First-Year Experience

At Case School of Engineering, we understand how important hands-on experiences are as you shape and pursue your goals. That’s why we ensure you’ll have plenty of them—starting with the Roger E. Susi First-Year Undergraduate Engineering Experience.

Launched in 2022 with financial support from alumnus Roger E. Susi, this program allows all first-year engineering students to leave the lecture hall and enter a lab environment in their first two semesters at Case Western Reserve University.

Program Format

The signature course for our First-Year Experience is ENGR 130: Foundations of Engineering and Programming. It consists of hands-on projects, with a focus on general skill building, data analysis and programming instruction and friendly competitions. 

Each module is co-designed by a professor in one of our engineering departments. For example, you may explore civil and environmental engineering by designing and testing a water filter and sensor. In another module, you may learn about biomedical engineering by building a heart rate monitor.

No matter the projects in question, you’ll leave having gained skills in areas such as:

• Problem solving through hands-on projects  
• Working in teams
• Data analysis
• Programming using MATLAB
• Managing technical equipment in Larry Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears think[box]

Student Experiences 

“This course taught me the importance of collaboration. I believe the ability to collaborate in a team environment is a crucial skill to have in any type of industry but it is even more important in engineering.”

“It was very empowering to see that I could actually do things that I thought I could never do by myself. I learned confidence; confidence in myself, that I could actually be an engineer and make an impact in people’s lives.”

“My work in this class has taught me that having discomfort is okay. After taking this course, I know that I don’t have to know everything about a project and it’s okay that I most certainly will not know all of the answers at first.”

Meet Our Staff

Looking to learn more about the Roger E. Susi First-Year Undergraduate Engineering Experience at Case School of Engineering? Get in touch with a member of our team.