That’s why we require all MSOE undergraduate students to take courses in disciplines outside their major. Our academic programs are designed to give them a deep knowledge of their discipline and a broad understanding of their responsibilities within society and the communities they serve.

Raider Core

Our general education curriculum, known as the Raider Core, is based on seven Common Learning Outcomes (CLOs). These CLOs are 21st century skills that are foundational to all programs in all departments and ensure that students achieve the ability to:

• Collaborate Successfully and Communicate Effectively: Work constructively with others towards a common goal and articulate and explain complex ideas clearly across a range of media and audiences. 
• Demonstrate Ethical Understanding: Engage in independent ethical inquiry on pressing ethical challenges and foster ethical behavior in personal and professional life. 
• Embrace Diversity: Demonstrate inclusivity toward others, pursuing intercultural understanding and exploring ways to address historical or existing barriers to social equity.
• Exhibit Curiosity: Practice open-minded intellectual inquiry, creative exploration, and engagement with different perspectives. 
• Think Critically: Apply sound principles of critical or analytical reasoning and evaluation of evidence. 
• Integrate Learning: Synthesize and transfer learning across new contexts to address complex problems through program-level courses, Raider Core courses, co-curricular activities and senior/capstone projects.

The Raider Core provides students with an educational experience that is grounded in the liberal arts—namely the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, mathematics and fine arts. The Raider Core assists students as they explore issues that span multiple fields of study and best prepares them to address and solve complex problems in their chosen profession. Students also have opportunities for several out-of-classroom and co-curricular experiences that contribute to their exposure to and understanding of the CLOs.

Required Raider Core Courses

In addition to the course requirements of your major, you’ll complete a minimum of 30 Raider Core credits. These courses and the CLOs they align with include:

Collaborate Successfully and Communicate Effectively - 9 credits minimum

Required courses:

• COM 1001 - College Writing (3 credits)
• COM 2001 - Writing for the STEM Disciplines (3 credits)
• COM 3001 - Professional Presentations (3 credits)

Demonstrate Ethical Understanding - 3 credits minimum

One course required from:

• PHL 3101 - Ethics for Professional Managers and Engineers (3 credits)
• PHL 3102 - Ethics of Digital Technologies and Artificial Intelligence (3 credits)
• PHL 3103 - Bioethics (3 credits)

Embrace Diversity - 3 credits minimum

One course required. Course must have a prefix that includes ANT, AHT, FNA, GER, HST, HON, HUM, LIT, PHL, PSC, PSY, SOC, SPN or SSC and addresses the Embrace Diversity CLO.

Exhibit Curiosity - 3 credits minimum

One course required. Course must have a prefix that includes ANT, AHT, FNA, GER, HST, HUM, LIT, PHL, PSC, PSY, SOC, SPN or SSC and addresses the Exhibit Curiosity CLO. ARM 1800 (Army ROTC students only), BUS 2221, BUS 2222 and ARE 3821 are also accepted for the fulfillment of the Exhibit Curiosity CLO.

Think Critically - 3 credits minimum

One course required. Course must have a prefix that includes BIO, CHM, MTH, PHY, or SCI and addresses the Think Critically CLO.

Integrate Learning - 6 credits minimum

Two courses required as specified by the academic programs. These courses must address the Integrate Learning CLO through integrated project-based experiential learning.

Raider Core Elective - 3 credits minimum

One course required. Course must have a prefix that includes ANT, AHT, BIO, CHM, FNA, GER, HST, HON, HUM, LIT, MTH, PHL, PHY, PSC, PSY, SCI, SOC, SPN or SSC and addresses at least one of the following CLOs: Collaborate Successfully, Demonstrate Ethical Understanding, Embrace Diversity, Exhibit Curiosity, or Think Critically. ARM 1800 (Army ROTC students only), BUS 2221, BUS 2222 and ARE 3821 are also accepted for the fulfillment of the Exhibit Curiosity CLO. Check with the academic programs for guidance regarding specific elective choices that are allowed for a student’s program.

Program Capstone Experience

Senior design...senior project...capstone project. These terms all describe the same cumulative experience that all MSOE students participate in. The capstone is your opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge and skills achieved during your MSOE education.

Sample Schedule

What does this look like in a student schedule? Here’s the sample curriculum for a freshman mechanical engineering major:

Fall

• CHM 1010 - Chemistry I (4 credits)  Raider Core: Think Critically
• COM 1001 - College Writing (3 credits)  Raider Core: Communicate Effectively
• MEC 1602 - Introduction to Solid Modeling and Design (3 credits)  Raider Core: Integrate Learning
• MEC 1900 - Introduction to Mechanical Engineering (1 credit)
• MTH 1110 - Calculus I (4 credits)

Spring

• COM 2001 - Writing for the STEM Disciplines (3 credits)  Raider Core: Collaborate Successfully/Communicate Effectively
• MEC 1910 - Computer Applications in Engineering (3 credits)
• MTH 1120 - Calculus II (4 credits)
• PHY 1110 - Physics I - Mechanics and Thermodynamics (3 credits)
• Elective (Raider Core) - (3 credits)