Within the past year, Washington State University has started new programs in software engineering, data analytics, and electrical engineering to meet the high demand for engineers and computer scientists in the state. Data analytics and software engineering degrees are offered at WSU Everett and at WSU Pullman, and a master’s degree in software engineering is available online. An electrical engineering degree program is also underway at Olympic College in Bremerton, and a construction engineering degree began on the WSU Pullman campus.

Two new buildings for programs in Everett and Bremerton have also opened for the growing programs.

Exterior of building at WSU Everett.
WSU Everett.

At WSU Everett, a new 95,000 square-foot building includes classrooms, laboratories, faculty offices, and services for students working toward degrees in science and engineering fields. In it, students will be able to take courses in new programs in high-demand fields, such as software engineering and data analytics, as well as electrical and mechanical engineering. The Boeing Company made a $250,000 gift to equip the building with state-of-the-art technology, and its new fabrication lab was named the Boeing Innovation Studio. The approximately $65 million project was completed in just under two years.

Group of people posing under a sign that reads Engineering Labs.
WSU at Olympic College in Bremerton.

In Bremerton, the former CenCom building has been renovated to house a new electrical engineering program and to provide additional space and resources for the mechanical engineering program. In 2015, the Washington State Legislature provided funding to expand WSU’s electrical engineering program to Bremerton in cooperation with Olympic College. In May 2018, the program will celebrate its first graduating class.

The programs continue the state’s efforts to educate more engineers and computer scientists to meet industry needs. The new degrees continue to promote significant enrollment growth, and offering them in Everett and Bremerton help remove barriers to education for place-bound and nontraditional students.