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2024-2025 Undergraduate & Graduate Catalog

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Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Interdisciplinary Engineering Major

The interdisciplinary engineering program allows the student to focus his/her studies in a disciplinary area that may transcend traditional disciplines. The interdisciplinary engineering areas often encompass emerging technologies. Plans of study for such students often include coursework outside of engineering.

The interdisciplinary program maintains the educational philosophy of all B.S.E. degree programs at Grand Valley to provide the student with a broad engineering background first and then an area of specialization later in the program. This provides students with the diversity of preparation to work in the interdisciplinary environment that is prevalent today.

Integral to all four years of the program is a "design and build" educational philosophy incorporated through extensive laboratory and project activities as preparation for professional practice. Students engage in design at all levels of the curriculum. At each level, they must realize their designs and proceed with testing, validation, and redesign. This approach allows students to experience many real-world constraints such as project economics, project planning and scheduling, environmental considerations, manufacturability/producibility of the designs, laboratory and product safety, and product reliability.

The interdisciplinary program provides the student with the broad foundation common to all of the engineering programs at Grand Valley, followed in the junior and senior years by required courses that provide preparation in each of the following areas:

  • Energy
  • Engineering design
  • Systems and control

This core is then complemented by an interdisciplinary engineering emphasis consisting of 29 minimum credits of elective courses. The proposed electives must ensure that the entire program includes:

  • 32 credits of engineering science content
  • 16 credits of engineering design content

Ensure that the elective courses include not less than 14 credits in STEM subjects, of which 11 must be upper-division engineering credits.

Together, the student and the interdisciplinary engineering chair develop a cohesive plan of study meeting the requirements of the interdisciplinary engineering program. If the plan includes coursework to be taken from outside the School of Engineering, then the chair of the appropriate unit is consulted. The plan must be approved by the Interdisciplinary Engineering Curriculum Committee.

Accreditation

The B.S.E. Interdisciplinary Engineering Program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org.

Program Educational Objectives

Graduates of the interdisciplinary engineering program are expected within a few years of graduation to

  • demonstrate technical competency in their careers;
  • function effectively in an industrial or academic environment;
  • engage in professional development; and
  • shape their professions and societies.

Student Outcomes and Assessment

Graduates will demonstrate an ability to

  • identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics;
  • apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors;
  • communicate effectively with a range of audiences;
  • recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts;
  • function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives;
  • develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions; and
  • acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

Degree Requirements

Interdisciplinary engineering students must complete all requirements for the B.S.E. degree including the general education requirements, the foundations of engineering courses, an interdisciplinary emphasis, cooperative education, the engineering design Capstone, and the following engineering courses:

Required Courses

Emphasis Areas

Must complete a minimum of 29 credits.

Architectural Engineering Emphasis with Articulated Master of Architecture (at Kendall College of Art and Design)

Students choosing this emphasis will take EGR 250, EGR 251, EGR 309, and EGR 310 in their foundations and EGR 346 and EGR 360 as their interdisciplinary engineering required courses.

The KCAD Thesis Preparatory Seminar, Thesis Studio, and Thesis Proseminar will serve as the GVSU Capstone experience in place of EGR 485 and EGR 486. At the time that the student applies for secondary admission into the GVSU School of Engineering, they must also apply for conditional admission into the M.Arch. program at KCAD. The KCAD provisional admissions criteria are:

  • Online application
  • 2.7 undergraduate GPA
  • GVSU transcript (could be unofficial)
  • Completion of all GVSU course requirements in the first two years of the articulation agreement prior to beginning M.Arch. classes in fall of the third year.

The B.S.E. degree will not be conferred by GVSU until completion of the KCAD M.Arch. program requirements. This emphasis was designed as a pathway into the M.Arch. program and is not intended as an emphasis independent of the M.Arch. degree. However, if a student begins in this path and decides not to complete the M.Arch. degree or fails to meet the M.Arch. admission requirements, GVSU would re-enroll the student for completion of the engineering senior project as well as any outstanding elective or required courses that might be needed to complete the B.S.E. degree with a major in interdisciplinary engineering (no longer with the architectural engineering emphasis).

Details about this emphasis and the articulation into the KCAD M.Arch. program and coursework can be found at gvsu.edu/engineering/kcad.

Data Science Emphasis

Students choosing this emphasis will take EGR 250, EGR 251, EGR 309 and EGR 310 in their foundations and EGR 345 and EGR 362 as their interdisciplinary engineering required courses.

Design and Innovation Emphasis

Delivered in cooperation with Cornerstone University. Courses taken at Cornerstone University are indicated (Cornerstone) as follows. Students choosing this emphasis will take EGR 250, EGR 251, EGR 309 and EGR 310 in their foundations and EGR 345 and EGR 362 as their interdisciplinary engineering required courses.

Engineering Management Emphasis

Students choosing this emphasis will take EGR 250, EGR 251, EGR 309 and EGR 310 in their foundations and EGR 345 and EGR 362 as their interdisciplinary engineering required courses.

Environmental Engineering Emphasis

Delivered in cooperation with Cornerstone University. Courses taken at Cornerstone University are indicated (Cornerstone) as follows. Students choosing this emphasis will take EGR 250, EGR 251, EGR 309 and EGR 310 in their foundations and EGR 345 and EGR 362 as their interdisciplinary engineering required courses.

Interdisciplinary Emphasis

The student and the interdisciplinary engineering chair will jointly develop a cohesive plan of electives that addresses the intent of the field of interest. This plan must

  • be cohesive and have demonstrable employment opportunities;
  • contain a minimum of 29 credit hours of courses;
  • be approved by the Interdisciplinary Engineering Curriculum Committee;
  • ensure that the program includes not less than 16 credits of engineering design;
  • ensure that the program includes not less than 32 credits of engineering science; and
  • ensure that the elective courses include not less than 14 credits in STEM subjects, of which 11 must be upper-division engineering credits.

Mechatronics Engineering Emphasis

All mechatronics engineering emphasis students are required to complete the following courses:

AND one of the following tracks:

  • Mechanical or sensors and controls

Mechanical Track

Students choosing this emphasis will take EGR 250, EGR 251, and EGR 310 in their foundations and EGR 314 and EGR 346 as their interdisciplinary engineering required courses.

Sensors and Controls Track

Students choosing this emphasis will take EGR 250, EGR 251, and EGR 223 in their foundations and EGR 314 and EGR 326 as their interdisciplinary engineering required courses.

Renewable Energy Engineering Emphasis

Foundation and required course selections for this emphasis should be made in cooperation with the IE chairperson as the plan of study is developed and approved.

AND four electives from the following:

Suggested Order of Coursework for the Interdisciplinary Engineering Major

Final Three Years

Third Academic Semester

Fall:

Fourth Academic Semester

Winter:

First Co-op Semester

Spring/Summer:

Fifth Academic Semester

Fall:

Second Co-op Semester

Winter:

Sixth Academic Semester

Spring/Summer:

Third Co-op Semester

Fall:

Seventh Academic Semester

Winter:

The prerequisites for EGR 485 are acceptance into the B.S.E. degree program and completion of the prerequisite courses listed under the student's engineering major.

For the interdisciplinary engineering major, these prerequisites are the interdisciplinary engineering required courses plus a minimum of nine credits of the student's interdisciplinary engineering electives. Students must also have a plan to graduate no later than the fall semester following their enrollment in EGR 485 with a maximum of one interdisciplinary elective being taken in the terminal semester. Interdisciplinary engineering students may register in EGR 485 by permit only to allow consultation with the interdisciplinary engineering chairperson to ensure they meet these prerequisites.

Eighth Academic Semester

Spring/Summer:

Engineering Program Description

Click here for the program description.


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