What's different about Engineering First at McCormick?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northwestern University
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<p>Can anyone briefly introduce the Engineering First Program? I am quite surprised to find that "Engineering First" is actually a registered trademark (with the symbol R in the circle behind it. However, I did my research but failed to find anything significantly different from the engineering program at other schools. From the website, it mainly emphasizes the integration of theory, design, and communication. But isn't the three themes common at all other engineering schools? Like if you want to go to the industry, you need to know theory, design things, and talk about your ideas to your client. I really can't see anything special. Can anyone help point out?</p>

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<p>The basic difference is that you start early. It’s a freshman program, and you do a lot of application of topics, you use MATLAB, and you do a lot of work with communications. Basically the difference is that they are starting you early rather than just making you do basic physics, math, etc. freshman year.</p>

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<p><a href=“http://search.asee.org/search/fetch;jsessionid=3v5m2n36qvbso?url=file%3A%2F%2Flocalhost%2FE%3A%2Fsearch%2Fconference%2F27%2FAC%25202003Paper1027.pdf&index=conference_papers&space=129746797203605791716676178&type=application%2Fpdf&charset=[/url]”>http://search.asee.org/search/fetch;jsessionid=3v5m2n36qvbso?url=file%3A%2F%2Flocalhost%2FE%3A%2Fsearch%2Fconference%2F27%2FAC%25202003Paper1027.pdf&index=conference_papers&space=129746797203605791716676178&type=application%2Fpdf&charset=&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>If you look at other schools’ curriculum, almost all of them still have those classes in italic. That’s one of the major differences already. The integration isn’t just an ideal or propaganda; Northwestern faculty actually created and designed (and continue to fine-tune) those courses to achieve that integration.</p>

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<p>I don’t know if there’s another school that requires product design, let alone one for real industry clients, during the first year.</p>

4

<p>One more thing: the curriculum fits in the overall emphasis of design from the adminstration. NU was just rated as one of the most innovative schools:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northwestern-university/1453608-10-innovative-universities-shaking-up-education.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northwestern-university/1453608-10-innovative-universities-shaking-up-education.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>[Segal</a> Design Institute Projects](<a href=“DESIGN INNOVATION - Segal Design Institute, Northwestern University”>DESIGN INNOVATION - Segal Design Institute, Northwestern University) describes some of the products designed by the Engineering First students.</p>

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<p>And you get funding the first year to come up with a innovative idea to design, implement and present to the staff that is of immediate relevance to the community at large. Not many schools have that.</p>

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<p>I think part of the reason behind the trademark is to protect the course materials from being copied elsewhere. The administration and faculty put a lot of thoughts and effort to write them. You can actually see some of them on-line if you do a google search. They are nothing like the textbooks for those stand-alone courses.</p>

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<p>And even though both my kids are ChemEs - they still get to help handicap people in their freshman years, by helping to design solutuions to real problems.,a nd to help real people. That’s a lot of trust - and pressure to perform - to put on 18-19 year old kids. But that’s why they wanted to go to NU. It’s a chance to help others and challenge themselves.</p>

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<p>Thank you, everyone, for the great information. So if I have a lot of AP credits (cal bc, chem, phys c, bio, stat, cs, and some humanities/social sciences) to be awarded at an engineering school of another university, will I have the similar opportunities to do design or real engineering class from freshman year?</p>

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<p>I chose NU because of the engineering first program. I have many of the same classes, but on visits to ivy and top ranked engineering schools, you weren’t actually producing or designing a product until late sophomore or junior year. I think the fact that as freshmen we get a project from a real business in Chicago is amazing.</p>

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<p>The only other place I know that’s very hands on like that is GA Tech I think people were designing products freshman year (I may be wrong though). But it’s definitely a great program, to tack onto NU’s already great engineering program</p>