All engineering majors must complete a senior design course or course sequence. These courses are organized within a department with course numbers that correspond to a particular major.
Students typically work in teams to design a device, system or simulation to meet the needs of an external client or Tickle College of Engineering stakeholder. In some departments, such as electrical engineering and computer science, students may work on interdisciplinary teams within their home department. Course credits vary from 3 to 8 hours to complete the requirements. Some programs, such as MABE, have faculty project mentors as well as project clients to support the teams.
The courses include professional communications—including written reports and technical presentations—as well as exposure to topics ranging from ethics and professionalism, to intellectual property, export controls, and project management. Final project deliverables include a report, a presentation, a poster and often a functional prototype system (physical system, software application, simulation or paper design). Some senior design courses satisfy general education requirements for oral communications (OC) and communicating through writing (WC).
Learn more about the requirements for your major.