Engineering Major

Harness the laws of nature, design and build technology, and help solve real-world problems as an Engineering major at Taylor. Train in mechanical, electrical, material, and thermal systems; and examine how the principles of mathematics, engineering, and physics influence one another. You will also conduct large-scale research projects and have ample opportunity to implement your classroom knowledge with hands-on projects, like the Satellite Project.

Accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), Taylor’s Engineering program focuses on producing knowledgeable, high-quality engineers with strong Christian character. While there is no such thing as “Christian engineering,” our Engineering faculty foster a Christian community that teaches engineering relationally. Your professors will not only care about how you are preparing for your future career in engineering, but also how you are developing as a Christ-follower. Faculty encourage students to discover how applied science and faith interact and are excited to send Christian leaders into the engineering field.

Instead of offering specific Engineering majors, Taylor’s Engineering program offers a single BS Engineering degree that builds a broad and robust engineering foundation that matches the approach to developments in the industry across all engineering disciplines. To better prepare you for today’s interdisciplinary engineering field, Taylor offers the option to choose two of our seven Engineering concentrations.

The available concentrations are Electrical, Mechanical, Physics, Biomedical, Chemical, Environmental, and General. A Taylor Engineering degree gives students the tools they need to pursue a graduate program or career in their preferred engineering concentration. For example, a student choosing the Electrical concentration would receive a BS degree in Engineering and would take courses that focus on electrical systems. A student choosing the Mechanical concentration would also receive a BS degree in Engineering, but would take courses that focus on mechanical systems.

Read more about our Engineering concentrations:

• Electrical Engineering Concentration: Learn about the theory and behavior of electrical systems by studying electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism; and apply your knowledge to the design of systems requiring analog, digital, micro-computer, and/or power electronics. Students completing this concentration are well-equipped to enter the workforce as an electrical engineer or pursue graduate work in electrical engineering.
• Mechanical Engineering Concentration: The Mechanical concentration focuses on the theory and behavior of mechanical systems. Students will study fluid mechanics, heat transfer, the dynamics of machinery, and materials used for machine design. Completing this concentration will equip students to enter the workforce as a mechanical engineer or pursue graduate work in a range of mechanically-oriented disciplines (i.e., Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Materials Science, etc.).
• Physics Engineering Concentration: Build an advanced knowledge of the application of experimental physics, especially electricity and magnetism, waves, optics, and quantum mechanics. This concentration is particularly well-suited for students who are more interested in the application of physics than theory. Students pursuing this course would be equally well-prepared for a career or advanced study in either applied physics or engineering research.
• Biomedical Engineering Concentration: Connect engineering and biology to apply your knowledge to healthcare. This concentration has been especially designed to help students meet the admission requirements for a graduate program in biomedical engineering—a growing field in today’s technical society.
• Chemical Engineering Concentration: Focus on the intersection of engineering and chemistry – one of the more in-demand disciplines in the engineering field—and combine chemistry with your knowledge of physics and thermodynamics to learn how chemicals, materials, and energy interact. This concentration has been designed to help students meet the admission requirements for a graduate program in chemical engineering.
• Environmental Engineering Concentration: Go green with your Engineering degree. Supplementing your Engineering classes with Environmental Science will prepare you to design purposefully-engineered technology that will sustain and improve the environment. This concentration will enable students to pursue jobs or graduate work in Environmental or Geotechnical Engineering.
• General Engineering Concentration: Design your own concentration for an advanced, practical understanding of the various areas of engineering, rounded out by additional mathematics and science courses. This concentration allows students who have a broader interest in engineering to take a variety of engineering courses across the spectrum. Graduates from this concentration have the interdisciplinary engineering coursework, like the other concentrations, but are also well-prepared to pursue graduate programs outside the engineering discipline, such as an MBA program.

The Engineering program focuses on two kinds of classes: design and project. Design-focused classes use engineering tools and technology to sketch designs and construct digital prototypes. Project-based classes give students hands-on experience in the machine and wood shops and electronics lab working on elaborate projects.

On top of building a theoretical and experiential knowledge of engineering, students are able to engage with the ethical issues associated with technology in the 21st century digital society.

Take a peek into some of our core Engineering courses:

• Introduction to Engineering: a course in your first year that introduces you to several commercial engineering CAD and programming software tools through a multi-disciplinary hands-on project. Students learn Solidworks and Cadsoft Eagle and gain exposure to the Arduino programming environment.
• Introduction to Circuits & Electronics / Principles of Engineering: two sophomore-year courses that each include a 4- to 6-week end-of-semester project. One project gives students a concept-to-design-to-CAD-to-prototyping electrical experience. Previously, students designed and built laser tag guns and receivers. The second project leads students through a multi-physics system modeling and design optimization problem. In the past, the project platform has been a small electric vehicle.
• Junior Engineering Project: a junior year course that focuses on applying engineering, math, and science knowledge to solving a multidisciplinary problem using a variety of analytical tools that have been learned through the Engineering curriculum. With multiple concentrations represented on a team, Engineering majors learn how their specialties fit into real projects and how to integrate their concentration with other engineering specialties. Recent projects include the design of an induction bread baking table-top oven and an inverted pendulum two-wheeled robot.
• Practicum: an experience involving significant engineering work. Practicums can be in the engineering industry or in engineering research. Past students have completed practicums with industry leaders like Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Dynamic Aviation, NuVasive, and Gentex.
• Senior Capstone: a three-course experience designed to prepare students for professional engineering work through a year-long student-driven project. Just like the junior engineering project, teams are multidisciplinary and bring engineers of all concentrations together to apply theory to hands-on projects.

Engineering Curriculum & Degree Options

• Bachelor of Science in Engineering

Contact the Physics & Engineering Department

Bill Bauson, Chair of Physics & Engineering
765-998-5164
william_bauson@taylor.edu

Lara Horsley, Physics & Engineering Program Assistant
765-998-5162
lrhorsley@taylor.edu