During the last 15 years, the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College has been developing a professional engineering degree program leading to the B.E., M.E., and D.E. (Doctor of Engineering) degrees. In this article the requirements for these degrees are described, and the differences between the professional program and the research program, leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees, are discussed. The major difficulties in operating such a program center around attracting and keeping qualified faculty and ensuring financial viability. In an effort to provide an environment in which a professional program can succeed, the Thayer School of Engineering is proposing to form an engineering design center consisting of two parts: one is the academic part of the Thayer School and the other would be a new separately chartered corporate entity whose primary purpose is the creation of new products. A description of our concept of the new design center is given.