Curriculum

There are many courses that can be taken at Rice that teach engineering design. Some of these are capstone design projects for seniors, freshman design courses and others are designed for underclassmen. 

Descriptions taken from the Registrar’s Course Catalog

You can find descriptions of each course below.


Engineering Design Minor:

The Engineering Design minor is a complement to existing B.S. and B.A. degree programs in the School of Engineering and is open to any student earning a major in any department in the School of Engineering. The program is designed for students inside the School of Engineering because applied engineering practice is expected in the higher-level courses- and this knowledge will come from student’s work in their engineering majors. A strength of the minor is that students from many different departments will work together on projects in highly collaborative, multi-disciplinary teams. Students will come out of these experiences with enhanced engineering skills as well and leadership and communication skills that will serve them well in any future endeavor.  For more information go to the EDES Page.


Capstone Senior Design Courses:


Bioengineering:
BIOE 451 & 452
Senior Bioengineering students will design devices in biotechnology or biomedicine. This project-based course covers systematic design processes, engineering economics, FDA requirements, safety, engineering ethics, design failures, research design, intellectual property rights, business planning and marketing. Students will be expected to compile concise documentation and present orally progress of their teams. It is required that students take both parts of this course in the same year. BIOE 451 and 452 must be taken the same academic year.

Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
: CHBE 403 & 404
Product and process design fundamentals. Economic analysis. Use of modern simulation tools for chemical engineering design.

Civil and Environmental Engineering:
CEVE 480
The capstone design course will provide senior engineering students with a complete design experience including fundamental design issues in the major areas of the curriculum, small team experiences, project proposals, progress reports and presentations, design software and computations, major report writing, and a final presentation to the CEVE faculty. An established local firm will assist in teaching practical design methods and consultation with other faculty is required as part of the overall experience.

Electrical and Computer Engineering: ELEC 494
Senior Design is a year-long course required of all BSEE-degree students. Students should register for ELEC 494 for both semesters. Teams of students will design, construct, and document a prototype system to meet specifications determined by the team and the instructor. Senior design projects are the culmination of the Rice engineering experience. Cross-departmental projects are allowed and encouraged, and extensive use will be made of the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen. Many projects will involve advisors from industrial affiliates. Throughout the year there will be several opportunities for presentations on the project. Top projects will be eligible for several awards from within Rice and outside the university, including some nation-wide competitions.

Mechanical Engineering:
MECH 407 & 408
An interdisciplinary capstone design experience in mechanical engineering. This course provides an opportunity for students to apply knowledge and skills acquired in previous courses to the solution of a realistic engineering problem. Teams of students will specify, design, and build a system to meet a prescribed set of requirements. The topics covered in this course will include design methodology, effective teamwork, project management, documentation, and presentation skills. Must complete MECH 408 to receive credit for MECH 407. Required for mechanical engineering majors in B.S. program.


Underclassmen Design Courses:


Introduction to Engineering Design: ENGI 120/220 and FWIS 188
Students learn the engineering design process and use it to solve meaningful problems drawn from the community and around the world. Teams of students evaluate design requirements and construct innovative solutions in the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen. Students develop teaming and communication skills. Juniors mentor first-year undergraduates in design, leadership and communications. Course content of ENGI 120, ENGI 220 and FWIS 188 is identical. (READ MORE)

Engineering Design Studio: ENGI 200
Graduates of ENGI 120 and ENGI 220 will have the opportunity to gain a more in-depth knowledge of the engineering design process by furthering progress on specific engineering design projects. Students may extend their project work by completing advanced prototyping for their designs and conduct testing. Students will be held accountable through technical mentorship, weekly meetings, and prototype evaluations. Students will only work in design teams. Student teams wishing to continue their projects from ENGI 120/220 may apply. For application contact the instructor. Instructor permission required.

Prototyping and Fabrication: ENGI 210

Students in ENGI 210 will learn and practice advanced prototyping and fabrication skills useful in the construction of physical objects for engineering design projects. The course is structured as lecture and demonstration of basic and advanced prototyping techniques and out-of-class work practicing and honing the application of these techniques. Example techniques include low fidelity prototyping, 2D and 3D Computer Aided Design, electronics, foam cutting, laser cutting, plasma cutting, 3D printing, and molding/casting methods. Students will individually apply these techniques to create physical objects. College: School of Engineering Department: Engineering


Engineering Design Workshop: ENGI 300
Advanced design students will have the opportunity to further their design projects in an independent study course. Students will work with faculty to develop their own schedule, set their own deadlines, goals, and expectations to be met for grading purposes. Students may complete advanced prototyping for their designs, conduct tests, perform safety evaluations with external committee and/or write up their work for publication. The specific tasks that will be completed are dependent on the project needs. Students will be held accountable through technical mentorship, weekly meetings, and prototype evaluations. To be eligible for ENGI 300 students must have taken ENGI 120 (or equivalent), ENGI 210, and ENGI 200. Instructor permission required.

Introduction to Practical Electrical Engineering: ENGI 301

Students will acquire intermediate-level proficiency in the tools (both physical and software) used to design, build and debug embedded hardware designs. Students will learn the basics of electronic components and how to use those components in a successful embedded hardware design.

Needs Identification and Design Implementation: ENGI 350

Students in this course will identify needs situated in two or more environments, and learn to ask questions that elucidate the problem, needed features and criteria for success. Students also develop implementation plans and conduct testing for refined design solutions that may include standards and safety compliance, patent applications, and manufacturing and user documents.



Other Courses Taught in the OEDK:


Advanced Object - Oriented Programming and Design: COMP 310
Discover how state-of-the-art object-orient programming and design techniques can create globe-spanning software systems that are both flexible and scalable. Learn how software design patterns are used in multiple programming paradigms. Explore highly decoupled systems with dynamically configurable behaviors. Highly recommended for anyone interested in building large systems and software engineering. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: COMP 510.

Graduate Object – Oriented Programming and Design:
COMP 404
Discover how state-of-the-art object-orient programming and design techniques can create globe-spanning software systems that are both flexible and scalable. Learn how software design patterns are used in multiple programming paradigms. Explore highly decoupled systems with dynamically configurable behaviors. Highly recommended for anyone interested in building large systems and software engineering. Basic proficiency in Java is required. Students may not receive credit for both COMP 310/510 and COMP 404.

Microcontroller Applications:
BIOE 421
This class covers the usage of microcontrollers in a laboratory setting. We will start with basic electronics and, in the lab component, design, program, and build systems utilizing widely-available microcontrollers (e.g. Arduino, Raspberry Pi). Units in motion control, sensors (light, temperature, humidity, UV/Vis absorbance), and actuation (pneumatics, gears, and motors) will provide students with functional knowledge to design and prototype their own experimental systems for laboratory-scale automation. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: BIOE 521.

Digital Design & Visualization: BIOE 447
Students will acquire basic to intermediate-level digital design proficiency for bioengineering-related applications. Programs for the design of patient-specific therapies including image reconstruction, computer aided design, and parameter modeling will be used to create models.

Contact us

Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen
Rice University

6100 Main Street MS 390 | Houston, Texas | 77005

Phone: 713.348.OEDK

Email: oedk@rice.edu

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