Option 1:

In the field of engineering in which you work (or are training to work), identify at least three characteristics of the French and British engineering traditions that remain applicable today and, in each case, state why. If you are not planning to be an engineer, choose a field of engineering to discuss that you are familiar with. Make sure to include at least one example from each engineering tradition (you should have a total of three examples).

In a separate paragraph, state whether you think a modern John Jervis–a dedicated and intelligent, but unschooled person–could succeed in this field of engineering without attending college, and explain why.

Option 2:

The Erie Canal has been called America’s first school of engineering. How successful do you think it was as a “school”? What would you identify as its major strengths as a school? What would you identify as its most significant limitations as a school?

In a separate paragraph, choose a field of engineering you are familiar with (options include but are not limited to mechanical engineering, civil engineering, software engineering, and electric engineering) and state whether you think a modern John Jervis–a dedicated and intelligent, but unschooled person–could succeed in this field of engineering without attending college, and explain why. Note: if you are not sufficiently familiar with any field of engineering to answer this question, you may substitute another profession that you know more about, such as teaching, medicine, management, sales, architecture, etc.

Your assignment should be:

Be about 250-400 words in length.
Answer all aspects of the prompt
Be as specific as possible
Be proofread and contain minimal grammatical and spelling errors
Submitted on time (there will be a 2 point (10%) penalty for each 24 hours late a capstone is submitted