Alternative Pathways to Engineering through Multidisciplinary Studio Instruction

Transforming the first-year engineering curriculum and experience is essential to broadening participation and retention in engineering, both nationally and internationally. The 2024 Engineering Mindset Report by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) highlights how introductory physics and mathematics often function as “bottlenecks” to engineering education for students from minoritized and underserved communities. At the University of Detroit Mercy, we are responding to this challenge by reimagining foundational physics instruction, and its connection to mathematics and engineering, through an integrated and equity-centered model that turns these traditionally siloed courses into an integrated multidisciplinary studio classroom. This talk will present the ongoing pilot project that proposes a unique alternative pathway into engineering. Our model is centered on more inclusive recruitment and admission strategies that eliminate the use of standardized exam scores as a measure of talent, as they have proven to systematically disadvantage students from underresourced schools. Reformed recruitment strategies, in partnership with high school counselors and program directors, seek to identify students typically excluded by traditional admissions criteria. Admitted students will experience a re-envisioned first-year pilot curriculum that uses physics as the anchor around which mathematics instruction and real-world engineering applications are introduced in a studio-style environment. The learning experience will be further enriched and facilitated by learning assistants, student advocates and faculty mentors. Incorporating culturally responsive pedagogy into real-world challenges will seek to strengthen students’ belonging and preparedness for success in a rapidly evolving 21st century engineering workforce. Our project proposes a more holistic approach to creating truly ‘student-ready’ institutions.