Year 1: Pre-Professional Program
Meet with your academic advisor to discuss the Launch Your Engineering Career program and create an academic plan
Your academic advisor is here to help you succeed and should be your best friend at USU. Your advisor knows the engineering curriculum and can help you create an academic plan that meets your specific needs.
Meet with your academic advisor each semester before Halloween and St. Patrick’s Day to prepare for registration.
Learn about USU and College of Engineering resources
USU provides you many resources important to your success. The Engineering Advising Center has gathered these resources into one easy location. These resources include academic success, health and wellness, and financial support.
If you do not have access to your Engineering Advising Course on your Canvas dashboard, please contact the Engineering Advising Center (engineering.advising@usu.edu).
Visit each of your professors and teaching assistants
Each of your professors and teaching assistants has scheduled office hours. Office hours provide you an opportunity for one-on-one interaction to ask questions about the course, receive help with homework, and build your professional network.
These connections with faculty will help you when you need letters of recommendation or are looking for research opportunities.
Contact Department
Meet the Faculty
Employ the services of the Engineering Tutoring Center, Writing Center, Computer Lab, Design Lab, Idea Factory, and Metal Factory
The Engineering Tutoring Center provides free, drop-in tutoring. You can receive help with all your math, science, and engineering courses.
The Engineering Writing Center can help you develop your technical writing skills as you write research reports, lab reports, proposals, and other technical documents. Both scheduled and walk-in one-on-one consultations are available.
Engineering Computer Lab, Engineering Design Lab, Idea Factory, and Metal Factory are facilities that offer tools, equipment, and training to support your classes, clubs, and personal projects. The Computer Lab computers have all the software you will need for your courses. The Idea Factory has laser cutters, 3-D printers, CNC routers, and more. The Metal Factory is a machine shop with lathes, mills, welders, and other power tools.
- Engineering Tutoring Center – ENGR 320
- Engineering Writing Center
- Engineering Computer Lab – ENGR 3rd Floor
- Engineering Design Lab – IS 119
- Idea Factory – SANT 110
- Metal Factory – TECH west-side
Year 2: Pre-Professional Program
Meet with your academic advisor each semester
Meet with your academic advisor to ensure you are on track to apply to the professional program. Schedule your appointment before Halloween and before St. Patrick’s Day to prepare for registration.
Apply for College of Engineering Scholarships in January and other scholarships
The USU College of Engineering offers over $500,000 in scholarships each year. Most scholarships are awarded to juniors and seniors in the Professional Program. Engineering scholarship applications are accepted from January 1st to January 31st. You will be considered for multiple scholarships with just one application. There are a wide variety of scholarships for which you may qualify.
The USU Scholarship Office also has a webpage with links to many additional scholarships.
Many professional engineering societies (ASCE, ASME, IBE, IEEE, SHPE, SWE, TBP, etc.) offer scholarships. Explore your professional society websites and discover the scholarships they offer to their collegiate members.
Engage with faculty members, clubs, and engineering resources
It is important to build your professional network by continuing to engage with your instructors and peers. Hone your personal skills by utilizing the equipment and resources in the Idea Factory, Metal Factory, Engineering Tutoring Center, Engineering Writing Center, Engineering Computer Lab, and Engineering Design Lab.
Apply for the Professional Program
The Professional Program refers to the major-specific courses in the junior and senior years of each degree program. Students must be accepted into the Professional Program before they can take these courses. You should apply for admission to the Professional Program during the last semester you are taking Pre-Professional courses, and prior to Registration for the semester you plan to take Professional level courses.
Year 3: Professional Program
Meet with your academic advisor
Meet with your academic advisor to discuss technical electives, emphases, minors, and prepare for registration.
Meet with your faculty mentor
After you are admitted to the Professional Program, you will be assigned a faculty mentor. You will receive an email from the Engineering Advising Center that will tell you who your faculty mentor is. You can also find who your mentor is by looking in the Notes section at the bottom of your Degree Works worksheet. Schedule a time to meet with your faculty mentor as soon as you know who he/she is, so you can receive help selecting technical elective courses, learn about research opportunities, and identify industries, companies, and areas of interest that correlate to your career goals.
Prepare for and take the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam the summer between years 3 and 4
The Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam is the first step in the process leading to a Professional Engineering (PE) license. At USU, passing the FE is a graduation requirement for biological, civil, environmental, and mechanical engineering majors. However, all students are encouraged to take and pass the FE exam.
Year 4: Professional Program
Meet with your academic advisor
Finalize the course schedule for your last year so there will be no surprises when it comes time for graduation.
Apply for graduation
To officially graduate and receive your diploma, you must be eligible and complete the graduation application. Make sure you apply during your last semester, and confirm with your academic advisor that you have met all the graduation requirements for your particular program. Watch for graduation information from the Engineering Advising Center. For fall graduation the application deadline is usually near the end of October, and for spring graduation the deadline is usually in mid-February.
Verify your Fundamentals of Engineering Exam (FE) score is recorded in Degree Works
Since the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam is a graduation requirement for most majors – biological, civil, environmental, and mechanical – make sure your FE exam score is officially recorded on Degree Works by sending your verifiable link to your advisor.