Founded in 1923, Rowan University is a comprehensive regional state university with six colleges, including a new College of Engineering initiated as a result of a $100M donation in 1992 from the Rowan Foundation. The Engineering College is committed to innovative methods of learning to better prepare students for entry into a rapidly changing and highly competitive marketplace. To best meet these curriculum objectives, the four engineering programs of Chemical, Civil, Electrical, and Mechanical have common Engineering Clinic classes (Clinics) throughout their programs of study. In Clinics, students work in multidisciplinary teams on hands-on projects. Clinics, as well as traditional laboratory classes, are excellent venues for giving students field experiences.

In the Freshman Clinic, students work on engineering measurements and reverse engineering or competitive assessment. The Sophomore Clinic exposes students to discipline-specific and multi-discipline design projects. Field experiences can enhance any of the topics covered in the lower-level clinics.

In Junior and Senior Clinics, students work in small teams with one or two professors on real-world problems, usually funded by industry, government, or non-profit organizations. A typical sequence includes literature/market review, development of a concise problem statement, research/design/testing activities, and presentation of results via written report and presentation. Field experiences are incorporated in two ways into Upper-level clinics. Some clinics are used to create field experiences for lower-level clinics and traditional classes. In other clinics, the project scope dictated by the funding organization requires students to complete field activities.

The Rowan Curriculum also includes traditional classes, many with laboratory periods that can be devoted to field experiences.

Use the projects link to see examples of field experiences at Rowan University. Interested in Rowan University? How about the College of Engineering?