Engineering students have opportunities to find their niche under the Engineering + Program, a collection of six diverse categories that allow students to develop personal interests.
“Every student is passionate about something, and we want them to develop those passions as part of their education,” Kevin Whitaker, associate dean of academic programs for the college of engineering, said.
Students can get involved in organizations and projects that fall under six categories: International, Service Learning, Creative Endeavors, Undergraduate Research, Project Based, and Cooperative Education and Internship.
“We tried to find diverse programs that cover the broad range of what people are interested in,” Whitaker said.
Whitaker said the program augments engineering education in a way that makes students more valuable as engineers, an idea that came about because of feedback from alumni and employers.
“The idea is they’re looking for a top student, but also a well-rounded student. This is a way to address that,” Whitaker said.
Charles Karr, College of Engineering dean, said the college tries to make students aware of opportunities as soon as they come in. The Engineering + Program is a way to market those opportunities and keep track of what students are involved in, he said.
“It’s ultimately set up for if a student has a specific goal in mind,” Karr said. “The different categories have different benefits to help them get to where they want to go.”
Karr said he thinks students can derive enormous benefits from any of the categories.
“If a student has his or her sights set on working with a company, then the co-op program might be best for them,” Karr said. “If they are interested in study abroad or working with an international corporation, we can set them up with the international program.”
Shelby Cochran, a junior majoring in aerospace engineering, is part of a student project-based program known as Rocket Girls, an all-female program that competes nationally each year at the NASA University Student Launch Initiative in Huntsville, Ala. Along with building a rocket, the girls have to submit written reports and give presentations about their project throughout the year.
“It’s a great way to network, but it’s also a good hands-on experience, so you don’t get bogged down with the math and science classes,” Cochran said.
Cochran thinks the experience you gain by working in a specific field of interest is a good way to become well-rounded as a future engineer in the work field.
“You can have a 4.0 GPA all you want, but if you have no experience, what’s it worth?”
For more information about the Engineering + Program, visit eng.ua.edu/undergraduate.
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