As of Aug. 17, 2020, we have become the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science. The name change from the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science reflects both the considerable growth we have seen since it was founded in 1983 as well as our forward-thinking view of what Watson College will be in the future.
Watson College has five departments offering bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Computer Science
- Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Systems Science and Industrial Engineering
There also is our Engineering Design Division and the transdisciplinary Materials Science and Engineering program (which includes SUNY Distinguished Professor and 2019 Nobel Laureate M. Stanley Whittingham, a pioneer in the creation of the lithium-ion battery).
From humble beginnings and expectations, today's Watson College has over 3,250 students with the goal of surpassing 4,000 students by 2025. Watson houses the largest number of graduate students on our campus. Our Computer Science Department is home to over 1,000 students, and Systems Science and Industrial Engineering has more than 180 doctoral students.
Students come to Watson College from all over the world and represent a wide range of backgrounds and interests. They graduate with broad-based skills and the entrepreneurial spirit to succeed in fields ranging from mechanical engineering to hospital operations to the law. Today, the college has more than 15,000 alumni who are employed at more than 3,000 employers across the globe, including at Fortune's Most Admired Companies, the top IT companies based on revenue and the Technology Review's most innovative companies.
Our faculty also has grown. Just in the past 20 years, Watson College has gone from 43 tenured/tenure-track professors to 97. In addition to educating our students, they conduct research vital to the future of science and technology. In the 2018-19 academic year, each tenured/tenure-track faculty member at Watson averaged $200,000 in research expenditures.
Our faculty are leaders in many research centers and groups at the university, and they are collaborating with colleagues across departments and across campus.
- Small Scale Systems Integration and Packaging Center (S3IP)
- Center for Advanced Microelectronics Manufacturing (CAMM)
- Center for Autonomous Solar Power (CASP)
- Center for Collective Dynamics of Complex Systems (CoCo)
- Center for Energy-Smart Electronic Systems (ES2)
- Integrated Electronics Engineering Center (IEEC)
- Watson Institute for Systems Excellence (WISE)
- Center for Information Assurance and Cybersecurity (CIAC)
- Center of Biomanufacturing for Regenerative Medicine (CBRM)
- Center for Healthcare Systems Engineering (CHSE)
- Center for Imaging, Acoustics and Perception Science (CIAPS)
Watson College faculty are also recognized for excellence in research and teaching by receiving SUNY Chancellor's Awards, being named SUNY Distinguished Professors and fellows in their professional societies (including IEEE, ASME, IISE and BMES), and getting inducted into the National Academy of Inventors.
We’ve laid a firm foundation for Watson College through outstanding education, exceptional research, teamwork and a sense of family. We are excited about the possibilities ahead, and we hope you will join us on our journey!
