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Engineering Workforce Solutions
NEW DUAL DEGREE PROGRAM AIMS TO STRENGTHEN AND DIVERSIFY DELAWARE’S STEM LABOR MARKET
BY ARTIKA CASINI
The need has never been greater. Delaware’s key industries— manufacturing, refinery, chemistry, fintech, biopharma, agriculture, clean energy—all rely on workers with solid technical expertise. Thinkers who can analyze problems from various angles and reconstruct them into fresh solutions. Innovators who can push the boundaries of possibility and improve life for all.
In short: engineers, technicians, and computer scientists—and more of them.
To meet this critical need, Delaware State University (DSU) and the University of Delaware (UD) have launched a dual degree program to bridge the gap between academic training and industry demand. The program’s first students are expected to enroll fall 2025.
Funded with a seed investment from the state, the streamlined educational pathway allows college students to spend their first three years at DSU, earning a bachelor’s degree in scientific fields like chemistry or engineering physics, before transitioning to UD for a master’s or second bachelor’s in an ABET-accredited engineering program. What would otherwise take six to seven years of schooling can now be completed in five.
“Engineers think about efficiency,” says Levi Thompson, who helped launch the program in 2021 while serving as dean of UD’s College of Engineering. “What’s the most efficient way to build a talented, diverse, technically excellent workforce? I believe collaboration between organizations with complementary strengths is the best strategy.”
Indeed, the state’s universities have been doing just that.
“We are not strangers to each other,” says Amir Khan, professor and director of DSU’s engineering and physics department, noting several research partnerships between the two institutions. “Much of this dual degree was built organically.”
And strategically, with input from corporate and industry colleagues. Thompson previously launched similar partnerships between the University of Michigan and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in Atlanta, Georgia, and marveled at Delaware’s industry response.
“It’s not just words,” he says. “There’s a genuine commitment to support students with scholarships, internships, and meaningful opportunities.”
Among the dual degree’s many advocates is Shanté Hastings. As deputy secretary and chief engineer for the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), she wants to expose young scientists to wonders in the field, including the Transportation Management Center in Smyrna, otherwise known as the “NASA of Transportation,” where dozens of screens monitor traffic incidents. Or the research lab in Dover, where the department tests material like asphalt and concrete. Or inspections at any of the 1,800 bridges statewide.
“At the end of the day, we need problem solvers,” says Hastings, whose agency has struggled with a 20% vacancy rate for engineering positions. “Our state is small, and we have an opportunity to solve a real problem while improving diversity.”
That’s a big goal. Nationally, only 14% of engineers are women and only 13% come from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.
For DSU students and future Blue Hens like Lorenzo Perales and Jada Moore, the program represents an opportunity to build technical expertise while growing personally and professionally. Both participated in the Summer Engineering Research Experience, a 10-week program designed to connect DSU students with UD faculty and research.
Perales, who typically spends his summers working construction, instead conducted advanced research in machine learning. Moore studied how HIV medications spread in the lymph nodes. “I always felt welcome,” says Moore. “I felt safe to try anything,” adds Perales. Both hope to enroll in the dual degree option next fall.
While the second degrees are currently limited to materials science engineering and electrical and computer engineering, DSU and UD hope to expand to additional disciplines in the coming years. The program also aims to serve as a model for collaboration with more HBCUs.
As Thompson puts it, “We’ve only scratched the surface.”
Artika Casini is managing editor of the University of Delaware Magazine To learn more about corporate engagement opportunities, contact Heather Barron at hbarron@udel.edu.
