The University of Massachusetts Amherst

Engineering Connect RAPs Fall 2022     
June 1st update: Application no longer required

Engineering Connect RAPs provide an opportunity for students who are entering declared in a COE (College of Engineering) major to live together and have their collegiate First-Year Seminar (FYS) (one credit course that all incoming students will take during their first semester) with students in the same living community. The Engineering Connect RAP will be offered in multiple locations, each with a specific seminar. The specific seminar topics with descriptions and affiliated locations are below:

Interested students must complete an application - see details below. (deadline has now closed)

The application will provide an opportunity for students to rank their interest in the seminar topics and available RAP locations. COE staff will review the information on your application to determine the best fit for you. Accepted students will be placed in one of our 5 RAP locations.

Students that have been invited to be part of the RISE Scholars Program are strongly encouraged to apply to be in one of the Engineering Connect RAPs, but there is no requirement on a specific location.

Please note that you may apply even if you have not yet decided whether to attend UMass. Your application indicates only that you would like to participate in an Engineering Connect RAP if you enroll in the University.

    Steps to participate in one of the Engineering Connect RAPs Fall 2022: 

    1. Complete the application and submit it no later than Tuesday, May 10, 2022. If you have questions, contact engindiversity@umass.edu
    2. All applicants will be notified of acceptance status by Wednesday, May 18, 2022
    3. If NOT accepted, please consider joining one of the Gen Ed RAPs  *see note below
    4. On Wednesday, June 1 any remaining open spaces will be available for Engineering declared majors to join the RAP (no application necessary at this point) until the program fills.

    More information can be found on the How to Join page on the RAP website.

    Important Note: Holding a spot in a Gen Ed RAP does NOT guarantee that you will be in the RAP. If during your Advising & Course Registration appointment you learn that your RAP course conflicts with any course required for your major, your major requirement would take precedence and you will have to drop the RAP. You will have the option to join a different RAP if there is one you are eligible for that has open space.

    See below for Location and Course Information

    Engineering Connect RAP will be offered in multiple locations for Fall 2022.

    Staff in COE will review all student applications and place them in one particular location based on their responses.

    In the Northeast Residential Area: 
    Leach Hall: Seminar topic options:

    • Engineering Health: This class looks at the various ways engineering can be applied to enhance human health. We will explore topics ranging from access to clean drinking water to biomaterials for organ transplants. Throughout the course, we will investigate the social role of engineers and issues in health justice.
    • How To Think Like an Engineer: This course will teach students how to approach problems with an engineering mindset and introduce the basics of computer code. Also, students will be able to dissect an RC car and identify its parts.

    Dwight Hall: Seminar topic options:

    • Climate Change and Engineering: Designing for an Uncertain Future: This class will explore the basic science of climate change, as well as the social, political, and ethical consequences of it on a local, national, and global scale. As designers, engineers, and simply humans, how do we properly prepare to handle a problem so large that it transcends anything we have ever encountered in recent human history?
    • Introduction to Internet of Things and Recent Developments:  Students will get to know the evolution of the Internet of Things ,Internet of Things Now , cloud computing as well as the need for edge computing and the quantum Internet of Things. The course will be a series of small activities based upon some of the learned concepts.  

    In the Southwest Residential Area:
    Kennedy Hall: Seminar topic options:

    • Robotic Technology in Healthcare: This course will go over robotic technology in healthcare, with a special focus on nursing.  We'll briefly cover designing for humans and highlight the interdisciplinary nature of robotics.
    • Women’s Health Device Design: This course is all about students developing design solutions for a medical device to aid a common women's health medical problem. This course will include tutorials on Computer Aided Design (CAD), Additive Manufacturing, and design. The class will provide students with a unique perspective where they will apply basic engineering concepts to a real world problem early on in their university career instead of focusing exclusively on engineering theory. This course also has subtle DEI implications- design is inherently an empathetic process so this class will encourage male engineers to become better allies for their women peers via course content and group discussions.   
    • Climate Readiness: Action Not Anxiety: This course will introduce the topic of climate change by applying a holistic approach to engineering. We will address how engineers create climate models and conduct research. From there, we will focus on dissecting "eco-anxiety", also known as the feeling you get after you read about all the negative impacts that climate change has on our futures. Eco anxiety may be debilitating, leaves many people feeling hopeless about the future of our environment. We will examine how to combat these feelings through action and community engagement. Students will be able to develop a mini-project that helps inspire optimism and hope through an engineered solution. 

    Moore Hall: Seminar topic options:

    • Robotic Technology in Healthcare: This course will go over robotic technology in healthcare, with a special focus on nursing.  We'll briefly cover designing for humans and highlight the interdisciplinary nature of robotics.
    • Introduction to Internet of Things and Recent Developments:  Students will get to know the evolution of the Internet of Things ,Internet of Things Now , cloud computing as well as the need for edge computing and the quantum Internet of Things. The course will be a series of small activities based upon some of the learned concepts.  

    In the Commonwealth Honors College Residential Area: Sycamore Hall (only for students admitted into CHC): Seminar topic options:

    • Engineering Health: This class looks at the various ways engineering can be applied to enhance human health. We will explore topics ranging from access to clean drinking water to biomaterials for organ transplants. Throughout the course, we will investigate the social role of engineers and issues in health justice.
    • Climate Readiness: Action Not Anxiety: This course will introduce the topic of climate change by applying a holistic approach to engineering. We will address how engineers create climate models and conduct research. From there, we will focus on dissecting "eco-anxiety", also known as the feeling you get after you read about all the negative impacts that climate change has on our futures. Eco anxiety may be debilitating, leaves many people feeling hopeless about the future of our environment. We will examine how to combat these feelings through action and community engagement. Students will be able to develop a mini-project that helps inspire optimism and hope through an engineered solution. 

    Engineering Majors

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