Undergrad programs
Senior Design
As part of the senior design course, MAE students move beyond the classroom—they build, design, and deliver. As the capstone experience for our undergraduate curriculum, senior design brings together everything students have learned and challenges them to solve real engineering problems for real clients.
What is Senior Design?
Senior design is a two-semester course sequence required for all mechanical and aerospace engineering majors. Students work in teams to design, prototype, and test a solution to a real-world problem. Each project is sponsored by an industry partner, research lab, or faculty mentor, giving students the opportunity to apply engineering theory to meaningful, hands-on work.
Students benefit from the opportunity to work on realistic problems characterized by real-world constraints. To successfully complete the projects, they develop and demonstrate soft skills such as individual accountability, cooperation, communication, conflict resolution, and leadership. By the end of the course, students will:
- Understand a general design process,
- Learn how to effectively contribute as a new employee in an industrial project,
- Be capable of independently designing a product of marketable value.
Projects range from aircraft systems and robotics to thermal design, medical devices, and advanced manufacturing challenges. Every team walks away with professional experience, practical skills, and a portfolio-ready project.
Industry Collaboration
Senior Design connects students with industry sponsors, giving them a chance to solve engineering problems that matter. Sponsors benefit from the fresh perspectives and technical capabilities of our students, while students gain experience working with real clients, budgets, and deadlines.
Some of the benefits for our sponsors and partners include:
- Direct interaction with senior engineering students and faculty
- Opportunities to work with potential hires directly for a year to recruit the best
- Pipeline with co-ops and internships to better train and evaluate potential future employees
- Building relationships with the department and faculty involved, which can lead to larger projects, partnerships, and more consistent recruitment
- Exposure to new technology
- Access to UT’s state-of-the-art labs and facilities
- Invitation to Senior Design Showcase
Interested in sponsoring a project? Learn more about how to get started.