First-Year Engineering Experience

Orange and Black Days

Orange and Black Days are full-day spring programs for admitted first-year and transfer students and their guests. The program will introduce you to Oregon State, and you will have the opportunity to tour the facilities and meet with engineering faculty and students.

First-year START Program

All engineering students attend a two-day orientation and go through the START program. First-year START will give you the chance to meet with your advisors, register for fall term courses, tour your residence hall, and learn what it means to be part of the Oregon State community.

Your journey at Oregon State begins before the first day of classes.

Eat, sleep, and breathe engineering

Engineering students can be a part of the Engineering Living-Learning Community. Located in Hawley, Buxton and Cauthorn halls, this immersive, inclusive community welcomes students with programming centered on engineering concepts and activities.

A week of welcome

Welcome Week offers activities and events to help you connect and engage with the campus. You’ll be entertained, learn tips and strategies for success, and get to know student resources.

Welcome to Corvallis and the start of your undergraduate experience!

Academics

You will be one of the first students to benefit from our totally redesigned First-Year Engineering Experience. The heart of this initiative is a three-term engineering orientation that immediately introduces real-world engineering challenges.

Core themes include:

Engineering grand challenges.
Design engineering and problem-solving.
Engineering computation and algorithmic thinking.

Other first-year coursework will be in math and science, helping you master the fundamentals needed for advanced engineering classes.

Know what to expect from your classes.

Co-curricular resources

Expanding on the FYEE coursework, you will have the opportunity to participate in several new co-curricular programs.

Engineering Fridays is an events- and activities-based program that includes makerspace challenges, hackathons, and guest lectures that encourage exploration of different engineering opportunities.

First-year mentorships connect you with upper-division engineering students who help you acclimate to university life, pass along study skills, and share a variety of firsthand experiences with research projects, internships, and academic challenges.

Our entire community is here to support you.

Extracurricular resources

There are dozens of opportunities beyond your academics. We want you to grow and experience all the university has to offer.

Center for Diversity and Inclusion: Engage with students through social and networking events, connect to campus resources, and learn about the social and cultural issues that affect the engineering practice.
Office of Student Life: Promotes initiatives to address student needs and interests.
ASOSU (Associated Students): Student government, office of advocacy, and the student advisory board.
Intramural Sports: Play and compete with others on campus in over 40 leagues and tournaments.

You’ll find so much more than engineering.

Declare your major and start diving into engineering coursework.

You’ll be admitted as a General Engineering major, allowing you to explore all 16 programs throughout your first year. Near the end of spring term, if you haven’t already declared, you will choose your path to begin major-specific coursework in year two.

By having extra time to learn about engineering careers and specialties, you can make your decision with confidence, reducing the chance you will want to change majors later.