Introduction to Computing for Engineering
As a degree requirement, the Tufts School of Engineering has a computing requirement (and majors within the School of Engineering satisfy this with CS 11 and/or ES 2, depending on major). Students should check their major (or intended major(s)) and see if ES2: Introduction to Computing in Engineering is a degree option or requirement. If necessary, an exception may be granted to those students who can demonstrate proficiency in the ES2 course material (see Exemption Exam information).
For more details on particular majors for particular class years, please visit the Engineering Degrees webpage.
Course Information
The Tufts University Course Catalog description of ES2 is currently as follows: “An introduction to engineering problem-solving with the aid of computational software. Scientific computing concepts will be introduced including number representation, arrays, structured programming techniques, and good coding practices. Basic numerical and data analysis methods will be introduced including numerical differentiation and integration, matrix operations, descriptive statistics, curve fitting, and optimization. Examples drawn from a variety of engineering disciplines will give students extensive practice in coding solutions and applying them to data.”
The content of ES2 is designed to achieve three main goals: (1) Fluency in a computer language, (2) Understand tools for engineering computing, (3) Applying these tools to data analysis, and (4) Implementing sociotechnical analyses. The achieve these goals, the ES2 course strives to include all of the following key components:
Fluency in a computer language
- – Master basic coding concepts
- – Know common commands and data types
- – Use good code style
- – Plan both small and medium-scale projects
Understand tools for engineering computing
- – Quantify numerical error in solutions
- – Know how to use symbolic math tools
- – Understand matrix/vector calculations
- – Know how to leverage built in help resources
Apply these tools to data analysis
- – Fit curves/models to noisy data
- – Apply descriptive statistics to datasets
- – Work with a variety of data formats
- – Have exposure to modeling physical systems in code
Implementing sociotechnical analyses
- – Evaluate different impacts of computing-based technologies
- – Examine the social, economic, and political aspects of engineering
- – Recognize and reduce bias in data and algorithms
- – Identify inherent limitations of computing solutions
ES2 Sections for Spring 2024:
Section information will be released at end of October during pre-registration advising, once finalized in SIS.
Exemption Exam for ES2 Information
The Fall 2024 Exemption Exam for ES2 will happen virtually in October 2023 (on Wednesday October 9th, 2023). See link below for all information related to this exam.