Senior Design Projects

Students in mechanical engineering who are close to finishing their degrees are required to take a capstone course that allows them to translate what they learned in the classroom into real projects. There are projects to interest every student with a unique design experience in senior design projects sponsored by industrial corporations and service organizations.

Policy on Participation in PEDE or VIPT Programs

(Last updated: 1/22/2024)

Students selecting the Design focus area (FA) are required to apply for and participate in the Program for Enhanced Design Experience (PEDE) or Virtual International Project Team (VIPT) programs.

These programs offer an enhanced one-year design project experience that goes beyond the one-semester senior capstone design project course “ME:4086 Mechanical Engineering Design Project (MEDP),” which is required by all mechanical engineering undergraduate students.

• It is possible that a student is not accepted into the PEDE or VIPT programs after they have applied. The reason could be that the student was not selected by any of the companies sponsoring the program. Furthermore, for a student graduating in December, it may be difficult, if not impossible, to participate in PEDE/VIPT, as the programs begin in the Fall semester and end in the Spring semester. In these cases only, a student can still select the Design FA as their focus area. Instead of the required ME:4186 Enhanced Design Experience course, the student must choose one additional course from the Design Elective or General Elective courses with the exception of Flexible Elective course. At least 21 semester hours of courses are required for all FAs.
• Substitutions are discouraged and will only be approved under exceptional circumstances requiring the approval of the advisor, FA coordinator, and DEO (need to submit the substitution form).

Senior Design Night

All design projects are presented during Design Night, and their quality is evaluated by industrial judges.