effective 2012 -2013
SEAM Honors students have access to and are required to take special classes. For engineering majors, these eight classes may count as technical electives, satisfy UK Core requirements, or be extra hours added to the engineering curriculum. Freshman academic advisors or your SEAM advisor will be able to give you a long term plan and answer any questions. We find that engineering students with substantial hours of AP credit may complete the engineering degree program plus SEAM in four years; that is not the norm, however. Four and one-half years is the average and more realistic outcome, with or without SEAM.
Freshman Year
Fall - Technology: Blessing or Curse? -a course that uses the acclaimed PBS series, Connections, as a blueprint to explore the surprising twists and turns that technological innovation has taken through the centuries and its impact on the very fabric of society. (Fulfills UK Core Requirements for Social Sciences). Spring - The Business Enterprise, a course that introduces the functional areas of business, including topics such as: management, human resources, marketing, accounting and finance. (Additional to hours required for degree)
Sophomore Year
Fall - The Engineering Enterprise Capsim simulation course. Students are engaged in “hands-on” learning about the codependent nature of engineering and business functions and decision making. Student teams compete as they learn to operate a multi-million dollar business.
Students convince Wall Street analysts why their firm is a good investment
Teams make decisions about research and development, marketing, production, finance, quality, and ethics while working their way through eight years of business operations. Additionally, lectures will deal with topics that may arise as the simulation progresses. For example, each team must select one of several alternative strategies so early lectures may address the theoretical and real-world challenges of creating, selecting, and deploying a strategy. Later teams will struggle with new-product development decisions; selected lectures may address the challenges and uncertainty of product development. (Additional to hours required for degree). Spring - Entrepreneurship and Venture Creation is designed to offer students a sound theoretical and practical understanding of entrepreneurship and the new venture creation process. Throughout this course, real cases and real entrepreneurs (i.e. Entrepreneur-Mentors—EMs) are used to complement the theoretical discussions on entrepreneurship. (Counts as a required supportive elective)
Junior Year
Fall - Geography of the Global Economy. This course is not required of the business students in SEAM since they complete a specific economics course for their major. GEO 255 does not contain mathematical models; rather it reviews the globalization of the world economy as a historical process with specific local, regional, and national outcomes. Students are introduced to the factors and dynamics of ongoing globalization of the economy. (Fulfills UK Core requirements for Global Citizenship.) Spring – Introduction to Lean Systems addresses the fundamental concepts for production improvement utilizing lean principles and practices. This course consists of lectures, a process simulation laboratory, plant tours, design projects, and assigned problems drawn from industry. (Counts as a required technical elective)
Senior Year
Fall – Supply Chain Management The study of supply chain management involves the management of key business processes, the flow of goods and information, and relationships with fellow members of the supply chain. This course will introduce students to the terminology, concepts, and skills related to supply chain management. Students will develop an understanding of the complexities associated with the physical movement of goods and information, and how they affect the mission of the firm. Discussions will address the various processes and activities within an organization and how they interface with other members of the supply chain. (Additional to hours required for degree) Spring - SEAM Capstone Project: Problem Analysis and Solution Designed to provide students with an interdisciplinary experience in identifying, analyzing, and solving an actual business problem. Students are divided into small interdisciplinary teams comprised of engineering and business and economics students. Each team is paired with a Lexington-area business and with an individual from that business established as the contact person. The business representative will have identified an area, issue, or problem of concern that needs to be addressed. The student team will function as a consulting team that will examine and analyze the particular concern and develop recommendations to address it. (Counts as a required technical elective)