What Does FYE Really Mean?

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When applying to Purdue for engineering, I’m sure you heard a lot about the FYE program and some of the core engineering classes you will take in your first year. With plenty of different electives and courses available for you to take, it may be a bit confusing to sort through all of the different information. Don’t worry, we will give you a run down of what your FYE experience may look like and talk more about what some of those classes teach!


(Disclaimer: If you are interested in the Honors College track check out this blog!)



ENGR 13100/13200

If you are not in the Purdue Honors College nor a part of EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) in your first semester at Purdue, you will take ENGR 13100: Transforming Ideas to Innovation I, followed by ENGR 13200: Transforming Ideas to Innovation II during your second semester. These classes focus on introducing engineering projects and group work to freshman FYE students. ENGR 13100 focuses on working on group and individual projects using Excel to analyze data, create models, and determine solutions to the problems you are presented with. For my ENGR 13100 class, our final project was designing a product with Kimberly Clark that would be able to sort the trash put into trash cans in bathrooms. This project utilized all the tools we learned to solve problems in the class- data analysis, prototype designing, and problem solving.


ENGR 13200 is a continuation of ENGR 13100 that introduces a new tool; MATLAB, a programming language that is used by engineers in many different engineering disciplines for numeric computing. This class is also mainly group work and is a great opportunity to meet your fellow engineers who may be transferring into the same engineering discipline as you. Projects in this class are similar to that of the previous such as creating models, plotting data, and linearizing data using Matlab. In my year, our final project involved analyzing multiple large data sets of enzyme performance metrics. This project had large parts based upon Matlab coding but also required our academic writing, communication, and group work skills.


ENGR 13300

Some FYE students take ENGR 13300 which is an accelerated course that covers the material in ENGR 13100 and ENGR 13200 in one semester. The course teaches collaboration and problem solving techniques that can be applied to the many projects that are done in groups. Similar yet different to ENGR 13100 and ENGR 13200, the course covers programs including Excel, Matlab, and Python. This class teaches future engineers how to solve engineering problems such as calculating the pressure of various vessels of gas. Projects taught in the class utilize topics such as mathematical and logical operators, plotting, and looping. The final project requires students to write their own program using all the skills taught in the semester to solve an engineering problem. ENGR 13300 is generally taken alongside an Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) or Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) lab section.


ENGR 10301

Classes that fall under this number are optional classes that are for some learning communities. Others are electives that are related to specific engineering concepts such as Nanotechnology and Professional Practice in Engineering. In my experience, I was a part of the Global Engineering Programs and Partnerships earning community and therefore I took its class. In my ENGR 10301 class, we talked about the Engineering Grand Challenges, which is a set of problems impacting the world that engineers are working to find solutions to. In this class, we listened to speakers discussing their experiences as engineers working in different disciplines working on projects related to the Engineering Grand Challenges. This class included a final term paper that was on the topic of our choosing related to one of the Engineering Grand Challenges. My paper discussed the distribution of Covid vaccines to rural countries in the African region.


Women In Engineering Program Seminar (ENGR 19400)

If you choose to be a part of the Women in Engineering Program (WiE Program), you can join the learning community. The learning community is a great opportunity to meet fellow female engineers and learn about Purdue female graduates in engineering. The classes consisted of talks given by past Purdue engineering graduates in many different disciplines. One goal of the seminar is to give students the skills that female engineers are often tested to lack such as depth perception. To encourage the development of this skill, assignments for the class include replicating drawings in design software and doing origami.


FYE Selectives

In your second semester, you will take a FYE selective or you may take two depending on your course load. FYE selectives are classes that are taken in addition to your ENGR classes. Some of them may be required for your intended discipline or can be taken as electives required in addition to your discipline. These electives include a programming course, an additional chemistry course, and two biology courses. In my experience, I took the programming course (CS 15900) which focused on programming in the C language. This course is required for Biomedical Engineering, which I was interested in at the time. While I didn’t have to take this course, I can now use the credits for an elective requirement. You can also tailor your schedule to fit your personal interests, and your advisor can help you organize your required and elective classes to still be able to graduate on time. 



While it can be overwhelming, it is important that when selecting your courses you keep your own interests in mind. Purdue FYE is all about exploring what you want to do and what interests you about engineering.


Lily Brodzinski, CHE ‘25

Recruitment Project Committee


Stay Connected With Purdue WiE Program!

Facebook: Purdue Women in Engineering

Instagram: @purduewiep

Blog: purduewiep.blogspot.com

Email: welink@purdue.edu



Use the hashtag #PurdueWiE on Facebook and Instagram!



Purdue Women in Engineering

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