二十一世纪的汽车工业正在迅速发展，其重点是轻质结构，替代能源，高效动力总成，智能控制系统，低排放，稳健的设计和制造以及改善的舒适性和安全性。为了应对汽车行业的挑战，要求工程师提高其在传统工程课程范围之外的各种主题中的技术知识和技能。当今的汽车工程师有望在不同知识领域之间建立联系，并以有利于汽车工业，社会和环境的方式将它们整合在一起。汽车工程师必须在自己的专业领域扎根。他们还必须对相关学科有充分的了解，具有综合，分析和设计的技能，在团队环境中有效工作，并采用“系统”方法。
The automotive industry of the twenty-first century is advancing at a rapid pace with great emphasis on lightweight structures, alternative energy sources, high efficiency powertrains, intelligent control systems, lower emissions, robust design and manufacturing, as well as improved comfort and safety. To meet the challenges of the automotive industry, engineers are required to improve their technical knowledge and skills in a variety of topics that are beyond the realm of traditional engineering curricula. Today's automotive engineers are expected to make connections among different areas of knowledge and integrate them in ways that benefit the automotive industry, society and the environment. Automotive engineers must be well grounded in their own areas of specialty. They must also have a good understanding of the related disciplines, be skilled in synthesis, analysis and design, work effectively in a team environment, and adopt a 'systems' approach. In response to these needs, the College of Engineering and Computer Science offers a 30-credit-hour interdisciplinary graduate degree program leading to a master's degree in Automotive Systems Engineering. Many courses in this program are specifically designed to address the new and emerging technology in the automotive industry. Students in this program will not only learn about advanced technologies, but also how to apply them in practice for creative design and problem solving.