Multidisciplinary Design Program

The Multidisciplinary Design Program at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor provides 800+ experiential learning opportunities for students from across the university every year. Students- Apply what they learn in class to engineering design challenges- Gain the technical and professional skills necessary to thrive in engineering research or industrial settings, and - Experience how multiple disciplines collaborate within a team. MDP offers 3 types of student experiences: Sponsored Projects – Highly structured 2-semester projects sponsored by an industrial or non-profit client. Small teams of students (5-7) are guided weekly by both a Faculty and Sponsor mentor. Students develop core translatable skills for professional practice, including project management, industrial design reviews, testing methodology development, standard validation methods and processes, and multi-stakeholder communication. Faculty Research Teams – Highly structured, ongoing student teams (e.g, 15-30) under the direction of a Faculty Principal Investigator (PI). Students develop expertise and experience in a research over multiple semesters of membership within a team. Student Organization Teams – Course enrollment option for student organization members (available for technically advanced levels of participation). In addition, we formally study the effectiveness of Engineering Design instructional methods to constantly improve the experiential opportunities we offer our students. Any University of Michigan department, unit, program, organization or affiliate is encouraged to contact us to discuss partnering.