Prospective Students

At USD, it’s engineering…and so much more
Challenging. Student-centered. Hands-on. Broad-based. These are words that describe the integrated, nine-semester program of study at USD leading to dual Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Arts degrees in Engineering. In fact, USD is the only school in the U.S. where all engineering students automatically earn both a BS and a BA.

The USD general engineering core, taken by all engineering majors, emphasizes math and sciences, along with fundamental engineering topics. These courses are complemented by a comprehensive set of core classes taken by all USD students, providing the broad range of career-building skills and knowledge needed in today’s fast-paced world of rapid social and technological change:

Science and engineering foundation. The Engineering Program at USD provides students with a solid foundation in calculus, physics, chemistry, and engineering principles applicable to any field.

Practical skills. Students learn to apply specialized knowledge from their chosen field to design innovative solutions to technical and organizational problems.

Critical communication skills. Our programs produce engineering graduates who effectively communicate technical and non-technical ideas to a variety of audiences.

Teamwork. By working together on projects, USD students learn to take responsibility for assignments and coordinate work with colleagues. This means that graduates are able to participate on engineering teams the first day on the job.

Liberal Arts. In keeping with increasing demands for well-rounded engineers, students complete a core liberal arts curriculum that stresses human relations, values, and ethics.

Quality teaching: Priority one at USD
Certainly research is important to our USD professors. But teaching excellence is the primary goal of our engineering faculty. To provide the highest quality education, USD’s Engineering Program has established the following policies:

Ongoing faculty advising. All student advising for engineering majors is done by faculty who tracks student progress from the day they set foot on campus to the day they walk on stage to receive their degree. For an appointment please click here.

No teaching assistants. All courses, both lecture and laboratory, are taught by engineering faculty.

Small class size. Almost every engineering class has fewer than 25 students.