The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) traces its origins back to 1864, and became a separate engineering school in 1926. It offers programs to both undergraduate and graduate students. Undergraduates earn a Bachelor of Science degree, in which music courses can play a significant part.
Undergraduates in the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science receive the degree of Bachelor of Science. That degree is structured as two programs: the first-year-sophomore program; and the junior-senior program.
First-year/Sophomore Program
The first-year-sophomore program has three requirements: (1) professional-level courses; (2) technical courses; and (3) non-technical courses. This last, the Non-Technical-Course Requirement, calls for 27 semester credits, and includes a number of courses of the core curriculum of Columbia College. One such required component is:
Other courses that are popular with SEAS students include:
- UN2010: Rock. 3 pts.
- UN2016: Jazz. 3 pts.
- UN2205: Introduction to Digital Music. 3 pts.
- UN3320: Musics of East Asia and Southeast Asia. 3 pts.
- UN3321: Musics of India and West Asia. 3 pts.
Junior/Senior Program
In the junior-senior program, in addition to the courses required by the program, students must continue to satisfy certain distributive requirements, choosing elective courses that provide sufficient content in engineering sciences and engineering design. It has sometimes been possible, with the SEAS adviser's approval, and with the agreement of the Department of Music and the permission of the instructor, for a student to take, under this rubric, one or both the following graduate courses for technical credit:
- GR6601: Interactive Sound and Video. 3 pts.
- GR6602: Programming and Electronics. 3 pts.
- GR6610 & GR6611: Sound: Advanced Topics I & II. 3 pts/semester.
If taken for undergraduate credit, however, these two courses cannot be counted again for graduate study.