Design Engineering (DE) teaches students to understand not just the how and what, but the why and why not behind the creation of technologically enabled products, services, and systems. Methodologies, frameworks, and analytical tools to evaluate strategic and systemic implications and consequences of these products, services, and systems are considered. DE prepares students to (a) effectively apply engineering principles and quantitative analysis to make design decisions, (b) utilize complementary and conflicting principles from domains other than engineering in design decisions, (c) adeptly apply systemic principles to show interactions within and between systems, and (d) achieve fluency in human-centered and systems design processes and principles to analyze and synthesize responses to complex real-world problems.
https://engineering.brown.edu/undergraduate/concentrations/design-engineering
The DE program has 19 required courses and a required narrative explaining why the student is choosing Design Engineering, their proposed pathway, and how their courses support that pathway. Course requirements include three courses in mathematics; one introductory engineering design course; one engineering gateway course; one natural science course; one computer science course; two engineering design courses (ENGN 0610 and ENGN 0620); three cognitive, psychological or social science courses (either from the list provided or with concentration advisor approval); and six upper-level courses curated by a student's chosen pathway focus, from which four must be engineering courses. The program culminates with a capstone, design or independent study experience. Brown's Design Engineering Bachelor of Science degree is non-ABET accredited.
Program Requirements
| Introduction to Engineering | ||
| ENGN 0032 | Introduction to Engineering: Design | 1 |
| or ENGN 0030 | Introduction to Engineering | |
| Engineering Gateway (courses selected should include those required for the student’s proposed pathway) | ||
| ENGN 0040 | Engineering Statics and Dynamics | 1 |
| or ENGN 0410 | Materials Science | |
| or ENGN 0490 | Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering | |
| or ENGN 0500 | Digital Computing Systems | |
| or ENGN 1490 | Biomaterials | |
| Basic Physical/Life Science | 1 | |
| The Foundation of Living Systems | ||
| Equilibrium, Rate, and Structure | ||
| The Brain: An Introduction to Neuroscience | ||
| Computer Science | 1 | |
| Computing Foundations: Data | ||
| Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming and Computer Science | ||
| Computer Science: An Integrated Introduction | ||
| Accelerated Introduction to Computer Science | ||
| Introduction to Scientific Computing | ||
| Mathematics: Calculus and Methods of Applied Mathematics and Statistics | 3 | |
| Choose 3 from the following per the Concentration Advisor’s suggestions. If the student has placement credit for 0100/0190, then the student must take MATH 0180/0200 and two other courses. If the student has placement credit for MATH 0180/0200, then, per Concentration Advisor approval, selects 3 of the other higher-level courses below. | ||
| Single Variable Calculus, Part II | ||
| Multivariable Calculus | ||
| Single Variable Calculus, Part II (Physics/Engineering) | ||
| Multivariable Calculus (Physics/Engineering) | ||
| Applied Ordinary Differential Equations | ||
| Applied Partial Differential Equations I | ||
| Statistical Inference I | ||
| Honors Statistical Inference I | ||
| Advanced Introduction to Probability for Computing and Data Science | ||
| Linear Algebra | ||
| Design-Engineering Specific Requirements | ||
| ENGN 0610 | Systems Thinking | 1 |
| ENGN 0620 | Design Brief | 1 |
| Social Science Research, Decision Making, and Societal Context | ||
| One course that covers Social Science Research Methods: | 1 | |
| Ethnographic Research Methods | ||
| Focus Groups for Market and Social Research | ||
| Context Research for Innovation | ||
| Foundations of Political Analysis | ||
Or an equivalent course approved by the Concentration Advisor | ||
| One course on Decision Making and Design: | 1 | |
| Making Decisions | ||
| Mind, Brain and Behavior: An Interdisciplinary Approach | ||
| Social Psychology | ||
| Psychology in Business and Economics | ||
| Introduction to Human Development and Education | ||
| Decision Theory: Foundations and Applications | ||
Or an equivalent course approved by the Concentration Advisor | ||
| One course on Societal Context for Design: | 1 | |
| US Popular Culture | ||
| Introduction to Cultural Anthropology | ||
| Urban Life: Anthropology in and of the City | ||
| Engineering and Technology in the Ancient World | ||
| Principles of Economics | ||
| Inequality of Income, Wealth, and Health in the United States | ||
| Structural and Architectural Analysis | ||
| Cities, Landscapes, and Design in the Age of Pandemics | ||
| Ethics of Digital Technology | ||
| Ethics and Politics of Data | ||
| Moral Theories | ||
| Persuasive Communication | ||
| Downtown Development | ||
Or an equivalent course approved by the Concentration Advisor | ||
| Advanced Courses: Six engineering and/or engineering-related courses, at least four of which are ENGN courses, including at least two ENGN courses above the 1000-level. These must be approved by the Concentration Advisor and constitute a coherent body of work. 1 | 6 | |
| One Capstone, Design or Independent Study | 1 | |
| Projects in Engineering Design I | ||
| Projects in Engineering Design II | ||
| Chemical Process Design | ||
| Environmental Engineering Design | ||
| Instrumentation Design | ||
| Analysis and Design of Electronic Circuits | ||
| Design of Computing Systems | ||
| Embedded Microprocessor Design | ||
| Computer Aided Visualization and Design | ||
| Design of Space Systems | ||
| Biomedical Engineering Design and Innovation | ||
| Industrial Design | ||
| Design of Mechanical Assemblies | ||
| Biomedical Engineering Design and Innovation II | ||
| Independent Study in Engineering Design | ||
| Independent Study in Engineering Design | ||
| Total Credits | 19 | |
- 1
The following courses do not qualify for this purpose: ENGN 0020, ENGN 0090, ENGN 0930C, ENGN 0900, ENGN 0130, ENGN 1010, ENGN 1931H, ENGN 1931Q, ENGN 1931W, ENGN 1932D, ENGN 2000, ENGN 2040, ENGN 2060, ENGN 2095, ENGN 2110, ENGN 2120, ENGN 2125, ENGN 2130, ENGN 2140, ENGN 2150, ENGN 2160, ENGN 2172, ENGN 2173, ENGN 2180.