PVTIDE Intro
Smith College
Smith College
PVTIDE Academic Partner
Susannah Howe
2 August 2005
Overview
• Smith Snapshot
• Picker Engineering Program
• Involving Engineering Students
• Other Smith Connections
Smith College
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Largest liberal arts college for women
Founded in 1871
2700 students
300 faculty
37 departments and programs
1000 different courses
Picker Engineering Program
• Founded in 2000
• First graduates in
2004
• 25-35 students/year
• 10+ faculty
• ABET
accreditation in
process
Engineering Class of 2004
Engineering Program Philosophy
• Emphasis on fundamentals across
engineering disciplines
• Learner centered pedagogy
• Integration of liberal arts
• Social responsibility
• Sustainability
“application of math and
science in service to humanity”
Engineering Curriculum
• Math/physics/chemistry/computer science
• Engineering core
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mechanics
thermochemical processes
electrical systems
design
• Technical electives
• Liberal arts: Latin honors
Added Features
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Research with faculty
Community-based learning
NASA projects
Study abroad
Internships
Where Do Graduates Go?
• Graduate School (~40%)
– Berkeley, MIT, UC Davis, Cornell, Dartmouth
• Industry (~30%)
– MITRE, Ford, Fuss&O’Neill, Gilbane, Sikorsky
• Other (~30%)
– AmeriCorps, secondary school teaching
– management consulting, finance
– medical school, other graduate school
Involving Engineering Students
• Engineering Design Clinic
• Special studies
• Student internships
• Five-college courses
Engineering Design Clinic
• Year-long capstone course
• Real-world projects
– sponsored by industry/gov’t.
– technical liaisons
• Class component
– engineering design
– professional practice
– team interaction
Sample Design Clinic Projects
GE Advanced
Materials
Ford
Entrepreneurial
Northampton DPW
Other Smith Connections
Outreach:
So what worked?
SSEP
Finance:
WFI
Leadership:
SEE
Summer Science & Engineering Program
• Outreach program for high school girls
• Two-week modules on science and
engineering topics
• Guided by Smith faculty, assisted by Smith
undergraduates
• Girls from U.S. and abroad
• 1000+ participants to date
Women and Financial Independence
• Program to promote financial literacy for
women
• Multi-week course offerings (no-credit)
– entrepreneurship
– principles of investing
– financing life
• Resource center
• Outreach/student clubs
open to
Five College
community
Smith Executive Education
• Program to develop women leaders
• Courses, seminars, and discussions
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Smith College Consortium
Smith-Tuck Global Leaders Program
Specialist to Strategist (Smith/SWE)
Custom programs
Summary
• Picker Engineering Program
– Engineering science degree
– Design Clinic: capstone projects
– Student research, internships
• Smith Connections
– outreach: SSEP
– finance: WFI
– leadership: SEE