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Engineering Design

A Bachelor of Science in Engineering Design

An engineering design degree opens the door to various positions in industry and graduate school. Your experience with client-focused design, prototyping, and professional skills will allow you to contribute to companies in any phase of the design process: identification of stakeholder needs, concept generation, feasibility studies, risk analysis, detail design, manufacturing, testing, validation, maintenance, and product lifecycle analysis.

Facilities and Resources

Hands-on learning and prototyping is a key component of engineering design.  Engineering design students use prototyping technology in design studios developed to encourage creativity and communication with all stakeholders. Students routinely use tools from a variety of on-campus shops after appropriate instruction.

Laboratories

Design studios include laboratory equipment for design, prototyping, and testing.  Students use current technologies to bring their ideas to life. Students also work with external clients starting in their first quarter on campus.

Engineering Design

Engineering design is a human-centered endeavor that grew out of investigations of creativity.  While design is an integral part of all engineering fields, design methodology gained more attention during the 1980s as global competition demanded higher quality design and system complexity increased. The role of the designer is to create a system, process, product, or service based on stakeholder needs while considering social, environmental, economic, and safety requirements. The designer must have both a mindset and skillset for improving the impact of design on society. The mindset requires the vision and drive necessary to create value. The skillset includes the tools and techniques critical to realize the design.

The Engineering Design major prepares students by giving them repeated, intensive design experiences with real clients. From the first quarter to the senior year, students participate in authentic design experiences and practice professional skills. The first year gives students a broad understanding of modeling systems across disciplines and repeated practice in prototyping solutions for clients. Students select a concentration and prepare for their practicum as they continue deeper in the design process. Second year students also learn the process of on-boarding into existing projects as they work with seniors one quarter and freshmen another. Transitioning to the third year, students participate in two 20-week practicums. Students are required to delve into the design process. In the junior year, the curriculum is structured to allow study-work abroad and/ or cooperative work experiences. In their senior year, students complete their concentrations and participate in a year-long, multidisciplinary capstone design experience.

After completion of this curriculum, students will be prepared to enter the engineering profession or advanced study. A student may also use this academic background as a stepping stone to a position in management, administration, or some other non-engineering field.

Engineering Design Mission Statement

Engineering Design employs repeated, immersive design experiences to cultivate students who

• Embrace the ambiguity of design
• Select design processes from multiple disciplines as appropriate to the project
• Tackle projects with gusto
• Commit to professional and ethical responsibilities while remembering global, social, economic, and environmental considerations
• Communicate respectfully and effectively
• Create collaborative and inclusive teams

Engineering Design Program Educational Objectives

In support of our mission and based on the needs of our constituents, alumni from our program are expected to attain:

• Ethically-minded solutions to open-ended problems using engineering and/or design principles
• Recognition as skilled engineers and/or designers
• Meaningful, collaborative work
• Active involvement in professional & personal development
• Contributions to society locally, nationally, or globally
• Recognition as facilitators of multidisciplinary teams

Student Outcomes

Attainment of these outcomes prepares graduates to enter the professional practice of engineering.

1. an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics
2. an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors
3. an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
4. an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
5. an ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives
6. an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgement to draw conclusions
7. an ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies

The engineering design program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, , under the commission’s General Criteria with no applicable program criteria.

Technical Electives

Engineering Design students have 24 credit-hours for technical electives.  Students should use these credits to gain in-depth knowledge of a specific technical area. With careful planning, students may use these technical electives to obtain a minor or concentration in an area of interest. 

Technical electives must:

1. Consist of 24 credit-hours of bio-math, computer science, engineering, engineering management, mathematics, or science courses
2. At least two courses must be 300 level or higher
3. Not include any named required courses

Practicum Courses:

All engineering design students must take 16 hours of practicum courses.  Enrollment in a practicum course requires professional employment such as an internship or co-op. Professional employment must average a minimum of 25 hours per week of work and have a duration of at least eight weeks. Professional employment must include some aspects of the design process such as commercialization, conceptual design, manufacturing, modeling, process improvement, product design, product improvement, quality methods, testing, or design validation.  Practicum courses are generally 300-level courses with the term “Practicum” in the catalog description.