In 1992 at Ohio State, a group of faculty from multiple departments developed a three quarter program for engineering freshmen which was piloted for the first time in 1993. This program included Physics, Mechanics, Math, and a Fundamentals of Engineering course each quarter. In addition to engineering graphics and computer applications, the Fundamentals course included 18 hands-on labs that introduced the students to a variety of phenomena associated with the various Engineering disciplines. The design project revolves around building a robot for competition.
Teamwork is required in the labs and classes in a variety of ways.
The lab teams are comprised of different people each week so that each member of the group works at least once with each person in the class. This program has run each year with multiple sections. It has been approved by the College as the Honors program and is being taught to 70 students in the 1997-98 academic year. For the 1998-99 academic year, the College plans to have the Honors program for 100 students. The Gateway Coalition has been a driving force in the College of Engineering to change the Engineering Core program.