Capstone Spring Start Option Gives Students More Graduation Freedom

Not all engineering seniors presented their completed Interdisciplinary Capstone projects at the Craig M. Berge Design Day held April 29. Eight teams made up of 43 students instead began their projects in January and will finish them in December.

The required year-long course that students take while working with teammates on the capstone, Engineering 498, is the last class engineering students need to take to graduate.

In the past, students with alternative graduation schedules have had to take an extra semester to complete their degree requirements, since the class was offered exclusively in the fall. But now, students are saving both time and money with the new timing option.

Erik Amundsen, a student in ENGR 498 who is majoring in mechanical engineering, is on Team 24508, whose project revolves around rehabilitating and renovating parts of the University of Arizona’s San Xavier Underground Mining Laboratory. Amundsen is a transfer student from Pima Community College who started at the UA in spring of 2023 and had a two-year plan to graduate. Now, because of the new course offering, he can fulfill that plan.

“Because of prerequisite courses and such, I was not able to get into the fall-to-spring section of senior design,” Amundsen said. “So, when they offered this session, it kept me on my plan of graduating in exactly two years.”

The new course offering is not only helping students like Amundsen keep on track. It also allows more time for students to work on their projects during summer break if they choose to. Since the teams do most of their work outside of class and use class time to seek specific answers from the instructor, many will benefit.