GE Course Spotlights
Standard Curriculum
ENGR 1020 - Dive Into Your First Semester
In your first semester of engineering at Clemson, you'll have the opportunity to take ENGR 1020, a unique course that allows you to fulfill both a global challenges general education requirement and a major-specific requirement simultaneously. This course incorporates global challenges, enhancing your growth as both a thinker and a citizen.
As part of the Exploring Engineering section, you'll dive into the world of empathetic communication, developing crucial skills like effective sharing, self-awareness, perspective-taking, and mode-switching. You'll get hands-on experience with key workplace habits and how these norms can vary across different cultures, preparing you for a diverse, global workplace. These aren't just theoretical concepts - you'll practice them in class through engaging activities like storytelling and improv scenarios with your peers.
Through role-play scenarios based on real-world issues like the Flint Water Crisis and the Dakota Access Pipeline, you'll gain insight into the complexities of engineering projects through an empathetic lens.
The role-playing approach will help you understand how these skills apply not just in the classroom but throughout your life and career. Fellow students emphasized how these skills extend far beyond their academic life and made them realize the critical role of empathy in engineering. Whether it's improving communication or tackling global challenges, they recognize mindfulness and open dialogue as cornerstones of their future careers.
By taking ENGR 1020, you're not just learning technical skills - you're developing a holistic approach to engineering that combines technical expertise with a genuine passion for making the world a better place. This course reflects Clemson's commitment to providing you with a well-rounded engineering education that prepares you for the complex challenges of the modern world.
ENGR 1410 - Become a Leader in Emerging Technologies
In your second semester of engineering at Clemson, you'll enroll in ENGR 1410: Programming and Problem Solving. This course isn't just about learning to code - it's about integrating software with hardware to solve real-world problems, giving you a significant edge in your engineering journey.
You'll start by mastering fundamental programming concepts like data structures, algorithms, and control structures and then apply these skills to hardware components. This hands-on approach allows you to see how your code interacts with real-world devices and systems.
As you work with these tools, you'll develop essential skills in circuit design, signal processing, and data acquisition. These aren't just academic exercises - they're the building blocks for all facets of engineering. Imagine creating smart systems that can monitor and control energy consumption, reduce water wastage, or enhance air quality in industrial, municipal, and residential settings. That's the kind of real-world impact you'll be preparing for.
This course lays the groundwork for you to become a leader in emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), fields set to transform industries from healthcare to transportation, and you'll be at the forefront with your integrated software-hardware skills.
Working on these projects isn't a solo endeavor. You'll collaborate with your peers, developing crucial interpersonal skills like communication, problem-solving, and conflict resolution. These teamwork experiences mirror the real-world engineering environment, preparing you for future career success.
By the end of this course, you'll have developed a holistic understanding of how software and hardware interact to solve complex problems. This integrated approach will give you a significant advantage as you progress in your engineering studies and career, preparing you to tackle the challenges of the future with confidence and innovation.
Think Outside the Box
You'll be encouraged to come up with innovative solutions to real-world problems, fostering your creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. These are the skills that set great engineers apart, and you'll be developing them from your very first year at Clemson.
Courses Geared for Specific Majors
Getting Started with Technical and 3D Drawing
ENGR 2080 - 3D Modeling
In ENGR 2080: Engineering Graphics and Machine Design, you'll dive into the world of three-dimensional modeling using SolidWorks, a modern parametric Computer Aided Design (CAD) system. The techniques and basics you'll learn are transferable to any modern parametric CAD system.
Mastering Visualization Techniques
Your journey in this course will begin with mastering visualization techniques. You'll learn to think about objects in three dimensions and communicate how these objects should be built to ultimately improve life for everyone. You'll start by understanding how engineers use the three primary view planes to show the features and details of an object.
Once you've grasped these fundamentals, you'll jump into SolidWorks. You'll use sketching tools to create features and build those features into parts. Then, you'll assemble these parts in a virtual environment. But it's not just about creating - you'll also learn how to use engineering drawings to communicate your designs to others, with the goal of manufacturing these parts.
As you progress, you'll get hands-on experience measuring features on physical objects. This practical learning will give you a better understanding of how common screws, nuts, and bolts are designed and how they hold our modern world together. You'll see how the decisions you make in CAD can affect the cost, safety, and usability of products.
Hands-On Projects
To showcase your knowledge, you'll complete four major assessments. In the first project, you'll create an object with a threaded lid, demonstrating your ability to create specific features and working threads. The next project will challenge you to create a working assembly of a simple machine from incomplete images, requiring you to fix errors and missing dimensions.
The third project will have you reverse engineer a real-world device. You'll use measuring tools to create a working assembly of the device, including engineering drawings of the parts and assembly. Finally, you'll take the Certified SolidWorks Associate (CSWA) exam, which can earn you an internationally recognized certification to add to your resume.
You'll also explore tools for communication, such as animation and photo-rendering. These skills will allow you to create photorealistic images of your designs and show how assemblies are put together and move.
This course is a requirement for Bioengineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering students, providing you with essential skills for your future career. By the end of ENGR 2080, you'll have developed a strong foundation in CAD, design, and communication - skills that are crucial in the modern engineering world.
ENGR 2100 - CAD and Engineering Applications
The saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words," perfectly encapsulates how engineers describe every idea with a drawing. With the advancement in computer technology and drawing software, academia is aware of the importance of teaching students Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software.
Principles of Technical Drawing
ENGR 2100 – CAD and Engineering Applications course was developed to satisfy the engineering graphic requirements for civil engineering students, but students from other engineering majors have found the information useful in their studies. Students typically enroll in this class during the sophomore year and are taught in a hybrid mode during the fall and spring semesters.
ENGR 2100 teaches students the principles behind technical drawings. The two-dimensional drawings created in this course help them to visualize, communicate, and analyze engineering problems. Additionally, students obtain the knowledge required to present engineering problems and solutions graphically, allowing them to develop the skills necessary to succeed as a professional engineer.
Phased Approach
Phase 1: Students are introduced to the AutoCAD interface: drawing and editing capabilities, layers, blocks, layouts, annotations, and dimension techniques. They are taught the basics of creating technical drawings, editing existing drawings, understanding dimensioned drawings, adding dimensions to drawings, and creating working drawings. This phase roughly covers the first half of the semester.
Phase 2: In the second half of the semester, students apply the techniques learned during Phase 1 to solve civil engineering problems. The engineering applications include land surveys (contour maps and survey systems), hydrology (drainage basin and floodplains), road design (plan, existing and proposed profiles, cross-sections, and earthwork), architectural design (floor and roof plans, and front, back, left and right elevations), and site plan drawings.
Specialty Focus
First-Year Engineering GELC Program
ENGR 1010 - Mathematical Focus
As a first-year engineering student in the GELC program, you'll experience ENGR 1010, a math course designed to prepare you for calculus if you didn't qualify for Calculus I upon admission. This course will equip you with essential math skills and show you how these concepts apply to real engineering scenarios through hands-on lab activities.
While strong math skills are crucial for any successful engineer, what's even more important is your ability to identify and apply the right mathematical concepts to solve specific engineering problems. That's exactly what you'll learn in ENGR 1010.
Imagine escaping the classroom to complete an Estimation Lab, where you'll use simple tools like protractors, mirrors, and tape measures, along with trigonometry, to estimate the height and width of prominent campus features. This lab will challenge your critical thinking and problem-solving skills, showing you firsthand how trigonometry applies to engineering. Plus, it's often the most enjoyable lab as you work in teams outside the typical classroom setting.
Moreover, you'll get early exposure to sensor-based data acquisition, an essential tool in engineering. You'll learn to work with real data and tackle the challenges that come with it. As you collaborate in groups during these labs, you'll also develop crucial teamwork and interpersonal skills that are vital for your future as an engineering professional.
Through ENGR 1010, you'll build a solid foundation in math while getting a taste of real engineering work, setting you up for success in your future studies and career.
Will I Ever Use This?
These lab activities aren't just about learning math – they're about applying it to real engineering problems.
You'll explore the world of instrumentation and sensors, which are vital across all engineering disciplines. From pacemakers to landslide warning systems, aircraft speed measurement to electric vehicle batteries, sensors play a crucial role. In ENGR 1010, you'll get hands-on experience with various sensors:
- In Hooke's Law Lab, you'll use force and motion sensors to explore linear relationships in springs.
- The Light Lab will have you working with light sensors to investigate the relationship between light intensity and distance, applying logarithm rules to linearize the resulting model.
- During the Friction Lab, you'll estimate friction coefficients using force sensors and compare your experimental results with theoretical calculations using trigonometry.
You'll exercise your critical thinking and problem-solving skills, gaining a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts and their practical uses. This approach helps answer that age-old question: "When am I ever going to use this?"
