Design and Research across the Curriculum

Abstract

The College of Engineering at Rowan University was initiated as a result of a $100 million donation in 1992 from the Rowan Foundation. The engineering faculty use innovative methods of teaching and learning to better prepare students for entry into a rapidly changing and highly competitive marketplace. To best meet these objectives, the four engineering programs of Chemical, Civil and Environmental, Electrical and Computer, and Mechanical Engineering have common engineering clinic classes throughout their programs of study, in which undergraduates work in teams on hands-on open-ended projects. The primary goal of Rowan University's engineering clinic classes is to immerse students in multidisciplinary design/research projects that teach engineering principles in both laboratory and real-world settings. While most traditional engineering schools provide students a taste of independent research well into their senior year in some form of capstone design, the Rowan engineering program experience allows students to be exposed to the intricacies of realistic open-ended engineering research and design as early as their freshman years. This paper focuses on the innovative engineering curriculum developed at Rowan University.