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First Year Engineering Program

First Year Engineering Program

In 2023, EP launched an exciting new chapter for first-year engineering at OU. We established a two-semester sequence of courses to provide a robust foundation for all Gallogly College of Engineering students. We adapted curriculum from e4usa (Engineering For Us All) that brings the excitement of doing engineering into our first-year studio. Generous funding from the McCasland Family Foundation and the Nettie Vincent Boggs Foundation enabled us to convert the old engineering library into the EP Hub office suite for the first-year faculty and the EP Studio for our first-year courses.

The First Year Engineering Program consists of two courses: ENGR 1413 Pathways to Engineering Thinking and ENGR 1421 Engineering Design in Action. In both courses, students design and create engineered solutions for a problem posed by a community partner. The courses emphasize the importance of being a good team member and developing designs based on understanding of the clients’ and users’ needs and constraints.


ENGR 1413 - Pathways to Engineering Thinking

ENGR 1413 is an introductory engineering course required for all students pursuing a major in the college of engineering, and open to others. This class also fulfills the General Education V – First Year Experience requirement. In Pathways to Engineering Thinking, students investigate and practice what it means to engineer. They are empowered through engineering community building as they learn the impact and cultural connections of engineering in society. Students develop critical thinking and civil discourse skills in engineering design projects addressing authentic community-based engineering challenges, building excitement for their futures. Co-curricular engagements and peer mentorship support students' transition to OU and GCoE.

 

Students should take this their first semester, if possible. In ENGR 1413, students:

  • Learn and practice Engineering Problem-Solving through exploring engineering's rich history and by creating a solution for a real client's problem
  • Develop critical academic success and professional skills
  • Learn how to be a successful engineering student with guidance from EP Mentors
  • Get connected with engineering classmates and engineering student life

ENGR 1421 - Engineering Design in Action

This elective class advances development of Engineering Problem-Solving skills with a full semester design project for a real community partner. Students apply engineering design under constraints addressing the needs of stakeholders as they design, prototype, test, and iterate solutions. The process incorporates relevant engineering or science knowledge, develops project management skills, and explores ethical and societal considerations for the problem and solution. The project and reflections will be documented in a comprehensive engineering design report and a design presentation.

 

ENGR 1421 is:

  • A recommended follow-on course for ENGR 1413, to be taken during spring of first year
  • Available as a substitute for ENGR 1413 students who have a prior introduction to engineering course from high school, tech center, or community college, e.g. Project Lead the Way or E4USA
    • If taken as a substitute, a seperate approved course for Gen Ed V. must be taken at some point
    • New Sooner orientation advisors can enroll a student with a prior course during their first semester enrollment. The EP team will contact the student for documentation to confirm their eligibility for the substitution

Student Projects

Students working on a project that involves using spaghetti to build a tower
Students and EP Faculty member Dr. Harvey discussing a project
Student using a robot arm constructed in class to pick up a water bottle
Students discussing their spaghetti tower project
A student using a different example of the robot arm project
Iterative designs of a project creating a toy for macaws at the OKC zoo
Students sitting around their project and smiling

First-Year Engineering Students have the opportunity to work on projects for real community partners, such as:

  • OKC Zoo
  • OU Food Pantry
  • JD McCarty Center
  • Forever Yours Dog Rescue
  • OU Community Garden, and
  • Norman Parks!