Design Option

Objective

Develop design engineers that are industry oriented, experimentally-prepared, self-directed, creative and innovative, and differentiated professionals with project management experience.

Unique Opportunities at CU Boulder

The cornerstone of this program is a sequence of courses that begins in the fall semester and culminates four semesters later. The first course in this sequence is Advanced Product Design (APD). APD is a studio class that focuses on consumer product and user-centered design and helps equip students with the tools necessary to conceptualize innovative designs. APD is followed in the spring by Design for Manufacturability (DFM). DFM teaches students how to take their conceptual designs generated in APD, and transform them into products that are ready for manufacturing. Following APD and DFM, the Graduate Design projects course meets formally once per week and is geared toward teams of students completing an industry-sponsored design project. In Graduate Design, teams three to four students, have access to funds from the sponsoring company and meet regularly with a mentor from the sponsoring company and a faculty advisor. Teams are tasked with delivering a near turn-key product at the end of the 9-month project.

Graduate students who have questions about the Design Program or would like more information should contact faculty members Greg Whiting or Dan Riffell.

Required & Recommended Coursework

The Design Option requires that you complete the following courses housed by the Design Center: 

Elective courses you might also be interested in taking as you pursue the Design Option include:

  • MCEN 5115 Mechatronics and Robotics
  • MCEN 5125 Optimal Design
  • MCEN 5173 Finite Element Analysis
  • MCEN 5010 Microsystems Integration
  • MCEN 5228 Automated Mechanical Design Synthesis
  • MCEN 5228 Biomechanics
  • MCEN 5228 Feedback Control Design
  • MCEN 5228 Wind Energy
  • MCEN 5064 Soft Machines
  • ASEN 5148 Spacecraft Design
  • ASEN 5519 Human Factors in Design
  • ECEN 511 Design of Medical Devices
  • CSCI 5839 User-Centered Design
  • EMEN 5030 Project Management