Your First Year

The first year of study in the Pratt School of Engineering is largely common to all engineers, with seven of the eight first year courses being completely transferable between the five engineering majors. The first year curriculum offers:

• a general education in the fundamentals of mathematics, physics and chemistry, on which the science and practice of engineering are based;
• instruction in modern engineering problem solving skills, including the use of digital technology for both computational and laboratory applications;
• an exposure to the range of career opportunities in engineering; and
• the opportunity to explore intellectual opportunities in Trinity College, through satisfaction of the University writing requirement and selection of a humanities and social sciences elective.

Students predisposed toward a particular Pratt major use the eighth course to begin fulfilling degree requirements for that major as indicated below, while undecided students are encouraged to use this eighth course to aid in their subsequent selection of a major.

Curriculum General Layout

The above assumes no advanced placement credit. In the event that such credit is granted for one or more of the above courses, substitutions of upper level technical requirements can be made or other curricular interests may be pursued (e.g., freshman Focus programs). You may email pratt-advising@duke.edu if you need assistance interpreting your AP credit as it pertains to your course selection. The first year technical course should be selected according to the student's intended major, if known:

• Undecided: Biology 201L or one of the classes listed below
• Biomedical Engineering: Biology 201L
• Civil Engineering: CEE 160L (fall) or EGR 120L (spring)
• Electrical and Computer Engineering: ECE 110L
• Environmental Engineering: CEE 160L (fall) or BIOLOGY 201L (fall and spring)
• Mechanical Engineering: EGR 121L

*Note: All engineering students must take EGR 103L, Computational Methods in Engineering, preferably in the fall semester. Only under special circumstances should students plan to take this course in the spring semester.