PROGRAM
B.Eng. in AiCE Degree Requirements
Overview
AiCE students must satisfy multiple requirements before the Bachelor of Engineering degree is certified. The AiCE undergraduate curriculum requires at least 360 credit units. This includes 66 units of arts, humanities, social science and communication electives, 90 units of math/science, 132 units of core technical fundamentals, and 54 units of undergraduate research and development.
The maximum number of credits a student can earn is 400.
All requirements are expressed via the AiCE competency scheme. Some competencies are required, meaning that every AiCE student must demonstrate this competency in order to graduate. Others are optional. In some cases, optional competencies form a set from which the student is required to select a subset to complete.
Because of the individualized nature of theAiCE program, the pattern of study for each student will be different. Furthermore, students who receive credit upon entry to the program for advanced placement or other prior experience will experience a different learning path than students without these pre-existing skills.
The section below entitled Core Competencies presents the full set of currently defined competencies and the amount of credit associated with each one, with an indication of whether the competency is required in order to graduate. We expect that these lists will change some what as the AiCE program becomes more established.
Undergraduate Research and Development
The AiCE program is designed to provide students with opportunities to solve real world problems in collaboration with external stakeholders from industry, government and/or non-governmental organizations, both domestically and overseas. Starting in their first semester, students will devote at least 7-9 hours per week working on projects in three tracks:
- Entrepreneurship and Innovation;
- AI for Society; and
- Experiential Learning Program (XP)
We call this project work “Undergraduate R&D”, though depending on the project, the work may tend more toward research or more toward development. The students are expected to participate for at least two semesters (18 credits) in each track. AiCE students must complete all three tracks to satisfy their graduation requirement. Expected output from the completion of each of these project tracks is comparable to completing a capstone design project. Hence AiCE graduates will have significantly more real-world research and development experience than students who earn bachelor’s degrees from most other computer engineering programs.
The projects will be designed by the organizational stakeholders in collaboration with CMKL University faculty; however, students will be encouraged to provide input and suggestions. If they have some original ideas they would like to pursue, students can also propose their own project topics to potential stakeholder organizations.
Once the scope and high-level problem for a project has been defined, the CMKL faculty will map the project to a set of associated competencies, based on the knowledge and skills that the project requires. These competencies may be either required or optional competencies. Thus, project work may overlap with more traditional study activities in satisfying the graduation requirements.
Credit for undergraduate R&D work will depend on the underlying competencies. Even if a project specifies a competency that the student has already demonstrated via more traditional study activities, the student can receive additional credit for this competency. This recognizes the fact that the level of mastery required by a real-world project will usually be higher than necessary to pass the initial competency assessment.
Each research project will be mapped to a set of associated competencies (typically three or four), based on the knowledge and skills the project requires. For first year projects, these will be required, core competencies such as Introduction to Programming, Supervised and Unsupervised Learning, etc.
Advisors will assess students on their overall performance in the project, considering effort, productivity, time management, teamwork, communication, and similar professional skills. In addition, project team members will receive scores for each of the associated competencies. This score will reflect the students’ ability to successfully integrate the knowledge and skills from the competency into the project work and will be independent of the project-level assessment.
Experiential Learning Program (XP)
The Experiential Learning Program (XP) is a core feature of the AiCE program. It is designed to foster students’ personal and professional growth through learning activities conducted outside the classroom. By engaging with stakeholders outside the university and applying their knowledge and creativity to real-world research and application problems, students have the opportunity to develop advanced skills while enhancing their credentials for future employment.
XP is open to AiCE students who have successfully completed their sophomore year and have earned a minimum of 180 competency credits.
The program encompasses the period from the summer of sophomore year through the spring of senior year. Upon successful completion, students can earn 9-18 XP credits for each fall or spring semester and 9 of XP credits for each summer. Every AiCE student must earn at least 18 XP credits in order to graduate.
Students involved in XP will engage in various activities as described below. A student can do all activities, during different semesters.
- International Study/Research: Students have the opportunity to study or work on research at overseas educational or research institutions. These experiences provide hands-on learning, cultural immersion, and global networking opportunities. To be eligible for an international placement, students must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA. Non-native English speakers may need to meet language proficiency requirements specified by host universities. Students are responsible for covering expenses such as accommodation, meals, travel, and incidentals.
- Industrial Internship Program: Our robust industrial internship program offers students a unique opportunity to gain invaluable real-world experience and forge crucial industry connections. Engaging in intensive internships with our esteemed industrial partners including top tech corporations, students acquire practical insights and hands-on skills essential for their professional development. During their participation in this program, students are expected to cover expenses such as accommodation, meals, travel, and incidentals.
- Collaborative AI Tech R&D: The Collaborative AI Tech R&D program allows undergraduate students to engage in cutting-edge research on artificial intelligence-related topics. Through partnerships with the AI Engineering Institute and international collaborators, students gain practical skills and research experience. Opportunities may include co-authoring publications or patents.
All of these activities are expected to complement formal coursework and to provide students with valuable experiences to enhance their academic and professional development.
AiCE Competencies
The AiCE competencies are organized according to knowledge pillars. Each pillar represents a broad set of topics and concerns. There are six core pillars in the program: Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Human-Centered Design, Cybersecurity, Scalable Systems and Entrepreneurship and Innovation. In many cases these major categories are divided into subcategories called knowledge subdomains.
In addition to these central pillars, we also incorporate science, mathematics, humanities, and other competencies, which would normally be viewed as external electives or general education, into our scheme. Additional competencies may be available through AIEI university network and student can request for competency credit transfer through AIEI system.
The tables below list the currently defined competencies for each pillar. We expect to define additional competencies in the future.
Pillar: Software Engineering
Total credits: 102; Required credits: 20
Subdomain
Code
Competency
Credits
Required?
Programming Fundamentals
SEN-101
Algorithmic Thinking & Problem Solving
2
Yes
SEN-102
Introduction to Programming
6
Yes
SEN-103
Programming Multi-module Applications
4
No
SEN-107
Fundamental Data Structures and Algorithms
6
Yes
SEN-109
Modern Systems Programming
2
Yes
SEN-208
Advanced Data Structures and Algoritms
6
Yes
SEN-209
Designing and Implementing Data Bases
6
No
Programming Paradigms
SEN-304
Object Oriented Design and Programming
6
No
SEN-305
Functional Programming
4
No
SEN-306
Dataflow Programming
4
No
SEN-307
Domain-specific programming languages
2
No
Software Development and Maintenance (SDM)
SEN-201
Software Engineering Processes
6
No
SEN-202
Software Quality Assurance
4
No
SEN-203
Software Design
4
No
SEN-205
Requirements Analysis and Problem Definition
2
No
SEN-210
Designing and Implementing User Interfaces
4
No
SEN-212
Software Configuration Management
2
No
SEN-213
Software Measurement
2
No
SEN-214
Software Maintenance and Evolution
2
No
SEN-301
Designing and Building Secure Software
4
No
SEN-302
Designing and Building Mission Critical Software
2
No
Software Engineering Leadership
SEN-401
Agile Development Processes (including DevOps)
2
No
SEN-402
Software Project Management
4
No
SEN-403
Software Organization Maturity and Continuous Improvement
2
No
SEN-404
Legacy Software Strategies
2
No
SEN-405
Open Source Software
2
No
Platform Specific Architectures
SEN-311
Web Architectures
4
No
SEN-312
Mobile Application Architectures
4
No
Pillar: Artificial Intelligence
Total credits: 86; Required credits: 14+ 4 (choose 1 AI Applications)
Subdomain
Code
Competency
Credits
Required?
AI Paradigms
AIC-100
Introduction to AI Engineering
2
No
AIC-101
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
2
Yes
AIC-301
Symbolic AI
4
No
AIC-302
Probability-based Models
4
No
AIC-303
Planning and Search Strategies
4
Yes
AIC-305
Bio-inspired AI
4
No
Data Handling, Analysis and Mining
AIC-400
Data Wrangling
2
No
AIC-401
Information Retrieval and Extraction | Search and Indexi
4
No
Machine Learning
AIC-201
Supervised Learning and Unsupervised Learning
4
Yes
AIC-304
Neural Networks and Deep Learning
4
Yes
AIC-402
Proximity Measurement and Cluster
Analysis
4
No
AIC-403
Classification and Regression
4
No
AIC-502
Reinforcement Learning
4
No
AIC-503
Transformer Networks
4
No
AIC-505
Generative AI
4
No
AI Applications *
AIC-504
Simulation
4
No
AIC-601
Recommender System
4
No
AIC-602
Natural Language Processing (NLP)
4
No
AIC-603
Autonomous Agents
4
No
AIC-604
Computer Vision
4
No
AIC-605
Geographic Computing
4
No
AIC-606
Medical AI and Applications
4
No
AIC-607
Brain-Computer Interface
4
No
*Students must complete at least one AI Application competency. This may be in the context of undergraduate R&D.
Pillar: Human-Centered Design
Total credits: 156; Required credits: 10
Subdomain
Code
Competency
Credits
Required?
Human-AI Interaction
HCD-101
Visualization
6
Yes
Engaging in Critical Oversight
HCD-201
Ethics in computer engineering
2
Yes
HCD-202
Ethical Principles for AI (Fairness, Accountability, Transparency, Ethics)
4
No
Designing for HumanMachine Teaming
HCD-203
Creating Explainable AI
4
No
HCD-503
Psychology and Research Methods in UX
4
No
Game Design
HCD-532
Game Design
6
No
HCD-533
Narrative Design
6
No
HCD-534
Sound Design
6
No
Game Engineering
HCD-541
Game Engines I (Fundamentals)
6
No
HCD-542
Game Engines II (Programing Complex Mechanics)
6
No
HCD-543
Crowd AI (Simulating Group Behavior in Games)
6
No
HCD-544
Character AI (Designing Believable
Game Agents)
6
No
Digital and Production Art
HCD-311
Digital Arts
2
No
HCD-312
Algorithmic and Generative Arts
4
Yes
HCD-513
Visual Development (Concept Art and Production Design)
6
No
HCD-514
Visual Storytelling (Storyboarding and Animatics)
6
No
HCD-521
3D Modeling (Hard Surface and Organic)
6
No
HCD-522
3D Appearance (Surfacing, Lighting, and Rendering)
6
No
HCD-523
3D Animation (Rigging and Animating)
6
No
HCD-524
Motion Capture
6
No
HCD-525
Digital Post-Production
6
No
HCD-526
Visual Effects (VFX)
6
No
HumanComputer Interaction (HCI)
HCD-501
Accessibility & Universal Design
2
Yes
HCD-502
User Experience Design
6
No
HCD-545
Virtual Reality (VR)
6
No
HCD-546
Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR)
6
No
Game Studio
HCD-490
Game Prototype Studio (From Concept to Playable Demo)
4
No
HCD-491
Game Production Studio I (Polishing Your Game Project)
8
No
HCD-492
Game Production Studio II (Release Ready Game)
8
No
Pillar: Cybersecurity
Total credits: 42; Required: 8
Subdomain
Code
Competency
Credits
Required?
Data Acquisition, Management and Governance
SEC-101
Data and Information Fundamentals
2
Yes
SEC-102
Data Reduction and Compression
4
No
SEC-103
Data Governance
2
No
Privacy, Security and Integrity
SEC-201
Data Privacy, Security & Integrity
4
Yes
SEC-203
Securing System Infrastructure
6
No
SEC-204
Security Policy and Processes
4
No
SEC-205
Distributed ledger and Blockchain
4
No
SEC-303
Vulnerability Assessment for Software Applications
4
No
SEC-401
Privacy Attacks
2
No
SEC-402
Differential Privacy (DP)
6
No
AI System Security
SEC-301
Security Challenges in Modern AI Systems
2
Yes
SEC-302
Robustness of AI Components and Systems
4
No
Pillar: Scalable Systems
Total credits: 54; Required: 8
Subdomain
Code
Competency
Credits
Required?
Computer Organization
SYS-101
Operating Systems
4
Yes
SYS-202
Real Time Operating Systems
4
No
SYS-102
Basic Computer Architecture
4
Yes
SYS-205
Storage and File Systems Fundamentals
2
No
SYS-206
Computer Design Processor Architectures and Digital Design
4
No
SYS-207
Networks
4
No
SYS-208
Digital & Analog Circuit Design
4
No
Distributed Systems
SYS-301
Cyber Physical System
4
No
SYS-302
Cloud Computing
4
No
SYS-303
Scalable Management of Data and Models
4
No
SYS-304
Scalable Algorithms and Infrastructure
4
No
SYS-401
Parallel Computing
4
No
SYS-402
Distributed Data Storage
4
No
SYS-403
Big Data Computing
4
No
Pillar: Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Total credits: 102; Required credits: 8+4 ( choose 1 Business Application Domains)
Subdomain
Code
Competency
Credits
Required?
Entrepreneurship
Fundamentals
ENI-100
New Venture Design
8
Yes
ENI-103
Product Design and Development
2
No
ENI-104
Introduction to Intellectual Property
2
No
ENI-106
Team Building for Startups
2
No
ENI-107
Entrepreneurial Finance and Accounting
4
No
ENI-109
Project Management
4
No
Strategic Innovation
ENI-202
Business Strategy
4
No
ENI-204
Business Analytics
4
No
ENI-213
Marketing Strategy
4
No
ENI-304
AI for Business Solutions
4
No
Business Application Domains*
ENI-401
Retail and Services Applications
4
No
ENI-402
Logistics
4
No
ENI-403
Biomedical, Bioinformatics and Health**
4
No
ENI-404
Agriculture
4
No
ENI-405
Fintech**
4
No
ENI-406
Educational Technology
4
No
ENI-407
Gaming
4
No
ENI-408
Manufacturing
4
No
Startup Genesis
ENI-601
Startup Studio: Venture Creation
16
No
ENI-602
Startup Studio: Venture Launch
16
No
**Students need to choose one of these application domains to satisfy ENI pillar requirements. The list of business application domains may be expanded.
**Competencies can be counted toward math and science requirements. Other scientific application domains proposed by students or stakeholders may also provide math/science credits.*At least 1 of these competencies must be completed
Pillar: Science
Total credits: 60
Subdomain
Code
Competency
Credits
Required?
Science*
SCI-103
Quantum Mechanics
6
No
SCI-104
Quantum Computing
6
No
SCI-105
Kinematics: describe motion (Physics I)
3
No
SCI-106
Dynamics: explain motion (Physics I)
3
No
SCI-107
Energy and Momentum (Physics I)
3
No
SCI-108
Thermodynamics (Physics I)
3
No
SCI-109
Electricity (Physics II)
4
No
SCI-110
Magnetism (Physics II)
4
No
SCI-111
Light and Optics (PhysicsII)
4
No
SCI-120
Biology for AI and Engineering
6
No
SCI-121
Medical Science for AI Engineering
6
No
SCI-130
Chemical Foundations
6
No
SCI-131
Chemical Dynamics
6
No
* Students must complete a total of 90 credits of math and science competencies.
Pillar: Mathematics
Total credits: 88; Required credits: 36
Subdomain
Code
Competency
Credits
Required?
Calculus*
MAT-100
Differential Calculus
4
No
MAT-103
Integral Calculus
4
No
MAT-104
Introduction to Optimization
4
No
MAT-105
Vector Calculus
6
No
MAT-106
Analytical Geometry
6
No
MAT-108
First-Order Differential Equations
4
No
MAT-109
High-Order Differential Equations
5
No
MAT-110
Numerical Methods for Differential Equations
3
No
Mathematics for AI*
MAT-202
Signal Processing and Data Domains
4
No
MAT-203
Descriptive Statistics
2
Yes
MAT-204
Introduction to Probability
3
Yes
MAT-205
Probability distribution
3
Yes
MAT-206
Statistical Inference
4
Yes
MAT-207
Discrete Mathematics**
12
Yes
MAT-208
Vector Spaces
4
Yes
MAT-209
Matrices
4
Yes
MAT-210
Linear Systems
4
Yes
MAT-211
Logic and Sets Theory
3
Yes
MAT-212
Combinatorics
3
Yes
MAT-213
Number Theory
3
Yes
MAT-214
Graph Theory
3
Yes
*Students must complete a total of 90 credits of math and science competencies. This includes 36 required credits of the Mathematics for AI competencies as well as some other designated competencies within the six main pillars.
**MAT-207 will no longer be offered starting Spring 2026 and will be replaced by MAT-211, MAT-212,MAT-213, and MAT-214.
Pillar: Communication and Presentation
Total credits: 70
Subdomain
Code
Competency
Credits
Required?
Communication and Presentation
COM-101
Research and Technical Writing
8
No
COM-102
Creative Writing
8
No
COM-103
Graphics and Visual Storytelling
8
No
COM-104
Public Speaking
4
No
COM-105
Presentation and Storytelling
8
No
COM-106
Project Management
10
No
COM-108
Academic Writing & Research
8
No
COM-201
Improvisational Acting
12
No
COM-202
Instructional Design
4
No
Pillar: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Total credits: 93
Subdomain
Code
Competency
Credits
Required?
People, Places, Cultures
HAS-101
Sociology and Cultural Anthropology
9
No
HAS-102
Social Psychology
9
No
HAS-103
Political Studies
9
No
HAS-104
Human Geography
9
No
HAS-105
Global Histories
9
No
HAS-109
Ethics and Policy Issues
2
No
HAS-110
Policy & Sustainable Development
6
No
HAS-113
AI and Computer Engineering for Community Impact I
4
No
HAS-123
AI and Computer Engineering for Community Impact II
4
No
HAS-133
AI and Computer Engineering for Community Impact III
4
No
Economics
HAS-107
Principles of Economics
8
No
HAS-108
Behavioral Economics
8
No
Arts and Music
HAS-106
History of Visual Arts
8
No
Pillar: Soft Skills
Students do not sign up for the competencies under the “soft skills” pillar. However, all students are required to demonstrate these competencies during their undergraduate career. Usually, soft skills will be evaluated by instructors or industry mentors as part of the student’s work on projects or undergraduate R&D. Students are required to achieve a minimum of “Apprentice” level of mastery in all soft skills competencies to be eligible for graduation.
To facilitate this evaluation, the full AiCE curriculum model breaks down each of these soft skill competencies into a set of observable behaviors that will allow objective assessment of the degree to which the students demonstrate these competencies.
Subdomain
Code
Competency & Skills
Credits
Required?
Soft Skills
SOF-101
Adaptability
Yes
SOF-102
– Creative flexibility
Yes
SOF-103
– Working flexibility
Yes
SOF-104
Yes
SOF-201
Empathy
Yes
SOF-202
– Human-centered focus
Yes
SOF-203
– Respect for diversity
Yes
SOF-204
Yes
SOF-301
Ethics
Yes
SOF-302
– Social consciousness
Yes
SOF-303
– Honesty
Yes
SOF-304
– Fairness
– Respect for privacy and confidentiality
Yes
SOF-401
Proactiveness
Yes
SOF-402
– Service orientation
Yes
SOF-403
– Continuous improvement focus
Yes
SOF-404
Yes
SOF-501
Professionalism
Yes
SOF-502
– Responsibility
– Compliance with organizational norms
Yes
SOF-503
– Time management
– Quality focus
Yes
SOF-504
– Professional awareness
– Interpersonal relations
Yes
SOF-601
Self-Learning
Yes
SOF-602
– Motivation to learn
– Active learning
Yes
SOF-603
Yes
SOF-604
Yes
SOF-701
Teamwork
Yes
SOF-702
– Attention
– Respect and courtesy
Yes
SOF-703
– Openness
Yes
SOF-704
– Team spirit
Yes
Pillar: URD Undergraduate Research, Development and Practice
Required credits: 56 (Students must satisfy 18 credits in each subdomain to be eligible for graduation)
Subdomain
Code
Competency
Credits
Required?
Entrepreneurship and Innovation
URD-100
Time Management
2
Yes
URD-101
Undergraduate R&D Project (1)
9
Yes
URD-102
Undergraduate R&D Project (2)
9
Yes
Senior Research & Development
URD-401
Honors Undergraduate Research Thesis (1)**
12
No
URD-402
Honors Undergraduate Research Thesis (2)**
12
No
URD-411
Undergraduate Capstone Project (1)***
12
No
URD-412
Undergraduate Capstone Project (2)
12
No
AI and Computer Engineering for Society
URD-201
Undergraduate R&D project (3)
9
Yes
URD-202
Undergraduate R&D Project (4)
9
Yes
Experiential Learning (XP)
URD-301
Undergraduate R&D Project (5)
9
No
URD-302
Undergraduate R&D Project (6)
9
No
URD-311
Overseas Colleges (1)
9
No
URD-312
Overseas Colleges (2)
9
No
URD-321
Industrial Internship (1)
9
No
URD-322
Industrial Internship (2)
9
No
Summer Research
URD-103
Summer Research (1)
4
No
URD-203
Summer Research (2)
4
No
URD-303
Summer Research (3)
4
No
*To be eligible for the XP competencies enrollment, AiCE students must have completed their sophomore year and earned at least 180 credits. AiCE students must earn at least 18 XP credits.
**URD-401 and URD-402 are intended for AiCE students who are planning to continue to graduate studies. Read more about “Honors Undergraduate Research Thesis” on page 33 (AICE Handbook)
***URD-411 is required for CIE-AiCE Dual Degree program students.
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