Degree Programs Encourage Study and Research into Treatments for Neurological Disorders

Achievement date: 
2021
Outcome/accomplishment: 

Partner universities have launched several new undergraduate and graduate degree programs with assistance from the Center for Neurotechnology (CNT), an NSF-funded Engineering Research Center (ERC) based at the University of Washington (UW).

Impact/benefits: 

As the demand for STEM-related skills continues to soar, CNT has worked to expand the research opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students. These new degree programs encourage students to focus on the devices and treatments that will improve sensory and motor function for people with spinal cord injury, stroke, and other neurological disorders.

Explanation/Background: 

With CNT assistance, the Neural Computation and Engineering undergraduate minor was established at UW and students have been enrolling in the minor since January 2018. Graduate students at the UW have received a Graduate Certificate in Neural Computation and Engineering since 2015.

More recently, in 2019, CNT helped the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UW establish an undergraduate concentration in Neural Engineering that provides undergraduates the opportunity to specialize in neural engineering. At San Diego State University, a CNT partner institution, a concentration in Bioengineering was added to the Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering program and the MS Bioengineering program was expanded with a new specialization in Neural Engineering.