The Automation and Control Engineering Bachelor degree in Brazil

This paper discusses how, in Brazil, Control Engineering moved from a relatively small group of courses within Electrical Engineering curricula to an undergraduate degree in its own right. The paper describes the major issues taken into account during the conception of this new engineering degree at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The paper also presents the main characteristics of the new curriculum and discusses in what sense Control and Automation Engineers will be different from Electrical Engineers who have majored in Control Engineering. The degree is being offered since February 1998. Forty students were admitted for this degree, every academic year, in the first and second years. The degree is being highly demanded by the best prospective engineering students. Their grades in the Entrance Examination surely show their academic quality. For this very reason, University officials decided to double the number of places, since the year 2000. Copyright (C) 2000 IFAC.