Opportunities for Discovery
Courses that go beyond
Our classes are hands-on from day one. From small-group projects, industry panels, and courses built around real-world challenges, you'll apply what you're learning in class long before graduation.
Engineering+
Our introductory classes go beyond the typical, immersing you in engineering through activities that will prepare you for success. The courses are organized by topic instead of major, so you can extend your community by meeting students from other disciplines.
Here are examples of class projects and activities:
- Run experiments in the O.H. Hinsdale Wave Laboratory comparing solutions for coastal erosion.
- Design an alternative water supply system including rainfall collection for the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon.
- Design, build, and test solar-powered lithium-ion battery chargers.
- Use open-source code to design small power grids for rural communities.
Senior Capstone Projects
To finish off your academic experience, you’ll work as a team to take on the challenges of engineering design and project management. Capstone projects include open-ended design, project management, documentation and production of a final prototype.
It all comes together at the Engineering Expo, where you’ll present your team’s poster and demonstrate your prototypes. The event attracts thousands of people, including industry representatives.
Some past capstone projects include:
- Designing products out of fish skin, a common waste material in commercial fishing.
- Creating a 1:24 scale model of a crane on the Oregon State research vessel R/V Taani.
- Jedi Vision: Mapping vision to sound to create a device to help visually impaired users navigate their environment.
- Designing a wave energy converter to capture motion in ocean water and harness energy.
Find your people in student
organizations
With over 50 engineering student clubs and organizations and over
400 clubs on campus, there really is something for everyone.
Connect with Clubs
The Engineering Student Council is the governing body of all engineering student organizations. Each fall they host Cookies and Clubs, an event where clubs try to recruit new members, like you!
Identity-Based Organizations
The Center for Diversity and Inclusion supports several clubs and organizations around identities, such as Out in STEM, the National Society of Black Engineers, and the Society of Women Engineers.
Competition Teams
Several student clubs and groups compete across the country, including:
Professional Orgs and Honor Societies
There are a number of honor societies and professional organizations available, including:
Hidden Gem Clubs
There are probably some engineering clubs you may not know exist:
Start research right away
Outside of class, take advantage of Oregon State’s highly collaborative research environment and join faculty who are finding solutions for some of the world’s most challenging problems.
Student research is supported through grants, donations, the office of Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and the Arts (URSA), and the Honors College.
Oregon State engineering undergrads have researched:
- Evaluating oils from hops for brewing processes, like bioengineering student Leah Byrne
- The impacts of ocean-acidified seawater, like chemical engineering student Ishita Joshi
- Perception and decision‑making systems in robots, like computer science student Noah Pragin
- Virtual training interfaces for apple-tree pruning robots, like mechanical engineering student Lily Oliphan
Kick-start your
career
What engineering career is right for you? How do you land your first internship? Oregon State engineering faculty, alumni and staff will provide industry and career support starting your first year.
Read about the internships and jobs of Oregon State engineers:
- Computer science student Chris Ho has interned at OSU’s Center for Applied Systems and Software, Groq and Apple.
- Architectural engineering student Sean Olea worked at Foresite and Southland Industries.
- Construction engineering management alum Alex Park used his work experience to found DAERO, a construction AI platform.
Take your engineering abroad
Make Oregon State your launching point for the rest of the world. Students travel internationally with study abroad, student competition teams, humanitarian engineering projects, research programs, and more.
Read about the travels of Oregon State Engineers:
- Industrial engineering student Madison Lenz went to Cameroon with Engineers Without Borders to bring clean water to rural communities.
- The OSU Global Formula Racing team collaborates with students from German university DHBW-Ravensburg, and travels to Austria and Germany for races.
- The Atlantis program for materials science students is an agreement with Saarlandes University in Germany to offer a double bachelors degree program.
