Oakland Campus Unveils Interdisciplinary Engineering and Design Degree Program
Northeastern University has introduced an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Science in Engineering Design (BSED) program exclusively on its Oakland campus, combining engineering and design into a single craft anchored by hands-on, employer-backed projects. Students participate in practical challenges like a weeklong campus farm catapult design competition to build and test functional prototypes.
This article originally appeared on Northeastern Global News. It was published by Peter Rubinstein. Main photo: The seven participating student teams fired their finished catapults at the Oakland campus farm for a cash prize. Photo by Lachlan Cunningham for Northeastern University
Pumpkins fly as Oakland introduces four-year engineering and design degree program
The weeklong catapult design challenge reflects the type of projects that will define a newly-created engineering and design degree program exclusive to Northeastern Oakland.
As John Haley unpacked his tools and began referring to a hand-drawn blueprint of a miniature catapult, several of his competitors followed suit.
The assembly of engineers, inventors and aspiring siege masters huddled around their respective prototypes as the afternoon went on, tweaking the projects before the main event: a pumpkin projectile competition presided over by industry judges at Northeastern University’s Oakland campus farm.
Haley, a first-year electrical and computer engineering student from Connecticut, had been the first to arrive at the Makerspace on the campus, setting down a large cardboard box full of wooden dowels, bungee cords and bolts.
“It’s good to have this creative outlet, and the chance to find some new friends,” Haley said. “But what I like most is the competitive aspect.”
More than a friendly contest with a cash prize of $50 for on-campus dining, the weeklong challenge, which ended on Oct. 30, represented the type of projects that will define the curriculum of a newly-created, interdisciplinary degree program scheduled to launch its classes in fall 2027.
Each course in the Bachelor of Science in Engineering Design (BSED) program will combine engineering and design as a single craft, anchoring classroom lessons to real employer projects tackled by students.
The four-year program – the first to be offered exclusively on Northeastern’s Oakland campus, which opened in 2022 – was co-designed by Northeastern faculty in the College of Engineering and College of Arts, Media and Design, with input from active Bay Area employers who will act as advisors and mentors alongside professors.
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Each course in the Bachelor of Science in Engineering Design (BSED) program will combine engineering and design as a single craft. Photos by Lachlan Cunningham for Northeastern University
Degree holders will be equipped to become product design engineers, UX designers and human factors engineers, roles ripe for hiring by companies like Adobe, NVIDIA, Bose or SpaceX, according to BSED faculty members.
While the course was being designed, employers told BSED faculty that technology companies are increasingly attracted to applicants with passion and experience across a broad spectrum of domains.
“They’re not just looking for civil engineers or mechanical engineers or software engineers, but for people who know what percentage of each of those tasks is required to execute on a design idea,” said Sarah Hirschman, professor of architecture and design in Oakland.
The BSED curriculum will ask students to consider the totality of complex engineering and design projects, such as the iPhone or Waymo’s driverless rideshare vehicles, Hirschman said. The success of such products depends equally on innovative engineering and design principles, she said, disciplines that do not fall squarely under a singular umbrella.
“My hope is that this program will reach students who, like me when I was in high school, think of themselves as having a foot in multiple disciplines. I was kind of a jock, kind of into science and math, but also really artistic,” Hirschman said. “I would like for this program to appeal to people who say, ‘I’m not intimidated by science, but it’s not my only love.’”
Read full story at Northeastern Global News