within their own discipline, they interact with other disciplines, too, just like real-world engineers.

Each degree program includes plenty of hands-on experience. Starting from the first day, students work individually and in teams on engineering projects like electrical controllers or computer programs. All four programs share a common multidisciplinary capstone design course, in which students from all the fields work together in teams on an industry-level project.

This prepares students for real-life work experiences, so Embry-Riddle’s ECSSE engineering students are in high demand. Because they leave the program not only with a degree, but also ready to go to work as engineers, it is common for students to have job offers lined up before graduation.