Should all Professors be Required to be Registered Professional Engineers in Order to Teach the Principles of Civil Engineering?

Abstract

The issue of whether or not instructors in the field of engineering should be registered professional engineers has long been debated by both engineers and educators. Because registration represents years of effort, there are many reasons why engineering professors should be PEs in order to teach. Due to the basic differences between science and engineering curriculums, anyone who teaches engineering must be thoroughly grounded in the creative principles of design, which is stressed in the PE exam. Professors also act as links between the academic world and the real world, and therefore their background must be verified. Finally, professors express their commitment to the field by becoming licensed, which strengthens professionalism in engineering, and sets a standard that fulfills the ASCE Code of Ethics.