Tracks

Master engineering designers at Penn State further deepen their DESIGN knowledge and skills by selecting one of four unique tracks:

Design Computing 

Students in this track will learn to apply advanced computing to supercharge designers' abilities to create personalized products and services. In order to complete this track, students must complete the four following courses: 

• EDSGN 547: Human Variability (offered in fall semester)
• EDSGN 561: Data-Mining Driven Design
• EDSGN 597: Open Innovation *New Spring 2021
• 5XX: Approved 500-level elective

Potential career opportunities for students who specialize in design computing may include data scientist, data engineer, data analyst, product designer, design engineer, human factors engineer, and manufacturing engineer. 

Product Realization

In the design for product realization track, students will learn to design adaptive, flexible, and innovative products that challenge traditional product design and manufacturing approaches in support of growing markets. In order to complete this track, students must complete the four following courses: 

• EDSGN 546: Designing Product Families
• EDSGN 562: Design for Additive Manufacturing
• EDSGN 597b: Compliant Mechanism Design *New 2021-22
• 5XX: Approved 500-level elective 

Potential career opportunities for students who specialize in design in product realization may include design engineer, 3D solution specialist, computer-aided design manager, manufacturing engineer, validation engineer, mechanical design engineer, and safety engineer. 

Human-Centered Design

Through the human-centered design track, students learn to start with empathy and apply rigorous processes and tools to transform user needs into viable engineered solutions. In order to complete this track, students must complete the four following courses:

• EDSGN 547: Human Variability (offered in fall semester)
• EDSGN 548: Interaction Design (offered in spring semester)
• EDSGN 549: Design Decision Making (offered in fall semester)
• EDSGN 597: Open Innovation *New Spring 2021

Potential career opportunities for students who specialize in human-centered design include design engineer, product designer, user experience (UX) designer, interaction designer, human factors design engineer, and mechanical design engineer. 

Humanitarian Engineering Design

In this track, students learn to develop scalable and sustainable solutions for products, processes, and services that have the potential to change lives for millions of people in resource-constrained communities around the world. 

Students who wish to complete this track must complete the four following courses: 

• EDSGN 547: Human Variability (offered in fall semester)
• EDSGN 558: Systems Design (offered in fall and spring semesters)
• EDSGN 597: Open Innovation *New Spring 2021
• 5XX Approved 500-level elective

Potential career opportunities for students who specialize in humanitarian engineering design include design engineer, program coordinator, production engineer, project manager, sustainability program manager, technical project manager, and field program director. Interaction.org has a large list of organizations that hire individuals with humanitarian engineering design skills.  

Design Your Future

Innovation involves taking things that exist and putting them together in a new way. Design your own path by defining your own DESIGN track by selecting nine credits of 500-level DESIGN courses and an additional 3-credit elective course approved by your adviser. Examples include, but are not limited to, Systems Design, Biological Systems Design, and Information Systems Design.