Fundamentals of Engineering – Standard (FE)

The Fundamentals of Engineering course sequence is a prerequisite for declaring most engineering majors at OSU. The standard FE sequence teaches basic but invaluable engineering skills that are required for future coursework and careers. Incoming freshmen take a two-semester course series, which broadly introduces the topics of:

  • Technical graphics (i.e. 3D visualization and sketching)
  • Computer-aided design
  • Programming in MATLAB
  • Engineering design and analysis
  • Project management
  • Teamwork
  • Oral and written technical communication

The topics and laboratories presented in these courses provide students with a broad overview of engineering's various disciplines. Many "undecided" first-year students use these courses to help them narrow down and declare a major of interest in the College of Engineering.

FE – Standard Course Sequence

Engineering 1181.01  Fundamentals of Engineering I

An important part of this course in the FE sequence is to introduce MATLAB programming. MATLAB is a powerful computer program that is widely used in advanced engineering analysis and design. Starting from the fundamentals of developing logical, stepwise algorithms for solving a computational problem, students learn programming skills that help analyze real-life situations and compute solutions.

Prerequisite or Concurrent: Math 1150 or above.

Not open to students with credit for ENGR 183.01 or 183.02

Engineering 1182.01  Fundamentals of Engineering II (Open-Ended User-Centered Design Project)

Over the course of the semester, teams of 4 students in 1182.01 are challenged to identify, research, and fully define a unique opportunity to create value by solving an engineering problem, and then design, build, and test a prototype solution for that problem. Each team has the freedom to choose a unique project topic which is of interest to them, leading to a diverse and creative set of different projects within the class. The project is comprised of three major phases - Problem Definition, Conceptual Development, and Detailed Design. During the conceptual development and final design phases of the project, students will incorporate technical knowledge and skills learned within the Fundamentals of Engineering program to aid in designing and building a functional prototype of their solution including Microsoft Excel, programming, and engineering graphics and 3D CAD modeling.

Prerequisite: ENGR 1181.01, 1181.02, 1281.01H, 1281.02H, or 1281.03H. Concurrent: Math 1151 or above.
Not open to students with credit for ENGR 181.01 or 181.02.