Shocker Design Experience

The Shocker Design Experience is an exciting new program in the College of Engineering for first year students of all majors that encompasses the entire first year: students will explore their interests in a fall semester course and take on a meaningful multidisciplinary applied project in the spring semester. Come join our community!

Fall FYS Course Spring Applied Project FAQ

Innovation

A Message from Dean Muscat

"The Shocker Design Experience will train you how to lead with curiosity, work in small teams whose members respectfully challenge one another, and put you on the path to using an engineering mindset to develop products that reach all the way to the end user. "

Shocker Design Experience:
Fall FYS + Spring Project

Enroll Now

Students sitting at a table laughing about a shared activity

Fall FYS Course

Step 1 - Enroll in our Fall FYS Course

Take one of our First Year Seminar (FYS) courses to learn about the inventions that made our modern world possible. You'll then experience the innovation process yourself using the design thinking process, a human-centered design method for innovation that focuses on empathy as a way to understand the user and design to meet their needs. The FYS course is a prerequisite for the spring semester applied project. Open to students of all majors!

Enroll in one:

FYET 102A Introduction to Technology & Innovation
FYET 102B Innovations of World War II

A students shows off her cardboard prototype

Spring Applied Project

Step 2 - Enroll in our Spring Applied Project

Continue your work from the fall FYS in your spring semester in the applied project, where your team can transform your ideas into a fully working prototype. We'll coach you on product development, protecting your intellectual property, and giving an elevator pitch to share your new product. Participate in the Koch Innovation Challenge, a fun innovation competition to earn applied experience credit or Engineering+ credit towards graduation. Open to students of all majors!

Enroll in one of the following:

ENGR 102B Entrepreneurship & Innovation Applied Project
ENGR 102C Service Learning Applied Project
(more options to come!)

A team of students with their faculty mentors, all dressed up for the final competition.

Why Join SDX?

This new and unique experience has many benefits for first year students of all majors:

You'll belong a community with other first year students around shared interests
Faculty and peer mentors will guide you through your first full year at WSU
Mini design challenges will help you build your teamwork, communication, and critical thinking skills with fun, hands-on collaborative activities
Student success workshops will pique your curiosity as you explore interesting topics and learn new skills to add to your own professional development plan