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Report of the Faculty Board of Engineering on the Engineering and Electrical and Information Sciences Triposes

The FACULTY BOARD OF ENGINEERING beg leave to report to the University as follows:

1. The regulations for the Electrical and Information Sciences Tripos were introduced in 1995-96 (Part I) and 1996-97 (Part II), concurrently with the regulations for Parts IIA and IIB of the Engineering Tripos. The regulations for the two Triposes were incorporated within a single set of regulations, reflecting their similar structures (see the Faculty Board's Report in Reporter, 1993-94, p. 501). All papers have been available in both Triposes and the Tripos for which each student has been a candidate has, in effect, been determined by the choice of core papers. The great majority of candidates for both Triposes have previously taken Parts IA and IB of the Engineering Tripos, although a small number have transferred from other Triposes. Part IIA of the Engineering Tripos and Part I of the Electrical and Information Sciences Tripos are effectively the third year of each student's course of study and Parts IIB and II of the respective Triposes the fourth year.

2. The Faculty Board have been reviewing their teaching and examining arrangements for Parts IIA and IIB of the Engineering Triposes and Parts I and II of the Engineering and Information Sciences Triposes. They have, as part of that review, introduced in the third year, with effect from 1 October 2002, the same principle of modularity in course provision which had previously applied in the fourth year (see Reporter, 2002-03, p. 183). The Faculty Board have now agreed to include a further group of modules for Part IIA. In addition, they have revised and increased the groups of modules available in Part IIB.

3. The Faculty Board believe that the changes introduced have a number of advantages. They expect them to be attractive to prospective applicants (and students currently undertaking Parts IA and IB of the Engineering Tripos), in that a wider choice of courses will be available. They are intended to enable the Faculty Board to respond promptly to technical and professional developments in engineering. They will also extend the number of professional institutions by which graduates can be accredited, as well as facilitate compliance with the requirements of these professional accreditation institutions. The Faculty Board are satisfied that those changes have been made without any increase in teaching or examining load.

4. Under the arrangements now in place, candidates in their third year are required to take ten modules, grouped within 'engineering areas'. There are currently eight engineering areas: Mechanical Engineering; Energy and the Environment; Aerospace and Aerothermal Engineering; Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering; Electrical and Electronic Engineering; Information and Computer Engineering; Electrical and Information Sciences; and Instrumentation and Control. The modules are determined annually by the Faculty Board and announced, together with the form of examination and the areas in which they fall, in the Easter Term in the year prior to the examination. At that time the Faculty Board also announce any restrictions on the combination of modules which may be chosen. Courses will comprise either thirty-two (representing two modules) or sixteen lectures (representing one module).

5. One consequence of these arrangements is that the need for a separate Electrical and Information Sciences Tripos no longer exists. No students are candidates for Part I of this Tripos in 2002-03, which, if these proposals are accepted, will be the final year in which Part II of the Tripos is offered. Those students who might have been candidates for that Tripos will still have the same courses available to them but will also have a greater choice of other courses. Both the professional accreditation bodies and the students have welcomed the changes.

6. The Faculty Board have therefore revised the regulations for the two Triposes so that they refer to the Engineering Tripos only. The changes proposed do not affect the teaching or the examination arrangements for Parts IA and IB. A minor amendment has been made to the order of the regulations so that details of the class-list for each Part are included in the regulations for that Part.

7. Certain other regulations will require amendment if the proposals above are approved: the regulations for Affiliated Students; the regulations for entries and lists of candidates for examinations; the AT&T Cambridge Laboratories Prize in Communications Engineering; the Civil Engineers Baker Prizes; and the Charles Lamb Prize.

8. The Faculty Board accordingly recommend

I. That the Electrical and Information Sciences Tripos be rescinded, with effect from 1 October 2003, and that the regulations for the Engineering and Electrical and Information Sciences Triposes (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 293), as amended by Notice (Reporter, p. 183), be replaced by the regulations for the Engineering Tripos set out in the Annex to this Report, with effect from 1 October 2003.

II. That, with effect from the same date, the regulations for Affiliated Students (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 170) be amended by deleting the entry for Electrical and Information Sciences.

III. That, with effect from the same date, the regulations for entries and lists of candidates for examinations (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 209) be amended as follows:

Regulation 10.

By removing Electrical and Information Sciences Tripos, Part I, and Engineering Tripos, Part IIA, from the list.

Regulation 13.

By amending sub-paragraph (a) so as to read:

(a) Engineering Tripos, Part IIA and Part IIB

Not later than

Entries to be sent to Board of Examinations:

by College (names only) 31 October

by Secretary of Faculty Board (details) end of the third week of Lent Term

Corrections of entries to be sent to Board of

Examinations by Secretary of Faculty Board last day of Full Lent Term

Final lists of candidates and entry confirmation

forms to be issued 8 April

IV. That the regulations for the following Prizes and Fund be amended:

A. The AT&T Cambridge Laboratories Prize in Communications Engineering (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 724)

With effect from 1 October 2003

Regulation 2.

By amending the regulation so as to read

2. The Prize shall be awarded annually by the Examiners for Part IIB of the Engineering Tripos to a candidate who achieves distinction in any area of electrical or information engineering in that Tripos, unless the Awarders are of the opinion that there is no candidate of sufficient merit to receive the Prize.

B. The Civil Engineers Fund and the Civil Engineers Baker Prizes (Statutes and Ordinances, pp. 752-3)

With effect from 1 October 2002

Civil Engineers Fund

Regulation 1.

By deleting from sub-paragraph (c) the words 'and for Part I of the Electrical and Information Sciences Tripos'.

Civil Engineers Baker Prizes

Regulation 1.

By deleting the words 'and for Part I of the Electrical and Information Sciences Tripos, acting jointly,' and replacing the last three words by the words 'the examination'.

With effect from 1 October 2003

Regulation 2.

By deleting the words 'and for Part II of the Electrical and Information Sciences Tripos, acting jointly,' and replacing the last three words by the words 'the examination'.

C. The Charles Lamb Prize (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 801)

With effect from 1 October 2003

Regulations 3 and 4.

By amending the regulations so as to read:

3. The Awarders of the Prize shall be the Examiners for Part IIB of the Engineering Tripos.

4. The Prize shall be awarded annually to the candidate who shows the greatest proficiency in any area of electrical or information engineering in Part IIB of the Engineering Tripos, unless the Awarders are of the opinion that there is no candidate of sufficient merit to receive the Prize.

12 May 2003 B. F. G. JOHNSON (Chairman) S. HOCHGREB C. T. MORLEY
 C. Y. BARLOW I. M. HUTCHINGS G. T. PARKS
 R. C. CATALLO N. G. KINGSBURY S. PELLEGRINO
 H. A. CHASE J. E. LINDOP K. W. PLATTS
 R. CHATTERJEE P. W. T. MASH J. A. WILLIAMS
 A. J. FLEWITT W. I. MILNE S. J. YOUNG
 K. GLOVER  

ANNEX

ENGINEERING TRIPOS

General

1. The Engineering Tripos shall consist of four Parts, Part IA, Part IB, Part IIA, and Part IIB.

2. No student who has been a candidate for any Part of the Engineering Tripos shall again be a candidate for the same Part.

3. The Faculty Board of Engineering shall nominate such number of Examiners as they think sufficient for each Part of the Engineering Tripos. They may also nominate for appointment one or more Assessors to the Examiners in such subjects as they consider desirable; the Assessors so appointed shall set papers or parts of papers and shall advise the Examiners on the performance of candidates in their subjects. The Assessors, when summoned by the Chairman, shall attend meetings of the Examiners for the purpose of consultation and advice, but shall not be entitled to vote.

4. In each Part of the Engineering Tripos the questions proposed by each Examiner or Assessor shall be submitted to the whole body of Examiners for approval.

5. The Faculty Board shall have power to define or limit by supplementary regulations all or any of the subjects of examination, to determine the credit that shall be assigned to each subject, and to mark out the lines of study that are to be pursued by candidates. They shall also have power to modify or alter any such supplementary regulations as occasion may require, due care being taken that sufficient notice is given of any change.

Part Ia

6. The following may present themselves as candidates for honours in Part IA:

(a) a student who has kept one term, provided that three complete terms have not passed after his or her first term of residence;
(b) a student who has obtained honours in another Honours Examination in the year after so obtaining honours, provided that nine complete terms have not passed after the student's first term of residence.

7. The following papers shall be set in Part IA:

1. Mechanical engineering.

2. Structures and materials.

3. Electrical and information engineering.

4. Mathematical methods.

Every candidate shall offer all four papers. Each paper shall be of three hours' duration.

8. The Examiners shall take into account such course-work done by candidates as shall from time to time be determined by the Faculty Board. For this purpose the Head of the Department of Engineering shall present to the Examiners detailed reports on the performance of each candidate in this course-work. Details of the work required of candidates shall be published by the Faculty Board by Notice in the Department of Engineering not later than the beginning of the Full Michaelmas Term next preceding the examination.

9. The names of the candidates who obtain honours in Part IA shall be arranged in three classes, of which the second shall be divided into two divisions. The names in the first and third classes, and in each division of the second class, shall be arranged in alphabetical order.

Part Ib

10. The following may present themselves as candidates for honours in Part IB:

(a) a student who has not obtained honours in an Honours Examination, provided that he or she has kept four terms and that six complete terms have not passed after his or her first term of residence;
(b) a student who has obtained honours in Part IA of the Engineering Tripos or in any other Honours Examination, in the year after or next but one after so obtaining honours, provided that twelve complete terms have not passed after the student's first term of residence.

11. The following papers shall be set in Part IB:

1. Mechanics.

2. Structures.

3. Materials.

4. Thermofluid mechanics.

5. Electrical engineering.

6. Information engineering.

7. Mathematical methods.

8. Selected topics.

Each paper in Part IB shall be of two hours' duration, except Paper 8. The examination for Paper 8 shall consist of either a written paper of two and a half hours' duration, or a written paper of one and a half hours' duration and the submission of course-work in one foreign language. Every candidate shall offer all eight papers.

12. The Examiners shall take into account such course-work done by candidates as shall from time to time be determined by the Faculty Board. For this purpose the Head of the Department of Engineering shall present to the Examiners detailed reports on the performance of each candidate in this course-work. Details of the work required of candidates shall be published by the Faculty Board by Notice in the Department of Engineering not later than the beginning of the Full Michaelmas Term next preceding the examination.

13. In order to obtain honours in Part IB a candidate must satisfy the Examiners that he or she has such industrial or equivalent experience as shall be determined from time to time by the Faculty Board.

14. The names of the candidates who obtain honours in Part IB shall be arranged in three classes, of which the second shall be divided into two divisions. The names in the first and third classes, and in each division of the second class, shall be arranged in alphabetical order.

Part IIa

15. The following may present themselves as candidates for honours in Part IIA of the Engineering Tripos:

(a) a student who has obtained honours in Part IB of the Engineering Tripos, in the year after so obtaining honours;
(b) a student who has obtained honours in any Honours Examination other than Part IA or Part IB of the Engineering Tripos, in the year after so obtaining honours, provided that he or she has attained a satisfactory standard, as defined by the Faculty Board of Engineering, in his or her last Honours Examination; provided always that the student has kept seven terms and that twelve complete terms have not passed after his or her first term of residence.
16. The scheme of examination for Part IIA of the Engineering Tripos shall be as follows:

1. Group A: Energy, fluid mechanics, and turbomachinery.

2. Group B: Electrical engineering.

3. Group C: Mechanics, materials, and design.

4. Group D: Civil, structural, and environmental engineering.

5. Group E: Management and manufacturing.

6. Group F: Information engineering.

7. Group I: Imported modules from other courses.

8. Group M: Multidisciplinary modules.

9. Group S: Modules shared with Part IIB of the Engineering Tripos.

In each of Groups A, B, E, and F the Faculty Board shall prescribe modules whose total duration for written papers shall be nine hours. In each of Groups C and D the Faculty Board shall prescribe modules whose total duration for written papers shall be ten and a half hours. Not later than the end of the Easter Term each year the Faculty Board shall give notice of the modules prescribed for the examination to be held in the academical year next following, and shall specify the mode of examination for each module. In giving such notice the Faculty Board shall announce combinations of modules which satisfy the qualifying conditions for each engineering area specified by the Board and shall have power to announce restrictions on the combination of modules that a candidate may choose to offer.

17. Each module in Groups A, B, C, D, E, and F shall be examined either by a written paper of one and a half hours or by a written paper of three hours. Each module in Groups I, M, and S shall be examined either by a written paper of one and a half hours or by a written paper of one and a half hours, and course-work.

18. Each candidate shall offer modules whose total duration for written papers amounts to fifteen hours, chosen subject to any restrictions announced by the Faculty Board under Regulation 16.

19. The Examiners shall take into account such course-work done by candidates as shall from time to time be determined by the Faculty Board. For this purpose the Head of the Department of Engineering shall present to the Examiners detailed reports on the performance of each candidate in this course-work. Details of the work required of candidates shall be published by the Faculty Board by Notice in the Department of Engineering not later than the beginning of the Michaelmas Term next preceding the examination.

20. In order to obtain honours in Part IIA of the Engineering Tripos a candidate must satisfy the Examiners that he or she has such industrial or equivalent experience as shall be determined from time to time by the Faculty Board; a statement of each candidate's experience shall be certified by the Head of the Department of Engineering.

21. For each combination of subjects in Part IIA, announced by the Faculty Board under Regulation 16 as an engineering area, there shall be a separate class-list. The names of the candidates who obtain honours in each engineering area shall be arranged in three classes, the second of which shall be divided into two divisions. The names in the first and third classes and in each division of the second class shall be arranged in alphabetical order. For special excellence in Part IIA a mark of distinction may be awarded.

22. A candidate who, under arrangements approved by the Faculty Board of Engineering, has spent not less than three terms studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has been certified by the President of the Institute after consultation with the Chairman of Examiners for Part IIA of the Engineering Tripos to have studied diligently during that period, shall be deemed thereby to have obtained honours in Part IIA of the Engineering Tripos. A list containing the names of persons so qualified shall be certified by the Chairman of the Faculty Board of Engineering and published in the Reporter.

Part IIb

23. A student who has obtained honours in Part IIA of the Engineering Tripos or has been deemed to have obtained honours in Part IIA of the Engineering Tripos under Regulation 22 may, in the year after or next but one after so obtaining honours, be a candidate for honours in Part IIB of the Engineering Tripos, provided that he or she

(a) has attained a satisfactory standard, as defined by the Faculty Board, in previous Honours Examinations;
(b) has not proceeded to the B.A. Degree;

provided always that fifteen complete terms have not passed after the student's first term of residence.1

24. The scheme of examination for Part IIB of the Engineering Tripos shall be as follows:

Group A: Energy, fluid mechanics, and turbomachinery

Group B: Electrical engineering

Group C: Mechanics, materials, and design

Group D: Civil, structural, and environmental engineering

Group E: Management and manufacturing

Group F: Information engineering

Group I: Imported modules from other courses

Group M. Multidisciplinary modules

Group R. Research modules

In each group except Groups I, M, and R the Faculty Board shall prescribe not fewer than six and not more than twelve modules for examination; each module shall be examined either by a written paper of one and a half hours or by course-work or by a combination of the two. Not later than the end of the Easter Term each year the Faculty Board shall give notice of the modules prescribed for the examination to be held in the academical year next following, and shall specify the mode of examination for each module. In giving such notice the Faculty Board shall announce combinations of modules which satisfy the qualifying conditions for each engineering area specified by the Board and shall have power to announce restrictions on the combination of modules that a candidate may choose to offer. For modules to be examined by course-work, details of the work required of candidates shall be published by the Faculty Board by Notice in the Department of Engineering not later than the beginning of the Full Michaelmas Term next preceding the examination.

25. Each candidate

(a) shall submit to the Examiners a report of a project as prescribed in Regulation 26;

and

(b) except as provided in Regulation 27, shall offer eight modules, subject to any restrictions announced by the Faculty Board under Regulation 24.

1 See also the regulations for Affiliated Students.

26. Each candidate for Part IIB shall submit the proposed title of his or her project to the Head of the Department of Engineering not later than the fourth Wednesday of Full Michaelmas Term in the year of candidature, and shall obtain the approval of the Head of the Department for the title not later than the end of the third quarter of that term. A report of a project, which shall be of not more than 12,000 words in length and shall comprise not more than fifty pages including figures and appendices, shall be in typewritten form (unless previous permission has been obtained from the Faculty Board through a candidate's Tutor to present it in manuscript), and shall be submitted to the Examiners not later than the fifth Wednesday of Full Easter Term in the year of candidature. Each candidate will be required to sign a declaration that the project and the report on it are his or her own work, unaided except as may be specified in the declaration, and that the report does not contain material that has already been used to any substantial extent for a comparable purpose; if two or more candidates have undertaken a project in collaboration, they will each be required to indicate the extent of their contribution.

27. With the permission of the Faculty Board, a candidate for Part IIB may submit, in place of any one of the modules which he or she would otherwise be required to offer under Regulation 25(b) a dissertation on a subject approved by the Faculty Board which falls within the field of the module concerned.

28. A candidate who wishes to offer a dissertation under Regulation 27 shall submit a statement of the modules that he or she intends to offer under Regulation 25(b), together with details of the project to be undertaken under Regulation 25(a) and the title of the proposed dissertation, to the Secretary of the Faculty Board, in accordance with any instructions issued by the Faculty Board, not later than the fourth Wednesday of Full Michaelmas Term in the year of candidature. A candidate shall obtain the approval of his or her proposed scheme of examination, and of the title of the dissertation, by the Faculty Board not later than the end of the third quarter of the Michaelmas Term.

29. A dissertation offered under Regulation 27 shall contain full references to any sources used in its composition, and shall be of not less than 4,000 words and not more than 5,000 words in length, including footnotes and appendices. Candidates shall submit their dissertations to the Chairman of Examiners not later than the end of the first week of Full Easter Term in the year of candidature. Each dissertation shall be in typewritten form (unless previous permission has been obtained from the Faculty Board through a candidate's Tutor to present the dissertation in manuscript). Candidates will be required to declare that the dissertation is their own work and that it does not contain material already used to any substantial extent for a comparable purpose.

30. For each combination of subjects in Part IIB, announced by the Faculty Board under Regulation 24 as an engineering area, there shall be a separate class-list. The names of the candidates who obtain honours in each engineering area shall be arranged in alphabetical order in a single class, with distinctive marks attached to the names of those candidates who in the opinion of the Examiners deserve special credit, (d) for a distinguished performance, (m) for a meritorious performance.

SUPPLEMENTARY REGULATIONS

(The Supplementary Regulations are unchanged, see Statutes and Ordinances, p. 298, and Reporter, p. 184)


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Cambridge University Reporter, 11 June 2003
Copyright © 2003 The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge.