The FAMU-FSU College of Engineering is the joint college of engineering of Florida A&M University and Florida State University. The College of Engineering was established as a joint program serving two universities in Tallahassee, Florida: The Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, which received recognition from the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in 2010 for ranking number one as the institution of origin for African Americans earning Doctorates in Natural Science and Engineering; and, Florida State University which has gained worldwide recognition for its extensive graduate and research programs. The college is located less than three miles from either university.
As of 2014, the school enrolls about 2,584 undergraduates and graduate students, including Master of Science, Master of Engineering, and Ph.D.-seeking students. 2,268 of these students attend FSU[1] and 316 attend FAMU.[2]The college operates from a 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m2) complex of buildings next to Innovation Park in Tallahassee.
All programs are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the ABET and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
An engineering school previously existed at Florida State University until the early 1970s, when a downturn in engineering jobs nationally, felt especially in Florida with the downscaling of Project Apollo and the rest of NASA's crewed space program in Central Florida,[3] led to a decision to disestablish the school and relinquish undergraduate and postgraduate engineering education in state universities to the University of Florida, the University of South Florida, and Florida Technological University (later renamed the University of Central Florida) while still maintaining programs in mathematics, chemistry and physics at FSU.
The 122,159 sq. ft. Phase I Building was completed and occupied in 1988. That year, enrollment at the college exceeded 1000. In 1993, the first PhD degree was awarded and enrollment officially passed 2,000. In 1998, the 98,004 sq. ft. Phase II Building was completed and occupied.[4]
The College of Engineering has over $125 million of sponsored research under single and multi-year contracts. The college has annual research expenditures of more than $14 million.[5] The research productivity at the College of Engineering provides opportunities for more than 300 graduate students to conduct their research.
In 2007, Florida State University announced the construction of a Materials Research Building near the College of Engineering.[6]
The College of Engineering also operates a Challenger Learning Center in downtown Tallahassee, with a planetarium and IMAX theater. This project was cosponsored by NASA.[7]
U.S. News & World Report (2015 edition)