The University of Colorado’s College of Engineering and Applied Science plans to double enrollment by 2020, which will mean growing its student body to more than 8,000 students and hiring roughly 125 new faculty members — not to mention needing an estimated 300,000 square feet in additional space.

The college also hopes to rank in the Top 20 engineering programs in the country by 2020 and receive $135 million in research awards, according to its strategic plan, “A Fresh Look at Engineering 2020: Vision For Excellence.”

Robert Davis, dean of the college, said the goals reflect expected growth in engineering, math and computer science fields in the years to come.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that, by 2022, the architecture and engineering fields will grow by 7 percent and the computer and mathematics professions will grow by 18 percent.

The college surveys all students roughly six months after graduation. In each of the last four years, roughly 80 percent of students have been employed and 15 percent were in graduate or professional school, Davis said.

“Engineering has consistently been a very good field for jobs, even during the recession,” Davis said.

Salaries also have increased among CU engineering graduates. In 2009, the average salary at graduation was $52,000. That jumped to $63,000 in 2012, Davis noted.

“That’s a significant jump, but it’s a very robust figure that shows engineering is a good salary field,” he said.

Davis said being intentional about growth allows the college to make decisions about hiring new faculty and planning for more building space sooner rather than later.

He said he hopes the goal will be self-fulfilling, that students will be excited to come to a program that’s looking ahead.

“They’ll want to come and be part of that growth,” he said. “Some of the better students, some of the better faculty will want to come to a place that’s dynamic and growing.”

That growth may also present a few challenges for the college, Davis said, such as finding building space for the students and faculty.

Davis said he estimates the college will need roughly 300,000 square feet of space to accommodate the growth.

A few early possibilities include completing the Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotechnology building and constructing a new aerospace, civil, environmental and architectural engineering facility on CU’s East Campus.

The growth could also help CU in its bid to rank in the Top 20 engineering programs in the country by 2020. CU is 32nd among undergraduate engineering programs and 34th for engineering graduate programs in U.S. News and World Report’s rankings.

One graduate program within the college — aerospace engineering sciences — jumped from 14th to ninth this year in the U.S. News and World Report rankings.

The rest of CU’s engineering, math and computer science programs hope to follow suit, Davis said.

Penny Axelrad, chairwoman of aerospace engineering, said her department’s reputation has grown stronger each year.

“More top students from the Colorado area are deciding to come here rather than going out of state because of this program’s reputation,” she said.

Contact Camera Staff Writer Sarah Kuta at 303-473-1106, kutas@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/sarahkuta.