The fall term of the second year includes a required science course. For students majoring in civil or mechanical engineering, this will be a chemistry course. For students in the other engineering disciplines, the course remains nominally the chemistry course but may, with departmental approval, be replaced by another science course deemed more applicable to the student's program of study. All students begin their study in a core program that provides a basis for the selection of a specific engineering or computer science major at Union. All programs have the same General Education requirement as the liberal arts programs with the opportunity to pursue an international term abroad or equivalent foreign experience.
All students have the opportunity to pursue a liberal arts minor.
Oral and written communication skills are stressed throughout all curricula. Laboratories and design studios are integrated throughout the curriculum to help students develop physical intuition. Design is integrated throughout the curriculum beginning in the freshman year. Students work in dynamic team structures from the freshman to senior year that mimic the real world of work. The use of computers in problems solving.