General Degree Requirements

For the Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE)

Writing (1)

This requirement is met by completing a University Writing Course.

Mathematics (5)

This requirement is met by completing Math 111L, Math 112L or 122L, 218D-2, 219, and 353.

Natural Science (4)

This requirement is met by completing Chemistry 101DL (21L), Physics 151L (61L) and 152L (62L), and an elective course in one of the natural science departments which presents fundamental knowledge about nature and its phenomena, preferably including quantitative expression.

Note: Each department maintains a list of allowable courses that will satisfy the Natural Science requirement. Consult those department websites and/or departmental offices.

Humanities and Social Science (5)

This requirement is met by completion of five courses selected from at least three of the following four areas of knowledge: Arts, Literatures and Performance (ALP), Civilizations (CZ), Foreign Languages (FL), and Social Sciences (SS). At least one course must be classified SS. In order to provide depth in the subject matter, at least two of the five courses must be selected from a single department and at least one of those courses must be 200 or above. Courses selected must be those that present essential subject matter and substance of the discipline.

Engineering and Applied Sciences, Digital Computation (4)

This requirement is met by completion of one course from each of four of the following seven areas: digital systems, electrical science, information and computer science, mechanics (solid and fluid), materials science, systems analysis, and thermal science and transfer processes. Students are expected to have acquired digital-computer programming capability before their sophomore year. The programming capability is generally satisfied by Engineering 103L (53L).

Engineering Department Courses (15)

The academic department (BME, CEE, ECE or MEMS) administering the major field of study, or the interdisciplinary curricula for IDEAS students, specifies this requirement.

In general, it consists of both required and elective courses planned in consultation with a student’s advisor. Including the 4 credits in engineering and applied sciences listed under general requirements (see above paragraph), a total of 13.0 credits in engineering work are required.

Browse Extracurriculars

Our student-led clubs and teams design machines that race, fly, swim and dive. (There’s a fighting robot or two in the mix as well.) They’re pushing envelopes of efficiency, performance and autonomy—and providing engineering in service to neighbors in need, here in Durham and around the world.

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