Academic Programs
At many schools, degree programs are highly specialized. Students take many classes in their major, but few classes in other fields. At Olin, it’s not just about what students know, but what they do with that knowledge. The curriculum is designed to provide technical depth in the areas most relevant to what students are likely to do after graduation. Every student learns about software, electronics and mechanical systems, and has several chances to work with students from other majors on interdisciplinary projects.
Every Olin student gets some basic electrical and computer engineering experience. In the first year, students learn basic circuit analysis, design and testing, and work with sensors, data acquisition and signal processing in Introduction to Sensors, Instrumentation and Measurement. In the sophomore year, students gain experience with microcontrollers and embedded software development in Principles of Engineering.
In Design Nature, every Olin student gets mechanical engineering experience by designing a toy that hops or swims (mechanical design), building a working prototype of that toy (fabrication), and modeling and predicting the behavior of a system like a monkey swinging from tree to tree or an exploding fireworks shell (mechanical and thermal analysis).
Our degree programs are designed to complement these common experiences with specialization and technical depth. Olin offers ABET accredited degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), Mechanical Engineering (ME) and Engineering (E), a flexible degree program that lets students choose or create an area of concentration.