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 2018 with financial support from alumnus Roger E. Susi, this program allows all first-year engineering students to explore engineering via a variety of hands-on, team-based experiences during their first year at Case Western Reserve University.

Program Overview

Through the First-Year Experience course, ENGR 130: Foundations of Engineering and Programming, students gain skills in areas such as:

• Problem solving through hands-on projects  
• Working in teams
• Data analysis
• Computer programming using MATLAB
• Prototyping in Larry Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears think[box]

Students learn about the variety of engineering disciplines available at CWRU via guest presentations, and they also explore several branches of engineering in more depth through hands-on lab modules.

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 prototyping a heart rate monitor.

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.”

“What made this experience even more rewarding was the opportunity to collaborate with my peers. Working in the lab wasn’t just about coding; it was about coming together as a team. This collaboration helped me improve not only my technical skills but also my communication and organizational abilities.”

“With each lab, I became better at managing projects and people. ENGR 130 challenged me to work with a broad range of students, boosting my skill as a teammate and as a leader.”

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.