Restructuring the freshman year in engineering at UTEP

This paper describes an engineering curriculum reform effort being conducted at the University of Texas at El Paso (USA) and supported through the University of Texas System for Minority Participation which addresses the freshman year experience for engineering majors. This effort has resulted in the creation of a new sequence of interdisciplinary introductory courses in engineering which incorporate contemporary pedagogical techniques. It is anticipated that the implementation of these courses will increase the retention of engineering students through the freshman year and will better prepare them for subsequent studies in engineering.