For anyone working in the semiconductor industry in Oregon, it is no surprise that a recent report estimated a need for a 24% increase in semiconductor-related credentials. Meeting those needs is a focus for the State of Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission, which requested the assessment. It is part of the State’s broader efforts to reinvigorate the semiconductor industry supported by the federal CHIPS and Science Act and Oregon’s CHIPS Act.
Oregon State University is a key player in expanding semiconductor educational opportunities, grounded in a long history of producing top engineers working in the semiconductor industry. One effort is making several microcredentials available to anyone who meets the prerequisites. There are two purposes for the microcredentials:
- Quick upskilling for people working in industry.
- Semiconductor credentials for current Oregon State undergraduates.
“What we’ve heard from our industry partners is that they want their current employees to upskill, and having these smaller credentials seemed more attainable for someone who has a job,” said Rob Stone, executive director of the Impact Studio at Oregon State. The Impact Studio supports rapid development of new educational initiatives.
Semiconductor Microcredentials Currently Offered
The semiconductor microcredentials require completing three to four classes totaling 10-13 credits. Upon completion, students receive a digital badge they can share with their employers. The College of Engineering, with Ecampus, is currently offering:
Process Engineering Analysis (13 credits)
- Students learn how to apply the laws of thermodynamics to maximize energy efficiency across the semiconductor fabrication workflow, and how to construct sophisticated models for analyzing fluid flow patterns and heat and mass transfer behavior within the intricate network of chemical processes.
Process Engineering Fundamentals (10 credits)
- This set of courses cover critical engineering principles like mass and energy balances, thermochemistry and statistical analysis of process data.
Programming Fundamentals (11-12 credits)
- These courses offer the vital, fundamental skills to learn a new programming language or set of tools that would be required for an entry-level programming job.
Semiconductor Microcredentials Coming Soon
The microcredentials program will soon include:
Semiconductor Production Process Planning (12 credits)
- This offering will begin in spring term of 2025. Students will develop semiconductor tactical and operational production plans and process control systems.
Semiconductor Facilities Design and Management (11 credits)
- This offering will begin in spring term of 2026. Students will learn to design and manage facilities and work systems in support of semiconductor device manufacturing.
Other microcredentials in development are:
- Semiconductor Devices
- Semiconductor Fabrication
- Applied Data Science
“We are working with our industry partners to make sure the offerings fit with their needs,” Stone said.
Marcus Turner, B.S. computer science ’94, of Amalgamation LLC, has been involved in the effort to steer the curriculum for the upcoming Applied Data Science microcredential.
“We need more focus on the needs of the semiconductor industry to enable our industry partners to hire highly capable engineers in software engineering, computer science, manufacturing engineering, and data science,” Turner said. “For every integrated circuit design engineer, there's at least 30 other software related engineering roles within the semiconductor industry.”
Microcredential offerings are rapidly growing at Oregon State. The first offerings were in the Winter of 2022 and now there are over 50 on a variety of topics. The semiconductor offerings were spearheaded by the Division of Educational Ventures and Ecampus as a way to quickly launch programming that could address the growing upskilling needs of companies. As part of the semiconductor microcredentials, the College of Business offers Professional Readiness and Supply Chain Management Fundamentals.
Innovation will be necessary for the more lab-oriented coursework in the upcoming microcredentials. Course development of those is supported by experts in online learning through Oregon State’s top-ranked Ecampus program.
“People might scratch their heads a little bit wondering, ‘How are you going to provide a quality lab experience online?’” said Tom Weller, head of the School of Electrical Engineering. “We recognize it's a challenge, but the university has examples of excellent online lab courses, like chemistry. We are leveraging that know-how and our experience teaching lab courses during COVID shutdowns to develop high-quality educational experiences.”
Contact Tom Weller for more details about participating in semiconductor workforce development.
