Education

Spurring innovation and equity in engineering education

It takes more than just meeting standard requirements to help solve human problems and elevate all people.

At Michigan Engineering, our goal is to strengthen our academic capabilities through innovative teaching methods and tools, and by helping students optimize their beyond-the-classroom experiences. This applies to all students and professional learners—on campus or online. 

This includes our experiential framework that helps students find opportunities to participate in and grow the leadership skills they pick up along the way, as well as helping faculty bolster experiential learning as part of for-credit classes.  

We also know there’s work to be done to bring greater equity to our engineering curriculum. It starts with the environment, which is why all new instructors at Michigan Engineering are trained in inclusive teaching practices, contributing to an environment of success for students from all backgrounds. Our introductory engineering courses incorporate concepts of social justice, equity and ethics in engineering – and that is being expanded to more classes through NSF-funded research. Some degree programs have already revised curricula to create better onboarding for students, while still preserving the academic rigor one expects from engineering education. For example our new robotics undergraduate program features an inclusively-designed curriculum and exposure to technologies that were inaccessible for most undergraduate students a decade ago.

With more than 58 graduate degree programs, 18 academic departments and 14 undergraduate majors, our courses integrate digital technologies, such as augmented and virtual reality — further enhancing the learning experience.

person at a laboratory bench working on a satellite prototype

Experiential framework


Grounded on a bedrock of academic excellence, our experiential learning framework enables  opportunities that combine critical and creative thinking to provide meaningful environments for intellectual curiosity and daring innovation. Immersed experiences provide a path for our students to become the engineers who can step into the future with the confidence, collaborative spirit and socially conscious minds needed to change the world.

woman sitting on a couch with a computer, participating in a zoom call shown on a large monitor

Online and professional education


Nexus is the hub for online and professional education at Michigan Engineering for learners and faculty alike. It provides professional education certificates; support for the design and delivery of online credit courses and degrees; and custom programs that are practical, grounded in research, and taught by instructors from throughout the College and beyond.

View from the stage in a large auditorium full of people

Equity in Engineering curriculum


Our NSF-funded Teaching Engineering Equity Center seeks to improve inclusion and equity in Engineering disciplines, creating teaching environments where equity-centered values are present in both technical content and teaching style. This will lead to engineering education where students from a variety of backgrounds will experience inclusion and belonging, and to engineering solutions that help to close critical gaps and elevate all people. 

Three young people wearing masks and hanging out on the Gerstacker Grove

Student support and wellness


The Michigan Engineering C.A.R.E. Center (Consultation, Assistance, and Resources in Engineering) helps engineering students successfully transition through a variety of challenging circumstances, both inside and outside of the classroom.

Research

Leveraging unparalleled resources and perspectives to reimagine what engineering can be.

Education

Shaping the engineers who will build a future that elevates all people.

Culture

Improving both engineering culture and solutions through an equity-centered lens.