COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — The new master's program is in the College of Electrical & Computer Engineering. It has a specialized focus on semiconductors, which are used to make computer chips that power most of our electronics.
- The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents approved the new master’s degree with a major in Microelectronics and Semiconductors in a meeting on May 29.
- Semiconductors are used to make computer chips, which can be found in almost everything from our phones to our laptops and even our cars.
- The new master’s degree is pending approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
- 15 ABC has been told that approval is expected by late July, with students already interested.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“We interact with electronics from the moment you wake up till the time you sleep with the phone in hand all the time, driving cars have lots of electronics parts these days, from sensing to displays to entertainment units," said Dr. Narasimha Reddy, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Head at Texas A&M University.
When we talk about computer chips in electronics, semiconductors are used to make them.
“Mechanics and agriculture, everywhere, people use computer chips," said Dr. Jiang Hu, Graduate Co-Director of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Texas A&M University.
Texas A&M already has courses that deal with chip design, but the new master’s degree would also cover the manufacturing of them.
15 ABC asked Dr. Reddy why this master's program was something that Texas A&M wanted to bring to the table.
“We created a specialized degree so that we could focus entirely on semiconductor production, chip design, and with the increased demand for workforce, we felt like we needed to meet the demand through a specialized degree."
According to the university, the U.S. semiconductor industry will support roughly 2.13 million jobs in 2027, an increase of 280,000 from the 2020 total of 1.85 million.
Texas represents 17.5% of all semiconductor employment in the United States.
“We’re going to try and meet the demands that are for the workforce development that's happening within Texas," said Dr. Reddy.
Dr. Reddy tells 15 ABC that the growth of artificial intelligence is another reason more chips are needed.
“As the technology is expanding, what we're noticing is now a lot of the advanced technology is getting concentrated in Taiwan…. This master's program is intended to help with this chip production — increasing chip production within the U.S.," said Dr. Reddy.
And with more data centers coming to our state, Aggies are leading the way.
“So by providing this program, we can address the workforce development that will benefit not only the semiconductor industry, but the whole high tech industry, so it is pretty exciting, yeah," said Dr. Hu.
