Your First Year as an Engineering Student
Your first year in engineering is a great time to explore the range of engineering disciplines and build an appreciation of the multidisciplinary nature of all engineering design. We've designed a first-year curriculum for all engineering students -- a common freshman year experience.
A Sense of Community
The first-year experience builds a sense of community among all College of Engineering students. This allows them to appreciate each other's unique strengths, experiences, and interests. This community spirit will be important when students work together on design projects or on teams to solve problems that reach across the broad areas of engineering.
Focus on Design, Computer Basics, Digital Electronics
The design of any complex system in today’s world -- whether it's a computer, satellite or aircraft -- involves the seamless integration of many engineering disciplines in order to be successful. Highlights of this first year include the introductory courses in engineering design, computer programming, and digital circuits.
The Introduction to Engineering course (EGR 101) emphasizes the importance of design through fun, yet challenging and competitive design projects. This course also provides the first chance students have to work as teams and learn the associated challenges and rewards. Students will benefit from learning not just how to work in groups, but how to build and contribute to a successful team.
While computers have become an integral part of our daily lives, engineers are expected to have a much greater skill in using computers as tools in their daily work. To begin building such skills, the Introduction to Computing for Engineers course (EGR 115) teaches students the basics of programming using the Matlab language and environment.
Most engineered systems today incorporate some embedded microprocessor or other digital device for control of the overall system or subsystems. In the Digital Circuit Design course (CEC 220) students will learn the basics of digital logic and develop an appreciation of the design and integration issues associated with digital electronics. This knowledge will improve the understanding of how computers operate and develop the skills needed for students to work with electronic components.
Math and Physics
Mathematics is the fundamental language and tool that an engineer uses to understand the physical behavior of design. You'll start math sequence with Calculus I and II. A strong understanding of mathematics will make engineering science and engineering design much easier.
You'll start the physics series with courses designed for engineers. In this sequence, you'll learn about the physical behavior of matter.
Engineers Communicate and Socialize, Too
Quite often, engineers must explain technically based, intricate, complicated designs to people who do not have technical backgrounds. Being able to describe engineering's approach and products accurately and simply is an enormous challenge. Your freshman year starts the process of building your communications skill set.
Becoming an engineer is much more that learning science and engineering. Required Humanities and Social Science classes will broaden your perspective as a citizen and ideally bring these ideas to reinforce the values and direction of your profession.
A Year for Exploring
The first-year curriculum allows engineering students to take coursework that is common to every engineering degree in the College, allowing students flexibility in choosing engineering degrees without affecting the progress toward graduation.
You might begin your fresman year as an aerospace or mechanical engineering major and find that electrical engineering is way more interesting. Not a problem since the freshman year provides the building blocks for future semesters through basic curriculum. The principles of engineering are built upon the concepts of the physical sciences along with their mathematical modeling.
Engineers design the specifications of products or processes that allow others to build or implement them. In the freshman year, the students begin to develop a strong foundation in math, physics, and communications, so that they may apply these skills in future courses in any of the engineering disciplines we offer.
